05-03-2006, 07:00 PM
There is an explanation for the events in my neighborhood. Amsterdam is built on peat and the houses need good foundations. My quarter of the city was built in a hurry and after a century, you can see that several houses have become lower than the street level:
![[Image: verzakking.JPG]](http://www.livius.org/a/1/netherlands/verzakking.JPG)
So, entire blocks need new foundations. Now, the city is not terribly rich. Therefore, the normal way to renovate is impossible: evacuate an entire block, give people temporary accomodation, and do the job in one summer. Instead, they do the job little by little. The result is that we have been experiencing noise for about three years in succession by now.
This is sadder than you can imagine. I know a man who had to close his shop for more than a year and decided to look for another job; the shop had been there for more than a century and was something like a local monument. Another shopkeeper, who sold the most delicious chocolate in the world, closed his shop, went on a holiday to Thailand, and drowned. Everybody is convinced that he committed suicide, but there is no evidence. Of course, this neighborhood needs to be renovated, but the circumstances are unnecessary harsh.
Although I don't accept the use of violence in any case, I can understand that someone loses his temper.
It's not the construction workers who are to blame. It is the government, which was democratically elected. For years, lower taxes have been a political issue here in Holland; now we get what we deserve - lower living quality and people losing their temper.
So, entire blocks need new foundations. Now, the city is not terribly rich. Therefore, the normal way to renovate is impossible: evacuate an entire block, give people temporary accomodation, and do the job in one summer. Instead, they do the job little by little. The result is that we have been experiencing noise for about three years in succession by now.
This is sadder than you can imagine. I know a man who had to close his shop for more than a year and decided to look for another job; the shop had been there for more than a century and was something like a local monument. Another shopkeeper, who sold the most delicious chocolate in the world, closed his shop, went on a holiday to Thailand, and drowned. Everybody is convinced that he committed suicide, but there is no evidence. Of course, this neighborhood needs to be renovated, but the circumstances are unnecessary harsh.
Although I don't accept the use of violence in any case, I can understand that someone loses his temper.
It's not the construction workers who are to blame. It is the government, which was democratically elected. For years, lower taxes have been a political issue here in Holland; now we get what we deserve - lower living quality and people losing their temper.
