Brussels Midi Station, once a stately gateway to Belgium, has turned into festering sore of nation

By RAF CASERT and SYLVAIN PLAZY
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium has acknowledged that its primary rail gateway has become a festering sore of drug abuse, poverty and violence. The Brussels Midi Station is a major stain on a nation preparing to take on the presidency of the European Union next year. The government vows to tackle the problem, but critics action is coming way too late. Others say that any cleanup operation will only push the big-city problems to other neighborhoods. Belgium is one of the wealthiest nations in the world with a major tourism industry but has disregarded the Midi Station for decades.