The
Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, and the writer, Joel Savage. Photo: @Kouablan Dominique
Not long in Belgium, but fifteen years in Antwerp is enough to write a narrative essay whenever I meet this challenge in an examination hall.
Even though Antwerp is a famous city, known for its rich diamond collection and flourishing seaport, in the early 2000s, the city was very rough and unsafe for both tourists and citizens.
It was during this period that Leona Detiége, a Belgian politician and member of the Flemish
social-democratic party, then mayor of Antwerp, did her best to tackle the
problems destroying the reputation of the city of Antwerp as a tourist
attraction center.
She swung
into action, focusing on the notorious places, such as De Conincksplein, a neighborhood that harbored all criminal activities, including drug peddling,
prostitution, bag snatching, pickpocketing, pimps, etc., and De Falconplein,
another notorious neighborhood, serving as a red-light district for
prostitutes, pimps, and drug couriers.
Her
undertakings weren’t just a bluff; they did really cripple the prostitution
industry. Many prostitutes were arrested and deported to their countries of
origin, and the pimp industry collapsed.
The Antwerp police received a letter from a group calling themselves ‘The Nigerian Mafia,’ threatening and ready to fight the police to the death for taking their prostitutes off the streets.
Leona stationed a mobile police van at the center of
Conincksplein 24 hours a day, and all the nefarious activities and crimes
subsided. Apart from that, Leona made it difficult for landlords who stole money
from tenants.
It was a period; criminal landlords were known as 'huismelkers' and were making a lot of money from tenants. Like a farmer milking
his cow, they stole the three-monthguarantee paid by tenants. Her actions
worked and totally reduced this menace, which had taken over Antwerp.
Unfortunately, all the hard efforts of Leona came to a
fruitless end when she left office and Patrick Janssens, a member of the
SP, succeeded her as the next mayor of Antwerp.
Patrick Janssens probably
thought the best way to serve Antwerp was to be friendly with everyone. It was his
time drug peddling, which Leona had fought to subdue, increased significantly.
There was a time when Moroccans in Antwerp believed or thought the
city was for them. They drove, stopped on the street, and talked to friends with a long
queue of traffic behind them. Who dares to talk? You will be surrounded, and if
the police are not around, you will be beaten mercilessly.
At Schijnpoort, a neighborhood in Antwerp, a Belgian driver stops and asks a Moroccan for help, as he couldn’t find a street he
was looking for.
As soon as his window came down, right in front of me, the
Moroccan accumulated thick saliva in his mouth and spat it onto the driver's face. He picked up a tissue, wiped the saliva from his face, and drove away. My heart ached when I witnessed this scene.
Under the administration of Patrick Janssens, the
situation in Antwerp grew from bad to worse. More drug trafficking at coffee
shops run by foreigners. By the time he decided to take drastic action, it was too late. The people in Antwerp are fed up and really want a change.
I will always remember Patrick Janssens for saving the
citizens of Antwerp from the dog waste explosion. It was a period when one always
came home with a dog’s waste because it was everywhere. He did well to
impose a fine on dog owners who leave dogs’ waste in the city after
excretion.
The coming in of Bart De Wever, the leader of the N-VAN-VA party, as the mayor of Antwerp, took many by surprise. As a politician who has
dreams including the creation of an independent state for the province of
Antwerp, many don’t like him much, but that didn’t prevent him from winning the
seat as mayor of Antwerp.
The man knows that coming into office as a mayor is not
all that is important, but one’s achievements. De Wever is destined to carve his
name as one of the best, or probably the best, mayors in the political history of
Belgium. Since he assumed office, De Wever has done a lot in the shortest
period many past mayors couldn’t achieve.
In regard to security and safety, Antwerp is now a safe city at any time of the day, including at night. Conincksplein, which used to be a
dangerous place in Antwerp, is now a safe community for citizens.
The newly completed library adds glamour to the beauty of
the area. Antwerp also remains clean since the administration introduced fines
for litterers. Alcohol-forbidden zones are now in force within the city.
Video narration of how Bart de Wever transformed the Conincksplein
Despite all his achievements, many still don’t agree with
him. Some say he is a good man or a bad man; others think he is wicked, but
whatever name they call him, there is no doubt that Bart De Wever is
the best mayor Antwerp has ever had or probably the best in the political
history of Belgium.