About 100 persons participated on Thursday at 11 a.m. in a moment of commemoration held in the departure hall of Brussels Airport in Zaventem by organisations representing victims of the 2016 terror attacks. Rescue workers and police formed a guard of honour in the departure hall to welcome victims’ families, who passed through it to loud applause, then stood heads bent and hands clasped in front of the commemorative plaque. Two wreaths of flowers were then placed before this monument in memory of the victims, one by the families and the other by police officers. An announcement was made in the airport to request a minute’s silence, during which all passengers stood still. At the end of the minute, the families applauded.
A policeman then introduced Béatrice De Lavalette, a young woman who lost the use of her legs during the attacks, and whom he had found while doing rehabilitation work. He praised her courage. The young woman stood up with the help of police officers and, with sobs in her voice, called on everyone to find hope in all dark situations.
“We must move on with courage and hope,” she said. “I survived and I’m happy I did.” Béatrice De Lavalette also thanked the men and women who saved her life, her relatives and friends, for their support over the past two years, and the other victims.
The names of the persons who died two years ago at the airport were called out one by one, and each
family went up to the commemorative plaque for an individual moment of contemplation. The families then went to the Memorial Garden for the inauguration of a stele in honour of the victims.
Earlier in the day, at 07.58 a.m., a minute’s silence had already been held, with the participation of members of the Federal Government.
The Brussels Times
