Attacks in Brussels, Belgium

[Fundie Bunny]

Watching the news. They are talking of 34 deaths and over 130 injured. The number is still raising

[Imaginary_Wonderland]

This is just awful! Really horrible news to wake up to.

 I regularly travel to Brussels over last 2 years, and even spent 2 months living there in mid January- March last year, and 3 months in August-October the previous year. I meet some lovely people while staying there, which I really appreciated and remember well as it was a real rough time for me, lowest point in my life then.

I was meant to travel again a few weeks ago but cancelled the appointment and changed it to end of April. The last time I was there, it was about a month after the Paris attacks and Zaventem airport had lots of army vehicles and patrols going on in the airport. It was a tense atmosphere and I felt on edge being there.

My thoughts are with those affected by this, and hope the number cited already does not rise any further.

[silverspoons]

My son texted me that there were several LDS missionaries at the airport , one they believe that graduated from his high school last year seriously injured.  I can't bring myself to look at the seminary mission wall. I have watched the young people open their mission call letters this week , and living in rural Utah most of this 18 year olds have never left the region or ever watch tv and have no idea where they are going off to.

[Myrtille]

Stay safe, people, wherever you are.

[sawasdee]

I'm actually very surprised to find this thread so quiet. Many of the earlier posters were Europeans - the US and Canada were abed - but I would have thought most know by now, and would have expected more reaction. Or are we all tragedied out?

[samurai_sarah]

I just found out, and am so very sorry for the victims and their families. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this pointless violence.

[Sundaymorning]

My family members are thankfully fine. One was incredibly lucky, he was sick today and stayed at home, otherwise he might have been affected. His wife is still somewhere in town as she couldn't get home yet since everything is locked down, but we hope that she will make it home safely soon.

[Iamhispurity]

I am really hoping that this will not give any more rise to right wing parties over here. Their influence and growing power already scare the shit out of me, but the tons of online comments and opinions calling for a refugee stop or the death of all muslims right now make me worried. In the light of this tragedy we have to stand to together and protect our freedom for all of us. I wish everyone would stop hating and instead love their neighbour. We need to show them that they may attack us, but they can not defeat our love, tolerance and liberty. 

We should live on our lives and not be scared. They want us to be scared and hateful and if we are, they win. 

 

[violynn]

Love, good thoughts and prayers to all fj'ers affected by these attacks.  It is frightening and heart-breaking we live in a world that has this kind of violence.  

[Hortense Peyrac]

Again.... Just awful. The shock of the last attack in Paris is not healed. And now, Brussels. So close.

In France, we have just learnt about the birth of a little girl, Thelma, who lost her father in Bataclan ( Paris ) and she'll never know him. And tonight, there are more orphans, victims and sadness.....

All my thoughts go to the victims and their families. Again.......

 

(PS: Sorry for my English)

 

https://www.facebook.com/Xabi-Molia-216690021682078/

[Palimpsest]

44 minutes ago, sawasdee said:

I'm actually very surprised to find this thread so quiet. Many of the earlier posters were Europeans - the US and Canada were abed - but I would have thought most know by now, and would have expected more reaction. Or are we all tragedied out?

Possibly.  The US news sources seem to be less interested this time or perhaps a little more cautious about jumping the gun on speculation rather than fact. I switched from BBC to CNN on in the background when I saw your comment and it seems that the coverage is less rapid fire than over Paris.  Obama just made a statement so coverage may pick up.  

Also the Paris thread went bad here quickly thanks to a few unpleasant former members.  Perhaps some of our members are talking about it elsewhere.

[mausi]

Again. 

[sparkles]

15 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Possibly.  The US news sources seem to be less interested this time or perhaps a little more cautious about jumping the gun on speculation rather than fact. I switched from BBC to CNN on in the background when I saw your comment and it seems that the coverage is less rapid fire than over Paris.  Obama just made a statement so coverage may pick up.  

Also the Paris thread went bad here quickly thanks to a few unpleasant former members.  Perhaps some of our members are talking about it elsewhere.

