COLORBLIND Are we all equal before the law?

My name is Trésor Bakanga. I died on the night of 13 to 14 June 2023, in Uccle, when I was arrested by the local police.

It was the end of the final exams and my hockey field club had just won the U19 final for the region. I was about to turn 19 when the police killed me one night on my way home. My story was to set off a tidal wave that Belgium had never seen before. Between my parents' legal battle against the accused police officers, the associations that supported them throughout the affair, the activists who took to the streets, the journalists too and even the political world. Nothing would ever be the same again.

My name is Trésor. And like many (too many) other victims, I died at the hands of those who are supposed to protect us. Because I wasn't in the right place at the right time. Because I'm a nuisance wherever I am. Because that's the way the system works.

Because I wasn't white.