Liège Shooting

Last Tuesday, tragedy struck the town of Liège, Belgium when a man dropped two grenades on a bus stop at the place de Saint-Lambert before pulling out a gun to shoot the people in the surrounding area. This act was followed by the man taking his own life. Within two hours of this truly tragic event, news cameras were on the scene, and media coverage on the event flooded the televisions and radios of almost every citizen. It was a shock to all. It was strange to think that a place where I go almost every week, had suffered such an event. The rest of the week was followed by candle vigils and tributes to pay respect to the numerous deaths and wounded citizens. Perhaps the most frightening element was the young age of many of the deaths. Two young people aged 15 and 17 were coming home from exam week and never made it back to their parents. That is an unsettling truth.

In a country like Belgium, it is easy to understand how shaken the population was by this attack. With a crime rate of 10 violent deaths to every 100,000 citizens and mild illegal activities passing on an infrequent basis, an extreme case of violent crime moved the people to great fear, sorrow, a compassion. As exchange students it was strange to be witness to how it effected the atmosphere of daily activities. It was also very telling about the cultures that the students have come from the level of surprise and lasting effect that it has had.

For example, as an American, I find that I am more desensitized to the violence of the crime than say the students who come from smaller towns in Australia. The crime rate in America is much higher than that of Belgium and therefore, the thought of this crime is not one that would keep me from going back to Liège in the near future. However, that is not to say that I had no compassion and understanding of the devastation it caused many families. One of the girls here who is also from Pennsylvainia hails from the town of Pittsburgh. She said to me after the event that it was not uncommon for her to be witness to those kinds of tragedies. Her neighborhood is located near one of a less favorable reputation. In the evening she can hear the sounds of gangs and gunfire through the night. She was effected and understood the tragedy, but it had a less profound effect on her.

The day after the attack was a day that all of the students usually get together and do something. We were unsure if we should get together and party in light of the recent events. However, many of the students from Latin America seemed unaffected by the tragedy and went out anyway. I thought that this was something that seemed to be rather telling of the culture that they have grown up in. In many Latin American countries there is an enormous amount of crime. One of the young boys here on exchange is from Mexico and has just turned 17 in November of this year. He has been in numerous and separate instances of shoot outs over drug disputes and acts of violence. In one particular case he found himself in a restaurant in his town and when the gun fire began, he had to hide under the table to avoid his own death. After having a life where this is a regular occurrence, it seems to be impossible to blame him for a desensitized attitude towards violence. In a world where that is so common, what is one more shoot out?

It becomes more and more evident the more I am in Belgium the role that our cultural identity plays in the way we interact with the world around us. When we take a close look at the factors of the places where people are from, it is more clear as to why they make the decisions that they do.

Joyeux l'Action de Grâce

This year was my first year away from home for Thanksgiving. I decided that it would be a great idea to bring this American tradition into the Belgian culture. After all, the point of exchange is to share cultures to promote understanding. After two days of carefully organized recipes and food preparation, my two best friends in Belgium and our families sat around a table and enjoyed my home cooked meal. Explaining to my family and my Rotary counselor why the holiday was so important to me and my friends. They understood the history, however the sentiment was something that an explanation couldn't arrive at.

I explained to our group how in 1620 the Europeans arrived in America where they encountered the first nation inhabitants. There was a lot of sharing of different ways and cultures as the indians helped the Europeans adjust to their new and unfamiliar environment. It was from there that they were able to create a sturdy foundation for the years to follow. In reconciliation for their kindness and for their lessons the Pilgrims and the Indians shared a feast on the fourth Thursday of November. Nowadays we continue with the same tradition. On the same crisp fall November day, families gather around feasts of turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy and share in what they are thankful for. I also added that the food eaten and shared at Thanksgiving is always the same because it is thought to pertain elements of the meal enjoyed at the first celebration. Admittedly, there were things about this holiday that I was not sure of. After years of celebrating a tradition, often times we forget exactly how it came around and why we do the things that we do.

For example, I uncovered that the history of the Turkey stems from a fable of Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth the first was eating a roast goose during a festival in autumn. It was at this time that she became aware that a Spanish ship, which was going to attack England, had mysteriously sunk on the way. She then ordered that another roast goose be prepared to celebrate England’s good fortune. Roast goose quickly  became a popular meal at harvest time. The story goes that when pilgrims first arrived in America from England they found few geese but many turkeys. Therefore, they started roasting turkey instead as they were found in greater numbers.

We, the three exchange students, followed this history with what it was that we were thankful for. I said that I was thankful for my two best friends in Belgium, my couselor and his wife who were gracious enough to let us use their kitchen, Rotary international for sending me to such a lovely country, and my wonderful host family who have brought me into their home and made me feel so unbelievably loved and welcomed. We brought tears to everyone's eyes.

This was one of the reasons I feel like we are on exchange. We are here to help construct the bridges connecting people around the world. It is an experience of sharing. The Friday before we learned about the traditions of Saint Nicholas, and Sunday we shared our American tradition. It was a beautiful weekend, that I hope everyone involved realized exactly what it meant to have happen.