2023-06-28 17:05:00
It took a month since his return to Belgium to see Olivier Vandecasteele return to the Belfry of Tournai. The one who was held hostage in Iran for many months came, this Wednesday evening, to tear the tarpaulin which was installed in his effigy.
The crowd was present to come and listen to his speech and see him tear up the tarp.
It was guitar in hand that Olivier Vandecasteele appeared. He then launched into speeches, in French, Dutch but also in English.
“Belgium I love you. We are strong together, these are the words I wrote every night on my left hand to give me a little courage. I read and repeated this mantra. In February 2022, I had to accept that my life was freezing. I was cut off from everything, plunged into silence, without means of communication. I plowed my feelings back and forth. I decided to radically accept what was happening to me while trying to never give up. It was your memory that first held me together. In my loneliness, I looked for those who accompanied me. I called them my nuggets.” he began.
“My executioners have not destroyed anything”
Before continuing: “One day, I learned that there was a petition organized in Belgium. I clung to it like a buoy. I imagined face following face that might have signed it. You brought me home. Your mobilization enabled me to resist. I was told over there that your actions would lead nowhere. It was claimed that this would jeopardize the negotiations. But you accompanied my family in this hell, I will be eternally grateful to you. Since my return, I have understood what you have achieved together. And good God it’s beautiful. Some of you have printed your first posters. Others signed a petition for the first time. You have achieved something exceptional. My executioners did not destroy anything, on the contrary. The world has seen a Europe united once morest injustice.”
And to conclude by cutting the bracelets of his sister and his niece: “Thank you to Mrs. Lahbib, Mr. De Croo and Mr. Van Quickenborne for your determination and support.”
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