I woke up at 5 EDT and there was already quite a bit of coverage on the news. I watch CBS and local news was preempted for special reporting by the CBS This Morning team. I've been getting alerts during the day too.

After a while, what you can say? It becomes mind-numbing, especially with round-the-clock "news." The same wild speculation and inaccurate reporting in the beginning. The same recitation of escalating body counts and numbers of the injured. The same hand-wringing. The same anger. The same finger pointing. The same offering of useless "thoughts and prayers." The same minute dissection of every. little. thing.

Are we getting used to this? In a way, yes. It doesn't diminish the outrage, the fear, the sadness, but it's definitely become the new normal, as I said upthread. Thinking this way is not giving in to terrorism and "letting them win." It's being realistic. We'd be foolish to think anyone, anywhere is safe at any time.

[ADoyle90815]

4 hours ago, silverspoons said:

My son texted me that there were several LDS missionaries at the airport , one they believe that graduated from his high school last year seriously injured.  I can't bring myself to look at the seminary mission wall. I have watched the young people open their mission call letters this week , and living in rural Utah most of this 18 year olds have never left the region or ever watch tv and have no idea where they are going off to.

It's been reported that at least 3 missionaries have been injured in this attack. What's especially said is that these missionaries were probably sheltered in that they never left the part of Utah they grew up in, and they never paid attention to any news outside of their Utah bubble. As they were all boys, they probably just graduated from high school, and if they managed to get any college, it was only a semester.

[Ali]

It is so sad to wake up and hear of another terrorist attack. I hope that death count will not rise any higher and praying for all the loved ones of the victims.

[EyeQueue]

Keeping European FJers and the people of Belgium in my thoughts. Such sad news to wake up to.

[blessalessi]

It's the main news item here in the UK.  Horrendous and so very very sad.

[Dandruff]

1 hour ago, Palimpsest said:

Possibly.  The US news sources seem to be less interested this time or perhaps a little more cautious about jumping the gun on speculation rather than fact. I switched from BBC to CNN on in the background when I saw your comment and it seems that the coverage is less rapid fire than over Paris.  Obama just made a statement so coverage may pick up.  

Also the Paris thread went bad here quickly thanks to a few unpleasant former members.  Perhaps some of our members are talking about it elsewhere.

Am in a metro area of the US and briefly awoke during the wee hours when I heard military aircraft fly by.  Remember thinking (for the few seconds I was awake) that something might have happened.

I later read about it online, then turned on NBC at around 12 or 1 PM.  Figured "Days of our Lives" would be pre-empted by the news.  It wasn't.  NBC is providing partial coverage of it now though - a few hours later.

Warm thoughts and best wishes to those in Europe/Belgium.

[Mercer]

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Brussels, all those affected by today's tragedy, and their families.

[ALM7]

13 hours ago, ven said:

Chilling! new attacks in my country. Two large explosions(probably suicide attacks) at airport and three metro stations. Multiple injured and dead 

For more up to date info 

https://www.reddit.com/live/wmk50bsm9vt3

 

@ven, I wanted to check back after your first posting, and make sure your family and friends are safe. Take care.

[Gobbles]

Of course I feel bad for what happened, but I have a hard time supporting or finding good this kind of public mourning. A few days ago a number of young women were killed in a bus accident in Spain (over 10 if I remember right). Equally tragic. Terror in Turkey. Equally tragic. People wounded/killed in war regions. Equally tragic. 

I know that many people have a different opinions, but that is mine, and that is why I usually stay quit during such things. 

 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

41 minutes ago, Gobbles said:

Of course I feel bad for what happened, but I have a hard time supporting or finding good this kind of public mourning. A few days ago a number of young women were killed in a bus accident in Spain (over 10 if I remember right). Equally tragic. Terror in Turkey. Equally tragic. People wounded/killed in war regions. Equally tragic. 

I know that many people have a different opinions, but that is mine, and that is why I usually stay quit during such things. 

