“Hide of Death” – What is the city of destitution

The terrifying reality of life – on the drug-ravaged streets of San Francisco – was revealed by a permanent resident by filming her route to work. A trail of desperate drug addicts in the Tenderloin..

Tiktoker “Freqmeek” captured scenes that have made the city an international symbol of squalor and despair. The terror that prevails until the first light of the sun.

Between cars and buses trying to move on the road, curled up homeless, drunks and helpless drug addicts are oblivious to what is happening next to them.

“The stress we experience in the Tenderloin just going to work every day is unbelievable. These are real risks we face every day just to take care of your family,” Freqmeek wrote in her video.

“There are so many concerns and protections for drug users and the homeless, but what about the working class who have to pray that they can get to and from work in this environment.

The Tenderloin area is in the heart of San Francisco and close to the Asian Art Museum. It’s just a few blocks from City Hall.

Robberies are up 14% so far this year, while reported drug overdose deaths have reached 620 in the first nine months of the year according to the district’s chief medical examiner.

At the same time, entrepreneurs and retailers – given the situation – are leaving the city center, causing a big blow to the area’s annual revenue, which is expected to exceed 200 million dollars.

A prime example of this business flight is Old Navy, which announced the closure of its flagship store in the area last month, becoming the latest chain to exit the city. Nordstrom made the same announcement.

Last week, the city was widely mocked by Chinese media as it prepares to host President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Other titles include the phrases “trash city”, “broken city”, as the drug issue and widespread homelessness continue to plague the city.

Another headline from Chinese website Phoenix also said the city has fallen into a “cycle of death”. In one of his articles he even states that “The city is one of the greatest cities in the world: ‘San Francisco was once a jewel on the west coast of the United States, now it has become a mecca of crime, the streets are in disarray, and it is slipping fast. to the status of a ghost town.”

On Saturday, Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman held up the city as an example of what could happen in the UK as she outlined plans to stop charities handing over tents to homeless people. “If we don’t act now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug use and squalor,” he wrote. .

City Attorney Ismail Ramsey on Thursday announced a multi-agency plan called “All Hands on Deck” to tackle the drug trade in the Tenderloin, admitting it has become “ground zero for drug tourism.”

It also revealed that 50kg of fentanyl had been seized from the region’s streets in the past four months, nearly double the amount in the same period last year and enough to account for 20 million fatal overdoses.