Since the recent shootings in the Brussels Marollen District and in Saint-Gillis, all eyes are once again on drug-related violence and depravation in the capital. Symptomatic of this deterioration is the situation in and around the Brussels South Station, the busiest railway station in the country and due to international train traffic also one of the gateways to our country. How do the station and its surroundings look today, and has the situation improved since the big clean-up operation last August? VRT News went to find out on the spot.
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Six months after the clean-up at Brussels South: has anything changed?
Colin Clapson
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It's six months since with much fanfare an action plan was announced . At Brussels South the station concourse is buzzing with activity. That’s nothing out of the ordinary for the thousands of commuters hurriedly heading towards their office. At the main entrance tourists in need of a taxi are confronted with a bus shelter full of rubbish, clothes and food scraps. A homeless person has made this his home.
"It’s a scandal," is the opinion of one taxi driver. "This is the first image that tourists get of the country. That junk has been lying there for a month now! Police, community wardens and refuse agency Net Brussels: all have come to take a look but then nothing happens!"
"That is not our job," says a community warden from the municipality of Saint-Gillis. He says the shelter belongs to Brussels Mobility, the mobility agency of the Brussels Region.
A similar problem can be seen at the entrance to the lift of the underground car park. "It's downright filthy in there," complains a café owner. "Earlier this week, two women fled into my place. Thieves had stolen their mobile phones in the lift. The police say they cannot do anything because it is private property: the underground car park is operated by Q-Park. If you come here as a tourist to pick up your rental car, you will never come back, will you?"
These are just two examples of how agencies in Brussels point at each other, preventing any solutions.
More police and more cleaning teams
Who is responsible for tackling the situation at Brussels South? The police, the rail company, the Brussels Region or the municipalities of Saint-Gillis and Anderlecht? No one could give us a clear answer. Belgian rail chief Sophie Dutordoir and neighbourhood organisations speak of dramatic conditions and lawlessness.
When the situation threatened to derail last summer, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal/Open VLD) took charge of the dossier. An action plan emerged with a total of 22 measures: including a police post in the station, more police patrols, more cleaning and more help for drug users and unaccompanied minors. Tags and graffiti will be systematically removed, dark areas would be better lit and emergency toilets for the homeless will be installed.
Today the station looks a bit cleaner and there are fewer homeless people hanging around. "There are more police and I also see fewer homeless people," confirms a security guard standing in front of the entrance to the Pullman Hotel. "But as a tourist it is still best to keep an eye on your luggage because it can quickly disappear here."
The station's alcohol ban, introduced six months ago, is not being enforced. "We are still selling as much alcohol, or - rather - a lot of alcohol is still being stolen," says the manager of a newsagent’s.
"Not much has really changed," says the pharmacist who has his business in the central hall of the station. "Theft is just part of everyday life at South Station."