“The council has let us down. That hurts, I can cry about it.” Sjef Boshouwers (75) was chairman of the residents’ platform in the Kalsdonk district of Roosendaal for many years. With sorrow he sees how ‘his neighborhood’ continues to slide down. The latest low point was the shooting in broad daylight in Philipslaan.
Sjef was a milkman in the neighborhood for fifty years. He knows many local residents personally. “You know”, he hesitantly begins his story at the dining table: “Turkish, Dutch, Moroccan or whatever. I do not mind. We are all people who want to live normally and that doesn’t have to be more.”
As an enthusiastic chairman of the residents’ platform, Sjef made a case for improving the quality of life in Kalsdonk. At the time, a subsidy of one million euros was made available from the government for that purpose.
“Nothing happened at all while the paperwork kept piling up.”
“We put heart and soul into it. We always met with an official present. Nothing happened as the paperwork kept piling up. In the end, a few copies of a neighborhood magazine were paid for, and that was it. This gives me a lot of frustration”, says Sjef.
Like other residents of the neighborhood, he is ‘extremely shocked’ by the Wild West scene that took place on Philipslaan on Friday. At the same time, it doesn’t surprise him. “The drug trade has been going on here for years. They tear through the neighborhood with fat cars. It’s ridiculous that people don’t dare to go out on the street anymore. Everyone has a right to life, right?”
“There just has to be a community police officer every day and also camera surveillance.”
“They let it all happen and walk on their shoes. You never see the police here. The community police officer holds office hours once a month. Of course that makes no sense. There just has to be a community police officer every day and also camera surveillance.”
Sjef continues: “When the coffee shops in Roosendaal were closing, we were called together as chairmen of the neighborhood platforms. At that time I already warned about the risk of more nuisance in the neighbourhoods. I was not taken seriously because I was just a milkman. And look around the neighborhood.”
According to Sjef, people in the neighborhood should be given the opportunity to connect with each other again. In his opinion, this is only possible if residents feel safe and live in an environment without broken sidewalks and neglected public green areas.
“Just greet each other and have an eye for each other. That’s how you get people out of anonymity.”
“We have to live here together. You do not have to make large investments for this. Just greet each other and look out for each other. This way you remove people from anonymity and you get a nicer neighborhood where people are willing to help each other.”
“I would like to discuss this with the mayor. He has been invited to my dining table.” Mayor Han van Midden says through his spokesperson that he is happy to accept the invitation.
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