« Document us! »

Testimony of Geneviève Cattiez, former director of the Haute École Galilée*.

Dear Government. I get in a bad mood. Can you provide us with the scientific studies on which you base such measures? Document us!

What scientific studies concerning hairdressers give us convincing figures that would justify such disconcerting, unexpected and incomprehensible measures that are unbearable for the targeted professions. Give us your sources of scientific publications. We are not stupid. You like numbers and curves.

The horeca is closed for months. We cannot suspect them of contaminating us since they have been closed for almost 10 months. Give us figures and curves. Since you love them. We are not stupid. We have studied and can understand the scientific literature. Please give us the references on which you base such decisions that destroy the lives of many of us, Belgians who are sometimes desperate… and who sometimes decide not to live anymore. I don’t think you live in the field enough.

Your decisions infantilize us. As if we could not understand that if we were likely to endanger someone close to us, we would not understand it. Personally, I am revolted. And as a resource person in the world of teaching, in the academic world and in the higher education of HE who favors dialectical thinking, intelligent reflection, I cannot adhere to such measures if they are not supported by scientific work validated by the scientific community which apparently, at the present time, does not require unanimity. This is what worries and discredits your decisions.

I dare to share my discomfort on social networks… risk-taking of course. I am for a better world, but transparency will help us to better measure the stakes of this crisis. We are all intelligent.

• Originally published on the networks, relayed here with the author’s permission.