Samuel, a resident of Cureghem, in the entity of Anderlecht, pushed the orange button Alert us because he can no longer support the situation in his neighborhood. In recent years, drug use and the general insecurity associated with it have greatly increased, he said. And he believes that the local authorities are doing nothing.
“I witness, dumbfounded, two individuals in a car shooting themselves at ease in full view of everyone. The next day, in front of our house, there are still the two used syringes that were used for their shoot the day before. That’s it the situation we experience every day at the Clémenceau metro station in Cureghem”Samuel (assumed name) wrote to us, via the orange Alert us button, shocked at such a spectacle.
This resident prefers to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. This is to say the atmosphere that reigns within his district, in Cureghem, in the entity of Anderlecht. But he no longer tolerates the current situation which, according to him, is deteriorating year following year. “I’ve been in the neighborhood for over 20 years and for the past two or three years I’ve seen the drug problem grow. I see people doing drugs and drug deals all the time. daytime”laments Samuel.
What definitely prompted him to react and contact us? The presence of his syringes, on the floor, in full view of everyone and especially children coming out of school and watching. “It shocks me, especially when you know that a school is nearby and that kids spend morning, noon and evening in front of this show. It’s dramatic. I don’t think it’s ideal for their education to find themselves constantly faced with these behaviors”points to our interlocutor.
It has almost become a lawless zone where people do what they want without any repression
Even though the drug problem has existed in the neighborhood for many years, for Samuel the past few months have been even worse than the previous ones. And this resident has the impression that the neighborhood has been completely abandoned by the public authorities. “It has almost become a lawless zone where people do what they want without any repression. There is a form of laxity on the part of the police, who pass but do not do much. elsewhere, few patrols circulate in the district.”
Faced with used syringes on the floor, nitrous oxide capsules lying around and the smell of drugs floating in the air, Samuel literally feels helpless. “I am a spectator of this but I do not know anything to do regarding it. I call the police from time to time but nothing changes. I have the impression that it is not reported and that no provision is taken in relation to that. I would like the situation to improve, that something be done in relation to that for the life of the district”, he confides. For him, a general insecurity has reigned in the neighborhood for many years because of these drug problems.
And the Cureghem district is indeed already well known to the local authorities for these reasons. “It’s a phenomenon that we became aware of two years ago now, with quite a lot of street consumption, both heroin and crack”, tells us the mayor of Anderlecht. A system of action has also been put in place, informs us Fabrice Cumps, to fight once morest this. This is done in collaboration with various associative partners specialized in supporting drug addicts and homelessness. “They go to meet these people with marauders”, he said. This is for example the case of the ASBL Modus Vivendi which operates everywhere in Brussels. This association focuses on helping people who use drugs, regardless of their situation.
Marauding three times a week to approach these people in difficulty
Three times a week, two or three members of the ASBL walk the streets of Brussels for four hours to approach them and try to help them. “The idea is not to wait for these people to walk through our door, it’s to go where they are”slips us the director of Modus Vivendi. “Each association does marauding, that is to say street work, depending on its staff. We do three a week, but given the number of people to be reached, it’s not enough. would have to be everywhere and all the time but it is not possible so we try to organize ourselves”pour suit Catherine Van Huyck.
The goal is to offer clean equipment for homeless people
The non-profit organization Modus Vivendi has several reception branches in Brussels. There is, for example, a counter for exchanging sterile equipment to reduce the risks linked in particular to infectious diseases such as AIDS or Hepatitis. “The goal is to offer clean equipment for homeless people”, she explains. But Modus Vivendi’s actions do not stop there. The non-profit organization also offers comprehensive support for people in need. “It’s not just giving them gear to shoot and then letting them go.insists the director. It is also a psychosocial accompaniment, a reorganization of the papers, the mutual insurance… We accompany the people physically. They are also sometimes injured or in deplorable physical states so we treat them.”
To better control drug consumption in the street, a shooting room project will soon see the light of day in Brussels. It is a place accessible free of charge and without any conditions to consume in a more secure way. But for the director of the association, this is not enough. “A drug consumption room in Brussels is not enough. We must take the example of Paris, which is multiplying. There is no surprise, drug consumption has increased sharply in recent years. year, precariousness too.”
For the mayor of Anderlecht, however, this is already the beginning of a response to deal with this problem. He knows, however, that efforts to combat this phenomenon must continue. “The shooting room is one of the elements of the puzzle, but the current responses are not sufficient since the phenomenon has not disappeared. We still hope that it will provide solutions. It is the city of Brussels that opens it but it will really be at the limit with Anderlecht. It is both in three municipalities and two police zones. I have already had meetings with my two fellow mayors and with the heads of corps to understand this phenomenon in a global way The response that will be provided by the city of Brussels can also be used in Anderlecht”he assures.
The police want to limit the nuisance for the inhabitants
Another element “you puzzle” that Fabrice Cumps points the finger at concerns the problem of squats. The police in the Midi zone are well aware of this and are actively trying to fight once morest it. “We are tackling several things at the same time: squats, where people shoot up in some of these places, but also deals, everything related to cleanliness and nuisances. Above all, we try to limit the nuisances for the inhabitants. of the neighborhood, that’s the most important thing”details Jurgen De Landsheer, the head of the Midi police zone.
And even if the residents do not necessarily have the impression, the police circulate regularly in the surroundings. On the one hand, there are intervention patrols. And, on the other hand, specific patrols to focus on this type of phenomenon. The police also rely on reports from local residents to guide their areas of intervention. “We are going to organize and direct the patrols to neighborhoods where there are problems with dealing, narcotics and above all nuisances. The most important thing for us is to create liveable neighborhoods for the inhabitants. In this neighborhood, in Cureghem, there are indeed patrols but we cannot put police officers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week on every street corner unfortunately.”
For Jurgen De Landsheer, this police presence is not the solution to everything either. He stresses, like the mayor of Anderlecht, the importance of collaborative work with the various players. “We must seek solutions with partners, associations, municipalities, regions… And work together once morest the consumption and the drug deal”he notes before adding that it is above all a problem of means and a lack of consultation between the services, “but it’s starting and I’m very confident.”
Additional resources will indeed be granted to attack the three municipalities in the area. A bicycle brigade and more police officers will be present on the ground in order to accentuate and improve the field work of the local police. “We are going to give more resources to our divisions, therefore in the districts. We are also looking for more and more partners to work together. We really need to create an integral global operation with all the services on the ground to fight once morest insecurity and nuisance. We will get there because this collaboration is required of all”concludes the head of the Midi police zone.