11-M
Wow, I still cannot believe that it's been 2 years since I've been in Spain; 2 years since the Madrid train bombings. I still remember going to class that day, as if it were any other day, when out of the blue, the program director, Jesus, had to talk to all of us for a few minutes, and I thought, "I want to go back home and sleep, what's with the meeting?" I remember spending several minutes on my phone card, calling all of my best friends (and even some people I don't talk to anymore, wow!), and of course my family, and letting them know that I was OK. I remember that no one had a clue what I was talking about, even though at that point, it had been about 6 hours after the first bomb went off. At LEAST. I remember going home, having sad talks about what was going on with my madre, and I remember the first couple days, where many people in that part of Spain thought that it was ETA, the separatist group in the Pais Vasco part of Spain who had been causing trouble and terrorizing the country for years. I remember all the evidence that poured out within the next few days-- the cell phone, the fact that it was exactly 911 days after 9-11, the fact that it was exactly 2 1/2 years later-- and all the confusion about who did it and why. I remember many people in my group being upset because they couldn't go out of town that weekend because at the time, they thought it was not over. I remember going to the Plaza Mayor the next night for the vigil/rememberence thing they had going on. That usually walking down Calle Zamora takes 5 min, but that night, it took me over an hour to get to the plaza from the circular church because there were just that many people waiting to get to the plaza to set down oragami cranes, flowers, candles, and the like. The psosters of handprints (which I still dont understand) in support of the victims. The fact that the next day was rainy and I wanted to take pictures, but they all ended up crappy because there wasn't enough lighting. Going to one of the vendors on the street to get the newspaper. Reading the newspaper several times and looking at the pictures-- and how vivid they were. Thinking about how never in my life had I seen pictures such as those, and how that would never happen in the US because of censorship. Watching the news on TV, and the death tolls go up, and finally relaxing after the numbers stopped rising so dramatically. The spanish flag that I always saw afterward on TV and in the Plaza with the black rememberence ribbon. Going to Madrid just 2 weeks later and taking pictures of the Atocha train station, just thinking, "wow . . . " Going to the memorial site at Atocha with some of my friends, about to cry some more. Writing on the memorial wall, "When will the world live as one? Estamos con vosotros." Protesting the war in Iraq with the Spaniards in Madrid. Knowing how profoundly this all changed the political scene in Spain. Knowing that until 3 days before the election, there was almost no way Aznar could lose, and then, because of the terrorist act, he lost, because many spaniards wanted to pull their troops, and Aznar refused. The fact that it wasn't until this happened that I even gave a lick about politics at all, and that after 11-M, I knew that I had to vote in the 2004 election. The fact that it made me know and care more about the news and world events. The fact that a little while later, I was talking to the shoe salesman, who knew all about 9/11 and made me realize that just as the world was aware of that horrible event, so should the world have been aware of 11-M. I will always remember 11-M and everything that came from it-- the horror of those who died such an untimely and terrible death, and the photos; the knowledge I gained of the world and my surroundings; and most of all, I think-- the awe, that so many people could come together-- 2 million people I believe it was in Madrid's plaza mayor-- after such an event, and how amazing it felt to see how people from different cultures come together like that, and how inspiring it was to take part in the protests and the vigil.
For those who lost loved ones in 11-M, whoever you are-- you will always be in my heart. For those who sacrificed their health so that it did not turn out to be worse, you will always be heroes to me. For all those who were in Salamanca with me who got to witness the event, never forget what it felt like, because I never will.
For those who lost loved ones in 11-M, whoever you are-- you will always be in my heart. For those who sacrificed their health so that it did not turn out to be worse, you will always be heroes to me. For all those who were in Salamanca with me who got to witness the event, never forget what it felt like, because I never will.