15th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Belgium's colonial legacy

Ylhan Delvaux sits inside his old family home, which has been divided into apartments and rented out. He still lives on the top floor. “The smell is the same as it was in my childhood, I always feel like my mother is looking at me.” His Congolese-Belgian mother set herself on fire in Luxembourg in violent protest against institutionalized racism.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2017
Date Uploaded: 11.2017
Photo Location: Brussels, Belgium
Camera: NIKON D7100
Copyright: © Ben Gerdziunas