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Rue des Ateliers 25, 1080 Molenbeek
00.32 (2) 411.74.95
Copyright © Foyer 2020
Rue des Ateliers 25, 1080 Molenbeek
00.32 (2) 411.74.95
Copyright © Foyer 2020
Johan Leman, 13 October 2025
What is an example of investing in negativity? It would be interesting to find out how much municipal tax money in municipalities such as Molenbeek is spent on cleaning up rubbish, cleaning up the consequences of fly-tipping, collecting nitrous oxide bottles and all kinds of rubbish that is carelessly thrown onto the streets. What’s more, the streets are cleaned in the morning and by the evening the rubbish is back again. Too much of the community’s money is being wasted on the fact that some people couldn’t care less whether a street is clean or not.
This same community money is then lacking to purchase valuable flowers and trees to beautify the municipality. I am not making this up. This is a fact.
A majority of the population, for example in Molenbeek, wants a more beautiful and less stigmatising environment. A majority wants a more beautiful streetscape. But it is not possible. Cleaning up the rubbish left behind by a few miscreants takes precedence. One has no choice. I call this de necessity of investing in negativity.
Shouldn’t streets be cleaned up more often? Absolutely. But for years, some local authorities have been fighting a losing battle, because those who litter are not punished sufficiently. After so many years, I see only one solution: more targeted checks and heavier penalties for those who, in effect, make the community pay for their lack of respect for the public domain. But this can only be taken seriously if the penalties are very high, felt immediately and not constantly postponed.
This repressive aspect must obviously be supplemented by a serious effort to inform and raise awareness among the population.
But actually, and this is the crux of the matter: proportionally too much must be invested in eliminating negativity, so that opportunities to invest in positivity are lost.