There is banging on doors, urination, vomiting and sex in alleys and gardens or simply in the middle of the street. For the residents of Jan Aartestraat and Cavaleriestraat in the heart of Tilburg, carnival is not always a party, but mainly days with enormous inconvenience. They are completely done with it. “It’s one big mess here. The condoms are sometimes right on the doorstep.”
It is still quiet on Monday morning. There is already some music coming from Piusplein in the background. At the beginning of Jan Aartestraat there are two public ‘piss bins’, but there are no toilets for women. And with the enormous turnout of partygoers this year, they are really necessary. But if you have to, you have to. When there are no toilets and the lines are too long, partygoers disappear into the alleys and gardens in Jan Aartesstraat and Cavaleriestraat.
“They just sit down. They don’t care. Not even the girls.”
“It’s just terrible, we’re just scared during carnival,” says resident Annie on Jan Aartestraat. “They walk down the street from the Korte Heuvel. Recently they banged on my door for half an hour at night. I was really scared. And here they are all peeing and pooping in the street. This week one came girl walked up, she pulled down her pants and just sat on the street here. “Yes, I have to go to the toilet, so I’m going to sit here for a while,” she said. She pulled her pants up again and walked into town.” , Annie says in disbelief.
The nuisance from partygoers reaches a peak during carnival and the Tilburg Fair, but according to Annie it happens every night out. For example, she says that people often pee on a door across the street from her house and that it has already been replaced several times.
“Once the diarrhea was high on the walls here. That was really so dirty.”
According to several residents, the nuisance has increased enormously since the corona period. Resident Maud also says this. People regularly defecate, vomit and urinate in the firebreak next to her home. She already cleaned up the worst of it on Monday morning, but after a few steps into the fire escape, the piles of vomit are still clearly visible. Maud is used to a lot, but she thinks the poop is the worst: “Once the diarrhea was high on the walls here. That was really so dirty.” The resident also sees that there are far too few toilets for women: “They should really do something about that.”
“I have lived here for 35 years and have been reporting the nuisance for all those years.”
Another resident on Cavaleriestraat is visibly irritated. “It doesn’t matter what I say about it. I have lived here for 35 years and have been reporting the nuisance here for all those years, but the municipality does nothing at all. It’s really nice that carnival,” he says sarcastically.
The municipality of Tilburg recognizes the problems. “Unfortunately, we see this behavior more and more often. This is very unpleasant,” says a spokesperson for the municipality. “We have already provided extra security and supervision this year to keep an eye on the enormous influx, but we simply cannot be everywhere at once.” In addition, on behalf of the municipality, she also wants to address partygoers about their behavior: “It’s just not possible. You are a guest: behave.”