After the Siege of Tilburg (After the war in the Netherlands)

In May this year I traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to visit Sound Central Festival. The festival. organized by expats, provides a platform for youth and young artists where they can express themselves free and safely.
All in all it was a great experience. I met very courageous, inspiring and above all very normal people and I witnessed a special event. About the festival I made a journalistic comic-strip that was published in the opinion and background booklet Vonk of Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant June 8th. As promised I would tell about my impressions and experiences of Kabul. I want to do this in a special way.
Two years ago I worked on a project 'The Siege of Tilburg' (the weblog your visiting right now) where I presented my old hometown Tilburg, in The Netherlands, as a city under siege.

Heuvelstraat, Tilburg

In the blog I reported on the situation and experiences of the people. During the period the Arab Spring broke out, the project was kinda exhausting itself and my focus was more on the start of another project. It came to a standstill and has never really closed. So it also seems to work in the media. That events get into oblivion when the interest becomes exhausted.
I did not necessarily counted on it that my trip to Kabul would give new inspiration for this project. Maybe this blogpost is also not yet the end, but it certainly brought a new point of view.
What follows are my impressions of Kabul translated to the situation as if I would visit Tilburg a few years after the war.

The peace seems to be returned. Yet you feel that there is something in the air that is not good. Note that a week since I left, Tilburg has been rocked by attacks almost every week.
It's not that you're coping with that in mind the whole day. At least, so I experienced. I do was, when outside my guesthouse, constantly alert and observant and stayed with my fixxer. Apparently it's not wise to just walk around on your own and so it is a very important to have a fixxer.

Tilburg is a rapidly developing city. At the last census before the war, the city had about 200,000 inhabitants. The now estimated number is at least 380,000.

Remarkably is the busy traffic. There are no roadrules so it seems. Some traffic cops trying to make the best of it and drivers are constantly on the horn. Not aggressively, but to let another driver know that he would like to pass. The roads are not very good, but they're working on it. Sand of roads being worked on, is often dumped a street further. So that street becomes difficult to access. A 4X4 comes in quite handy. At first I thought that the city was filled with smog during rush hour, but this is the dust that erupts through traffic. When it rains it is ok, but then it is a terrible quagmire.

Hart van Brabantlaan, Tilburg

In terms of wardamage, it doesn't seem to be that bad. There is much new construction. In the Hart van Brabantlaan for example, you see lots of new buildings. In the citycenter, older buildings are being renovated and some still bear bullet holes. It seems that the people in Tilburg don't want to be coping too much with the past, but mainly want to move forward.
The view from the Piusstraat on the Piusplein with it's terraces and cafes is blocked by a high wall. Only through certain corridors you can get to the heart of the citycenter. Larger, important buildings and mostly houses in the center are generally walled and secured.

Piusplein, Tilburg

Police checkpoints, better known as the 'Ring of Steel', you'll find every three or four blocks. Sometimes you're being stopped and you have to show your ID but in most cases you can continue. If you are for the first time in a post-conflict area you may find it weird to see the policemen with loaded HKUMP 45's (Heckler & Koch submachine gun). But you'll get used to it really quick. As do the U.S. Black Hawk helicopters flying overhead evey few hours.

The people here in Tilburg are very friendly, receptive, sincerely interested, grateful and welcoming. In my guesthouse they wanted to know every day what my program was and when I would be back. If I was late and forgot to let know something, they would text-message asking where I was. To visitors they make clear that they simply have everything, like we have, but that the country is developing. It is not that strange that the power fails several times a day, in which case the generator turns on. Warm water is also not a guarantee. "Welcome to Tilburg". The food is delicious by the way!
During a conversation you'll get to be asked the question of our picture of them on the other side of the world. Well that's hard to speak for the whole country and you mainly tell about your own impression. I was literally asked if we see them as undeveloped and desperate people. The people here want to live their lives but also a clear and honest picture of them being showed to the world.

Heuvelstraat, Tilburg

It was unfortunate I had to leave after ten days, while there was much more to see of the country. I would like to collect, record and publish many more stories. Especially the feeling that I was welcome makes me want to go back again soon when I have the opportunity. Through my visit I developed even more fascination for the country. The people I've met are fascinating, brave and the city and the country deserve a chance. These are not ignorant and desperate people. Hopefully special events such as Sound Central Festival can contribute to a positive development of the country.

The Siege of Tilburg: What do you want to know?

The Siege of Tilburg: What do you want to know?: "Although the situation remains very tense, it is very calm in Tilburg. Of course, everyone is still concerned and many people are still very..."

What do you want to know?

Although the situation remains very tense, it is very calm in Tilburg. Of course, everyone is still concerned and many people are still very angry. The war and unrest have nonetheless not affected the citizens’ mutual relationships. Earlier attacks, military intervention and the presence of UN peace soldiers are much more the cause of tensions. The only thing residents and foreign soldiers seem to have in common is that they do not want to be there.

