If we were to summarize today’s Bucharest in one word, it would be: chaos. Urban chaos, chaos in traffic and in parking lots, chaos in schools and in the emergency rooms of Bucharest hospitals. Chaos in the heating system. Chaos in waste management. Chaos in dilapidated buildings, which have become nests for drug traffickers. Chaos in the Old Center, where acts of violence are no longer exceptions. Chaos in the General City Hall.
Bucharest is, at present, like an abandoned property. What message does this convey? That the administration doesn’t care. The effect consists in alienating the people of Bucharest from their city, in repressing any community spirit and, finally, in driving people out of Bucharest. Residents start looking for peace in Ilfov or in other counties in the region, tourists prefer safer destinations, and the attractiveness of the city for the workforce, and therefore also for the companies that provide goods and services for the local market, decreases. The economy is also suffering from the drop in investment, with no entrepreneur willing to take the risk of allocating funds to an unsafe city.
At this point we are currently. Public administration ignorance begets ignorance, chaos begets chaos, disorder begets disorder, violence and underdevelopment.
We wonder why drug trafficking and consumption has increased in Bucharest? A definite answer is this chaos! The lack of vision, interest and involvement of the general mayors, along with the lack of security in parks and schools, aggravated the crime phenomenon.
Today’s worrying situation could have been avoided by applying serious preventive measures. Education, awareness, prevention. We must stop the spread of this phenomenon that risks destroying entire generations of young people. We have examples of good practice in France, Portugal and other countries around the world. We just have to want to do something about it.
Combating drug trafficking and drug use requires a comprehensive, multi-level approach. Not all of them depend on Bucharest City Hall, of course. But one must begin with the things at hand. First of all, we need to put order in the community. As I mentioned above, where there is no concern for the public domain, where the attention of the authorities for the community is not felt, drugs will spread much more easily. This is the case of heritage buildings left by decay, which have become hotbeds of infection and drug trafficking. They urgently need to be inventoried, monitored and rehabilitated, one by one. As they will be reborn, whole streets and neighborhoods will be put in place, people will move here again, and crime will be substantially reduced, as has happened in other big cities of the world (the example of New York, who recognized the problem of the “broken windows theory” and made the decision of a zero tolerance for criminality.
In parallel, we need to promote rehab centers and therapy sessions. Admitting you need help will never be easy. Consumers must be informed about the possibilities of detoxification. However, in Bucharest, they are few: there are only three centers, one of which is a psychiatric hospital. After careful evaluation, we need to supplement this capacity. In other European countries, there are free drug rehab and counseling programs. Many consumers in Romania cannot afford expensive treatments in private clinics. It is extremely important to promote such measures, which are available to everyone. Let’s establish partnerships with NGOs specialized in the field, let’s give up the taboo status of this topic.
The use of drugs in schools and high schools has become a cruel reality of the Bucharest education system, being a great dissatisfaction—among all the city’s problems—for over 80% of Bucharest residents. This is where we have to start.
It is necessary to implement modern video surveillance systems in all schools and in the vicinity, covering key areas such as main entrances, courtyards and hallways. The Capital’s police must be strengthened, following an audit, and patrolling the areas around schools, together with the local police, is mandatory. Some sectors, such as sector 1, have removed security from schools for the past four years without any justification. Nothing is more important than the safety of our children.
Another relevant measure is the regular organization of awareness sessions in schools, in collaboration with security specialists and psychologists. These sessions can also cover topics such as bullying and online safety. In order to combat drug trafficking in schools, a Drug Use Prevention Program at the level of Bucharest is necessary, with interactive sessions and updated information about risks and consequences.
Obviously, collaboration between authorities, schools, school staff, parents and the community is essential for the success of these initiatives. But we have to do something! The actions must be started urgently, and the General City Hall has the duty to initiate all these processes, to be in the middle of the action and to stimulate dialogue, cooperation, adoption and implementation of the necessary measures to combat drug trafficking and consumption. These things were long overdue.
But time is not lost. Together we change Bucharest!
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