The silence of the victims

Pain and choc was also felt by the Catholic community in Liege, the Belgian city that on December 13 was shattered by a crazy homicidal attack that caused the death of six people (including three youth and a two-year old baby) and injured 125. On the evening of the attack the Catholic community gathered in prayer in the church of Saint-Barthélemy. “A blind, inhuman violence – said the bishop of Liege, Msgr. Aloys Jousten – sowed death and terror in the heart of our city. There is so much useless and unacceptable violence. To the victims, to the families that suffered, to the population under choc, I express my vicinity and my moral support. Everyone has a place in Christians’ prayer in the diocese. I also wish to thank the police and the civil authorities for their courage and their commitment”. SIR Europe spoke to Fr Eric de Beukelaer, ex spokesperson of the Bishops’ Conference in Belgium, deacon in the city of Liege, who was near the area of the attack. We asked him to share his personal witness of what happened.Could you explain what happened?“I wasn’t on the spot, but I was nearby, a few blocks away. It was a rainy, windy day in Liege. I was having a business lunch, we were talking, when suddenly we saw the streets filled with policemen. From the near tables I started to hear voices like ‘grenades, ‘shooting’, ‘dead’, ‘wounded’. We also saw a helicopter in the sky above us. On my cell phone I found messages from friends who were trying to contact me to ask me if I was ok. I wanted to reassure them but the line kept falling. I returned to my office and switched on my computer. Twitter gave the first news. Information strives to be conveyed. On the streets the sound of an ambulance siren was mixed with the bells chime in the cathedral, and amidst all of that noise I thought of the silence that would soon fall over the victims and on their families. I then closed Twitter and I started to pray. I couldn’t do anything different in that moment than to be in communion with those who suffered”. Was it clear what drove the attacker to such an insane gesture? “No, unfortunately we have no more news that was has been relayed by the press. Often desperation and mal de vivre lead people to commit insensate gestures and to hurt other people. It already happened in the past and unfortunately it may happen again in the future”. Are there racist motivations behind the attack as in the Oslo massacre? “We don’t have the impression that the attack was done on racist grounds, also considering that the author of the massacre is of Arab origin and the victims belong to different religions. I think it’s the gesture of a desperate, crazy person”. As a Christian community, are you asking yourselves how you should respond to a tragedy of such proportions? “As Christians we are called to accompany in prayer the suffering caused by similar events. We have no answers to give that others do not have already. But I think that the worst reaction would be to let oneself be overcome by fear, emotion. There is fear, but we must draw close in solidarity”.Is Belgium addressing the reasons why a madman could possess so many weapons? “The investigators are tasked with probing into the details of this fact. I think the best thing to do is to remain calm. If we let ourselves be involved in the polemics or by the quest for the culprits underlining the mistakes that were made, I think we would not be rendering a good service to the population. Fears do linger on, however. But we have to trust investigators and the fact that they will provide us with the right answers”. The victims were young: three youths and a two-year old child. A tragedy adds on to another tragedy…“Indeed. On December 13 a prayer was recited for all the victims by the Community of Sant’Egidio”.