A man who was on the metro during the Brussels terrorist attacks in March 2016 gave emotional testimony at the trial of those responsible. He stated that the violence and wickedness of the terrorists had stolen a few years of his life and left him psychologically devastated. He also expressed his disbelief and incomprehension of the attack, which he referred to as the “moment T.” The man managed to escape the metro and help other victims despite his own trauma. He concluded by stating that he would not hate the accused, but rather wished for their progress and self-improvement.
Trembling with emotion, a man who was in the third car of the metro exploded in Maelbeek said “violence and wickedness” blind of the terrorists of March 22, 2016. If these acts have “touched in the heart” and he have “stolen a few years of life”, “you will not have my hatred”, launched this victim to the accused, Monday, before the Assize Court responsible for judging the attacks in Brussels.
“Put words on evils allowed me to take stock”weighed the fifty-year-old, for whom “the facts remain nevertheless incomprehensible”. “They tried to assassinate me”he repeated, as if to realize the unintelligible.
On the morning of March 22, 2016, the Zaventem attack was already on all the screens of metro passengers when this commuter boarded the Delta station. “I had a moment of hesitation, far too short”, he remembers. Taken by the flow of people in a hurry, he then boarded “the train from hell”. “I saw a man with a big backpack. I said to myself: ‘Here’s a lucky one, he must surely be taking advantage of his vacation to go on a trek somewhere'”, imagines this occasional hiker. The man with the backpack will change cars in extremis at Maelbeek and trigger his explosive charge at 09:11. His name was Khalid El Bakraoui.
With the bomb flew “the belief in a globally good world and the joy of living”, blackened with smoke and “unnamed violence and wickedness”, said the witness. Neither love, nor the most beautiful poems, not even the much admired and photographed sunsets, the most beautiful starry skies and moonlights will erase this “moment T” when horror has invited itself into life. of this dashing civil servant, father of five children. “On the evening of March 22, 2016, I am alive but psychologically devastated.”
Knotted by fear, the man is blinded by the smoke, assailed by the smell of burning, stunned by the metallic explosion. “The passengers look at each other dazed, the condemned doors do not open”, he describes. “I see shattered faces, I tell myself that I have to take the upper hand for myself and the others.” For his family, too, who “increased his strength tenfold”. He manages to break a window of the car and get out of it. He will then lend his aid to other victims.
Outside the car, a “war scene”, “a butcher’s shop” awaits him. “Nothing moves, the ground is extremely slippery. In my flight, I come across two bodies. I find myself lying on them, on them.” Later, he will blame himself for this “dramatic contact with death”: “I blame myself for having damaged these bodies. I see them once more and once more, I would like to apologize. I entered their intimacy without warning”, expresses the fifties, distraught. It is for these victims that he has sworn to testify.
“March 22 threw bodies to the ground, annihilated thoughts. It forced me to develop anger, to be hypervigilant, to carry out the offense of dirty mouth when a person approaches”, denounces – he. “It is not possible that such acts were committed by sensitive and loving human beings”he launches to the defendants. “The victims did nothing, they had no connection with the terrorists, nothing to reproach themselves for. They are young women, young men, parents, children, brothers, sisters swept away, decimated because ‘they were passing by, one fine morning on March 22, 2016.
“Misters the accused, certainly you are presumed innocent but why? Why so much evil and hatred?”questioned the one who underlines his luck to have been able to get up despite the trauma. “These acts touched my heart, stole a few years of my life but did not steal my soul, nor my smile, nor the warmth of my heart, nor the will to do good. You will not have my hatred. Your salvation will depend on your will to mend yourselves and progress. I ardently wish you that.” he concluded before getting up, shivering but smiling. On leaving the courtroom, other victims come to surround him. Other smiles bloom.
The courage and resilience of victims of terrorism continue to inspire and amaze us. This man’s poignant testimony reminds us of the human toll that such violent acts can take, but also the incredible strength and love that can emerge from tragedy. May we never forget the victims of the Brussels attacks, and may their stories continue to inspire us to fight once morest hate and violence in all its forms.