"Listen, what do you wanna know? What do you wanna do?" An UN soldier asked me. "I mean .. I stay at a base not far from here. It may finally be calm and stable, but there is a constant threat. You can get a bullet in your head any time and it looks like from every window. We have our own patrol zone in the city. We do that patrol every day .. Fighting is almost made impossible by the mandate. So what am I doing here .. What are we doing here? I wouldn’t know. "


"You get these bizarre situations. Guerrilla sucks! Anyone can suddenly become an aggressor. You want to help the people here, but half of them want you out of here .. The Militairy want us to go away, because we stand in their way .. I mean .. You can see that right? "

You can see pictures of Tilburg. Destroyed buildings and neighborhoods and fragments of culture that express the thoughts and feelings of the people. The people who live or have lived here, and died by cause of war. They have seen what is and what has taken place.

These photographs embody the written word. There's no need for explanation. The pictures show what happens when interest and fanaticism can lead to crime.

The Siege of Tilburg: This is the world we live in

The Siege of Tilburg: This is the world we live in: "Days of heavy shootings or uncertain silences. In addition, Frank takes care for his children and provides assistance as a nurse in the Elis..."

This is the world we live in

Days of heavy shootings or uncertain silences. In addition, Frank takes care for his children and provides assistance as a nurse in the Elisabeth Hospital or wherever he can. This is the daily reality for Frank living in the Voltstraat. If conditions permit, he takes his children to the parking lot behind the apartment complex where he lives. If only for 5 minutes, breathe some fresh (er) air, before they have to go inside again. From the window in their apartment they can see the smoke from several locations. Different every day.

"Since the beginning of the war, life is a chaotic existence. We’re still lucky that on the ground floor there is a valve where water still comes out. In the morning you’ll stand in line, maybe you can trade some food between residents, and you go back up to bake a loaf of bread of the little flour that’s have left. The only constant thing in our lives, is the news we hear on the radio (http://the-siege-of-tilburg-english.blogspot.com/2011/01/it-will-remain-dry-today.html?spref=bl). "

During the fighting in Zuid (South), his apartment was taken and occupied by Burgertroepen, and later after the they had left it was taken by The Military. These are the many problems that everyone in Tilburg has. Large-scale destruction and blockades, not enough material to do repairs, and not even speaking about looting.

Destruction in the Voltstraat after the battles in Zuid

"They really didn’t left anything undamaged! I acquired two doors via smugglers. And for the broken windows, I improvised that with various materials. In any case if you trade with smugglers, anything is horribly expensive. And for what you ordered, you have to wait weeks, if not months. The cold is mostly uncomfortable for my children. The only thing I really want and nothing more is a bed for my kids, but there is no way you can get one so they have a mattress to sleep on the floor. The UN handed out blankets, but a blanket is not enough! And so, I am worried about their health. "

For two weeks he had left his apartment because of fighting and the occupation by Burgertroepen and later by The Military. Because of Frank’s job as a nurse, they could get shelter in a room in the Elisabeth Hospital, and in the meantime do his job.

"During those battles it was like a madhouse. At a certain point the hospital was over capacity and we had to go to friends. Sometimes you just don’t go out. On the streets you feel constantly threatened, as well in Zuid, the center or West, it doesn’t matter! You're just not sure of your life! But ’it's the world we live in’, we live from day to day."

The Siege of Tilburg: It will remain dry today!

The Siege of Tilburg: It will remain dry today!: "This morning the announcer of the regional emergency broadcast (why they still call it that I can’t understand!) had the following announcem..."

It will remain dry today!

This morning the announcer of the regional emergency broadcast (why they still call it that I can’t understand!) had the following announcement: "Again a quiet day. A few grenades hit the Piushaven and a number of houses destroyed. The houses were empty so no-one was killed. Although it’s quiet, leave your house only in urgent need. The outside temperature is pleasant and it will remain dry the rest of the day. "

It keeps going on like this the whole month...

What is there to say after a long time about Tilburg? Nothing. Boring. Anyone who want to know, follow the news and already knows. And if one wants to ignore it, then they do and they will not to be disturbed. The residents are worrying less and less. It’s the way it is. It is impossible to predict like the structure of a song that’s build-up logically with verses and choruses. Try to write a ballad about Tilburg and the war. Perhaps when it all ends we can find a logical structure.
But no one is really worrying. They better don’t, otherwise you will not think of the small things that are indispensable, and were once so obvious: How do you make light? Where do you even find light? Who’s got food to trade? In trade for what? Leo two houses away, traded two eggs and a loaf of bread for some AA batteries yesterday (probably I could have made a fortune with the batteries). He had to get rid of them, I think, because other residents were keeping a constant watch on him for days. I'm curious what would have happened if they had known of my batteries!
At Leo’s, they're probably a listening to the radio now! Very important! That way Tilburg and its residents keep being informed. Otherwise we totally missed that the outside temperature was pleasant and it remained dry all day!

The Piushaven, from the Hopliedenkade