Thoughts about Brussels

The first thing I saw when I woke up on Tuesday morning was the news that there had been a terrorist attack in Brussels. The anger and sadness I felt was so overwhelming that I just lay in bed and cried. I don't think we, as compassionate human beings, can ever understand what drives people to do this.
We can analyse for weeks on end and write books and interview ex-Daech members. But to get anywhere close to comprehending why somebody would plan for months and years to kill innocent people? Impossible.

Impossible was the word a Belgian minister apparently used to describe the war on terror. In an odd sort of way, I felt a grim sense of relief that at least somebody seems to be voicing what the people feel. I understand why world leaders have to give the zero-tolerance response that they do. But the problem is so complex, and we don't have enough resources or manpower, 'we' being Europe as a whole.

I know that to say that the problem is 'impossible' is not helpful, nor necessarily what we need to hear in times like these. However I felt that it was an expression of what a lot of people seem to feel, and within me at least, this very human admission struck a chord.

I think that one of the most upsetting things that people are saying is that it was only a matter of time. I admit that when I saw the news, it was a shock, but it was not a surprise. I cannot imagine the atmosphere in Brussels ever since the Paris attacks if that was truly what everyone was thinking. A whole city, afraid. At the very least, in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, we all had the facts to deal with to try and make sense of things. But the Belgians had none of that; all they had was rumours and fear for a good few months until this.

One thing that I find disgusting is sensationalist media headlines saying things like: 'London is next!' and 'Europe under attack!'. This is absolutely useless. It gives no practical or official information and just spreads more fear, which is incidentally the aim of the terrorists. We KNOW that London is a terrorist target. Sensationalist reporting just to sell more copies or whatever is absolutely awful, and is one of the things that annoyed me the most in the days after both the Paris and Brussels attacks.

Sorry that this just turned into a huge rant, if you even carried on reading after the first paragraph. These attacks really have affected me and my friends in Paris on a personal level, even though we don't know many people in Brussels. I wouldn't wish the impact of the attacks on Paris on any city.

Realistically, this won't be the last. But it would be wonderful if it was.

K x