by ZKboi
Antverpia: Dead or alive!
October 3, 2002 in Diary by ZKboi
With a sad heart I am actually writing this article. The time has come to write something that has been on my stumach for way too long.
Antwerpen seems to be getting a ghost town at certain ways and seems to be alive at other ways …
I am living in the “cleaner” neightbourhoods of Antwerpen; the old center of Antwerpen. Almost 5 years ago I decided to live in Antwerpen both because it is “the city” (in Dutch “‘t stad”) and because it appeared to be a good city.
These days I am less proud of living in Antwerpen though. It happens to be I have over 20 parking tickets whereof there are over 15 to be wrong. I have a card that allows me to park for free at certain areas of the city and police seems to be blind because I am getting parking tickets a-volonte.
Dog shit is another reason that happens to be hate-factor number two. People do not watch where their dogs shit and leave it lying there in the middle of the street or right in front of your door instead of cleaning it up. Not only dog poop is loitering around in the streets but garbage, paper, shoes, furniture, everything you might not imagine is being strew around in the neightbourhoods.
Tourists are passing by my street daily showing the beautifull side of Antwerpen though the buildings may be in full beauty but the streets are a complete mess.
Parking signs get added and at the same day police puts a fine under the windshield wiper while Belgian law requires signs to be added 48 hours in front.
I am sad to write this article with so much negative critisism but it is wat I feel as good citizen of Antwerpen.
Is the city dieing ? What’s happening ? Is the city not able to keep their territory clean anymore ? Is the city getting unmanagable ?
The crime is also getting sky high. Every window of my car has been replaced at least once. The door of my company has been burglared at least 3 times. My neightbours upstairs got robbed while sleeping and burglars tried to break in while I was sleeping leaving my door everything but undamaged.
What happened to the city I liked that much ? What happened with the feeling that I liked to be “Antwerpenaar” ? To be proud of the city you live in …
I do not trust the police nor the city management anymore because of these bad issues. I have catched 2 14yr old criminals doing parking-automat thefth, called the police and they where not found.
A few hours later the alarm of the company goes off and I go look downstairs. Those 2 kids where trying to break in the company with a screwdriver. Anyway … The kids where arrested and released not even a few hours later.
I have been robbed 4 times whereof 2 times successfull. These days I do fight back, if somebody tries to hurt me I will hurt them back with a double rate.
Don’t go to the police though or they tell you need to stay in the country because of possession of forbidden weapons because I hit them back with a pair of handcuffs and the second time with material I had in my back of my car *AFTER* being hit with a 4 inch pipe on the back !! What the hell happened to self defence?
There is a big issue going on in Antwerpen and things will need to change because living in a ghost city is something nobody likes. Not even the proud citizens of Antwerpen … ‘t Stad.
I currently am citizen of a city where you cannot sleep quietly on 2 ears … I cannot walk through the streets while looking down without stepping in dogpoop or other stuff loitering around on the streets and the worst … I cannot make a walk without being bothered or being robbed in my own town. Not only this but I am getting robbed by that same city with parking fines that are not even grounded or not lawfully written.
Yet again, I am feeling very bad to write this negative critisism about the city I live in but as you probably might know .. it are feelings and feelings can be considered true.
I pay taxes to my city, country, … and the only thing I see in return is crime, death and decay … Sadly but true …
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