One year on: Brussels to unveil victims’ memorial in remembrance of terror attacks

A memorial to the victims of terrorism will be unveiled in Brussels as the country marks the first anniversary of the attacks that killed 32 people and injured more than 320.

Named “Wounded but still standing in the face of the unthinkable” and located on the edge of Brussels’ EU quarter, the sculpture, which is 20 metres long and 2 metres high, comprises a pair of stainless steel slabs bending to the sky in a gesture of hope.

The Brussels-born sculptor Jean-Henri Compère said he wanted the work to evoke hope and pay tribute to public resilience in the face of the attacks.

It will be inaugurated at a ceremony on Wednesday attended by Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, as well as some of the survivors and victims’ families.

On 22 March 2016,  two blasts targeted the main hall of Brussels’  Zaventem airport at about 8am, with a third detonating in the Maelbeek metro station, about 100 metres from the headquarters of the European commission, just over an hour later, during the morning rush-hour.

Terrorist organisation ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lorenzo Vella, a technical attaché at the Maltese permanent representation was injured at the Brussels airport, when, he was queuing along with his pregnant wife to check in for their New York flight. He had said they saw a flash of light and heard the explosion.

“The explosion must have been some 10 to 20 metres away from where we were standing. Debris was flying all over and I got hit in the back. We heard a second explosion and my wife helped me back up on to my feet to run outside.”

He had described the immediate aftermath of the explosion as chaotic with “people crying and running” and “blood everywhere.”

“Outside, I received medical attention. I couldn’t move. Suddenly, outside the terminal, we could see police and firefighters rushing towards the airport. