American expats in Belgium on the US election: Jennifer Forness
With election day in the US looming, American citizens both at home and abroad are concerned with the potential outcome. Belga spoke with five American expats living in Belgium to understand how their views of the US have changed during their time abroad.
After nearly a decade in Europe, Jennifer Forness, 40, doesn't feel her views on US politics have fundamentally changed but have been enriched and challenged by the experiences of being an American expat.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Forness and her husband from Wisconsin have spent much of their adult lives navigating Europe, first in Germany and now in Belgium. Her husband is a faculty member at KU Leuven’s Theology department, and she teaches at an international school.
Immigration challenges
One shift in perspective has come from dealing with immigration and visa processes as an American family abroad.
“We have so much more understanding for people who try to come to the US,” Forness says. “It’s difficult for us, as a couple with a master’s and PhD, to figure out another immigration system. We can very much understand why people who have not had the same educational opportunities try to find other ways to move to another country and seek a better life.”
"We have voted in almost every election we have been eligible to vote in since moving abroad"
While Forness and her family lean politically toward the Democratic party, viewing it as aligned with their belief in “a government serving all people”, she’s noticed some distinct differences between the US and Belgian political landscapes.
In Belgium, where she observes that parties lean increasingly on the personalities of leaders, she says, “You can see that with the Republicans and Trump, but it doesn’t seem to play out the same way in local and state politics in the US as it does here.”
For Forness, the 2020 election, which hinged on votes from her home state, underscored the importance of participating in the democratic process from abroad. She’s already cast her absentee ballot for the 2024 election with a vote for Kamala Harris.
“The absentee ballots in Pennsylvania made a difference last election,” she says. “We have voted in almost every election we have been eligible to vote in since moving abroad.”
“The difference between campaigning is enormous"
She follows the US elections closely, conscious of the global impact they have. “We’ve joked that while we couldn’t vote in the June and October elections in Belgium, we can vote in the election that really matters,” she says.
However, she finds Belgium’s short campaign cycles a welcome relief, citing her frustration with the length and expense of US elections. “The difference between campaigning is enormous,” she says. “We’re frustrated by the obscene amounts of money spent in the States and would rather see a shorter, European-style campaign with more equality in funding.”
When it comes to policy, Forness says that family and educational support are priorities. “As a former public school teacher, I have seen the real need for support for so many families,” she says. “Childcare policies, maternity leave and support for public education are very important to us.”
Healthcare access and bodily autonomy are also top concerns for her and her husband, especially given the contrast they have seen in Belgium. Living in Europe, Forness has become a proponent of “socialist” policies.
“We are much more willing to embrace ‘socialist’ ideas like universal healthcare, subsidised childcare, generous parental leave policies and child payments after seeing how well they work," she says. "We really have a hard time seeing US politicians argue about things that no one in Europe would bat an eye at.”
(MOH)
American expat Jennifer Forness © PHOTO BELGA HANDOUT
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