Current:Home > NewsBrussels Midi Station, once a stately gateway to Belgium, has turned into festering sore of nation-LoTradeCoin
Brussels Midi Station, once a stately gateway to Belgium, has turned into festering sore of nation
View Date:2024-12-23 22:27:27
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium acknowledged Thursday that its major rail gateway, the Brussels Midi Station, has become a festering sore of drug abuse, poverty and violence that is a major stain on a nation preparing to take on the presidency of the European Union.
The government vowed to tackle the problem, but some critics say action is coming way too late, while others say that any cleanup operation will only push the big-city problems to other neighborhoods.
Belgium, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with a major tourism industry, has neglected the once-stately Midi Station for decades. It has become a symbol of dysfunctional government as increasingly many of the 160,000 daily commuters and tourists no longer fully feel safe.
The increasing spread of crack cocaine and open dealing and use of drugs in the neighborhood over the past year have exacerbated an already bad situation to the point that petty theft, fights and harassment of tourists have become everyday headline news in the nation of 11.5 million.
Belgium takes on the presidency of the 27-nation EU in January for six months. Governments who hold the presidency typically use the opportunity to bask in the global attention to promote their nation.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference Thursday that he felt he had to take action and no longer leave security at such a key time to a warren of local authorities who had proven they were not up to the task.
“The challenge is one of security that we owe to everyone passing through Brussels. It is about the livable conditions in the neighborhood, and of course, it is about the image of Brussels and the image of our nation,” he said Thursday.
As an immediate measure, it was announced that a special police station will be set up at the existing station at the train station to make interventions easier.
But far more fundamental issues are at stake, said historian, former politician and Brussels pundit Luckas Vander Taelen.
“Nobody has done anything for years. So this problem gets always worse. And that’s what happens today — everybody seems concerned. But I wonder what is going to change here,” he said.
Vander Taelen blamed Belgium’s Byzantine political structure of overlapping local, regional and national authorities who he said all too often blame each other instead of actually doing something in unison.
“There are too many levels of power in Brussels and that paralyzes everything,” he said.
As criticism mounted, police organized highly publicized raids through the massive railway station, picking up and detaining several people while a cleaning team did away with much of the muck and dirt. Those are only stop-gap solutions though, said Ariane Dierickx of the l’Ilot aid group, which provides services for the homeless and needy.
“It was shocking to see that all these people that have been rejected by society are being picked up by police vans while they are not criminals,” she said. “It shows how inadequate the response is.” Dierickx said it would only move the problem to other areas.
Belgium’s image is being soiled in other places too, De Croo’s critics say, since problems at the Nord Station, another major train hub in the capital, haven’t been much better.
One of the major issues has been the rise of drug trafficking and its accompanying violence in Belgium. The northern port of Antwerp has turned into a main gateway for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent and cocaine seizures there have more than doubled in the past half decade, according to customs officials.
Because of that, relatively inexpensive cocaine has boomed in Brussels and crack cocaine has become a massive security issue, especially around the Midi station.
veryGood! (911)
Related
- Duke basketball vs Kentucky live updates: Highlights, scores, updates from Champions Classic
- Biden’s movable wall is criticized by environmentalists and those who want more border security
- Taylor Swift reschedules Argentina show due to weather: 'Never going to endanger my fans'
- A Hawaii refuge pond has turned eye-catching pink and scientists think they know why
- Groups seek a new hearing on a Mississippi mail-in ballot lawsuit
- The 4-day workweek: How one Ohio manufacturer is making it work
- Biden’s movable wall is criticized by environmentalists and those who want more border security
- USC quarterback Caleb Williams addresses crying video after loss to Washington
- Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
- Nonprofits making progress in tackling homelessness among veterans, but challenges remain
Ranking
- Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
- Moschino Creative Director Davide Renne Dead at 46 Just 9 Days After Stepping Into Role
- Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes Deserve an Award for Their Sweet Reaction to Her 2024 Grammy Nomination
- Thousands of veterans face foreclosure and it's not their fault. The VA could help
- Massive dust storm reduces visibility, causes vehicle pileup on central California highway
- How Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West's video cover letter landed him the gig: Watch the video
- The 4-day workweek: How one Ohio manufacturer is making it work
- 'Special talent': Kyler Murray's Cardinals teammates excited to have him back vs. Falcons
Recommendation
-
Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe
-
Remains of infant found at Massachusetts recycling center for second time this year
-
One year after liberation, Ukrainians in Kherson hold on to hope amid constant shelling
-
2024 Grammy nominations snub Pink, Sam Smith and K-pop. Who else got the cold shoulder?
-
Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game
-
Miley Cyrus, Ice Spice and More React to Grammys 2024 Nominations
-
Industrial robot crushes worker to death as he checks whether it was working properly
-
Anchorage adds to record homeless death total as major winter storm drops more than 2 feet of snow