 

I agree with you. Those are equally tragic events. Personally the most tragic for me is the accident in Spain. The dead were Erasmus students coming back from a celebration of some sort. Last year my brother was in Spain for Erasmus and travelled around for trips like that. It happens also that I know friends of one of the victims. As she said answering to those asking if she wanted to continue with her Erasmus: that was only an accident on a road, only bigger, life can't be stopped by it. Even if the lives of those left behind won't be the same anymore. 

What happened in Brussels in entirely different. It was a planned attack carried against civilians in front of EU headquarters and into an airport where thousands of people from all over the world transit every day. It was done to murder and scare as many people as possible. It was intrinsically different from the accident in Spain. 

I am sorry and enraged that attacks in Turkey don't have the media coverage that would be due if it happened in other places, but this doesn't take away an ounce of fear or sorrow for what happened yesterday. Even if much of that sorrow sounds fake and over the top especially when used to pursue some political interest.

[Gemini]

16 hours ago, Iamhispurity said:

I am really hoping that this will not give any more rise to right wing parties over here. Their influence and growing power already scare the shit out of me, but the tons of online comments and opinions calling for a refugee stop or the death of all muslims right now make me worried. In the light of this tragedy we have to stand to together and protect our freedom for all of us. I wish everyone would stop hating and instead love their neighbour. We need to show them that they may attack us, but they can not defeat our love, tolerance and liberty. 

We should live on our lives and not be scared. They want us to be scared and hateful and if we are, they win. 

 

praying for all involved and sending love to all our members in Belgium 

 

Unfortunately I'm getting to the point when I'm realising it's not lack of knowledge or ignorance with these people. it's nothing more that trying to validate their racistism. 

Yesterday I was part of a conversation on Facebook where a woman was trying to justify her racist views on Arabs by showing YouTube videos of European youths saying that Arabs were destroying their country! When she was asked for legitimate evidence, she had a full blown hissy fit and declared herself the victim of attack by the people who didn't share her views! There's no reasoning with racists!

[ALM7]

1 hour ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

I agree with you. Those are equally tragic events. Personally the most tragic for me is the accident in Spain. The dead were Erasmus students coming back from a celebration of some sort. Last year my brother was in Spain for Erasmus and travelled around for trips like that. It happens also that I know friends of one of the victims. As she said answering to those asking if she wanted to continue with her Erasmus: that was only an accident on a road, only bigger, life can't be stopped by it. Even if the lives of those left behind won't be the same anymore. 

What happened in Brussels in entirely different. It was a planned attack carried against civilians in front of EU headquarters and into an airport where thousands of people from all over the world transit every day. It was done to murder and scare as many people as possible. It was intrinsically different from the accident in Spain. 

I am sorry and enraged that attacks in Turkey don't have the media coverage that would be due if it happened in other places, but this doesn't take away an ounce of fear or sorrow for what happened yesterday. Even if much of that sorrow sounds fake and over the top especially when used to pursue some political interest.

@laPapessaGiovanna, you expressed the response to ones emotions perfectly.  Recent attacks, past acts of terrorism, genocide, natural disasters, horrific accidents, horrible acts of violence (shootings etc.), mass starvation, epidemics, it never seems to stop.  You provided clarity, and put the situation in proper perspective, thank you.   

[Mercer]

Yesterday there was an active shooter situation near the building where I was in a meeting. The police were able to locate the shooter a couple of blocks away, but when the situation first started the reports were confusing and all we knew was the general area. Fortunately it ended reasonably well (no one was killed, most of the shots didn't hit anybody, and after a standoff of a few hours the shooter was arrested) but it made for a really weird and saddening afternoon.

After that, it was hard to come home and know how to reply to news of a terrorist attack. It wasn't that I didn't care, but it just wasn't easy to find the words to talk about it. 

Obviously I'm not trying to compare the two things, because there's no comparison, but the local incident was very much affecting my state of mind when I was trying to figure out how I wanted to respond to the Brussels tragedy. My mind was kind of blank for what I could say about it, and it took me awhile to formulate even the simple thoughts I eventually expressed.