Brussels Becomes a Criminal Sinkhole

Molenbeek and Anderlecht are two culturally-enriched neighborhoods in Brussels that are notorious for criminal violence and disorder. The following news report from German TV talks about how the violence in the “capital of Europe” is spreading out of those “quarters” and into the well-to-do parts of the city — to the point that the EU apparatchiks have become alarmed and are pressing for something to be done about the situation.

Many thanks to Hermes for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript:

00:00		Just one punch can sharply change a situation,
00:04		and it can also kill. And sometimes both, just like now in Brussels.
00:10		A worker from the public transport service was so brutally hit in the face
00:15		by a drunk man that he died shortly afterwards. The father of two children
00:19		had already arranged his retirement papers, and he looked forward happily to
00:23		an early retirement. The capital of the EU is one of the most dangerous
00:27		cities in Europe. Violence takes place in Brussels not only in buses and trains,
00:31		it is a daily and sad routine. There are 100,000 inhabitants,
00:35		and 33,000 crimes occur, almost double
00:39		the rate in Frankfurt am Main. Udo von Kampen (reports) about a
00:43		criminality-ridden city. Brussels, Grote Markt by night.
00:47		100,000s of tourists come every year to one of the most beautiful
00:51		squares in Europe. Here one sees many police agents, the visitors
00:55		must feel safe. But appearances deceive:
00:59		only a few street away, the city shows another
01:03		face. Aggression, robberies and attacks are not
01:08		unusual. In some districts of Brussels such as Anderlecht,
01:12		or Molenbeek, the police have long ago lost control of the situation.
01:16		Even in broad daylight, many streets in Brussels are
01:20		no longer safe. Karin Holtsch has been working for years
01:24		as official in the European Parliament. She was attacked near
01:28		her home. 'This happened a year and a half ago.
01:32		I moved immediately from the district in which I lived, and
01:36		moved to the EU district.' - 'Why?'
01:40		'I did not feel secure there any more, and I was scared when
01:44		returning home.' In Brussels, a debate about
01:48		the increasing criminality has arisen. On Easter weekend, thousands took
01:52		to the streets. The reason was that an official from the transport service
01:56		wanted to record an accident. He was brutally beaten down.
02:00		The 56-year-old died. This shocked everybody in Belgium.
02:04		Trams and buses stopped for 4 days. The police union
02:08		demands a new concept of security. - 'We demand more
02:12		police presence in the metro and the large bus stations in
02:16		Brussels. Only in this way we can guarantee security for people.'
02:20		In Flandre street, in the center
02:24		of Brussels, the social conflicts of the city are especially apparent.
02:28		One meets there lots of young men from immigrant families,
02:32		who stand jobless and without prospects.
02:36		On the other side, many new bistros and boutiques,
02:40		a new trendy district in Brussels, which attracts lost of customers,
02:44		that is why expensive and chic restaurants keep opening,
02:48		which are frequently burgled.
02:52		'I must openly say that the police are simply nowhere
02:57		in the street. No idea where they are. Perhaps in the car,
03:01		or in the office, but very few of them are in the streets.
03:05		Too few. And whenever they appear, they look very
03:09		passive.' The police
03:13		dispute this. They were not ready to appear in front of the camera.
03:17		The inhabitants of the district are upset, because criminals ply their
03:22		activities even in front of the typical pubs of Brussels, as this owner explains:
03:28		'Here we are constantly attacked, for example in the restaurant
03:32		in front of us, robbers assaulted it with machine guns not long ago,
03:36		and robbed the guests.' In Brussels,
03:40		many communities rely on civil security. They are called
03:44		'citizen watch'. They dress in purple, and are financed by the state. They have
03:48		no police training, which is why they cannot detain people or wear weapons.
03:52		But their mere presence in the streets drives away many criminals. They cannot
03:56		substitute for the police, though. 'It is mainly the elderly
04:00		who feel that we are here. They feel more secure when they see us,
04:04		they even cross the street in order to go with us and feel more secure.'
04:08		'I don't know the exact numbers, but I can say that
04:12		that the criminality has risen enormously in the last 10 years, there are
04:16		lots of robberies and aggression.'
04:20		An unusually serious example of violence happened in this jewellery store,
04:24		in Ukkel - Brussels. Léon-Philippe Rubin has manages this store
04:28		since 1976. He was brutally robbed twice by armed robbers,
04:32		and today he still suffers the consequences of this.
04:36		'They drove my wife into the
04:40		back room, and they knocked me to the ground.
04:44		and hit me twice with their pistols. I still have
04:48		17 stitches in my head. After that, they tried to
04:53		steal a car, during which they shot at a mother of three,
04:57		a terrible tragedy.'
05:01		It is not only the citizens of the city,
05:05		but also the EU Commission, NATO and the EU Parliament exert an enormous
05:09		political pressure for doing more about security, because the number of crimes
05:13		in Brussels is double that of Frankfurt.
05:17		Brussels reacts. More than 400 extra agents and
05:21		security personnel are to make metros, buses and stations more secure.
05:25		In this way, the inhabitants and visitors may again
05:29		enjoy undisturbed the charm of the European capital.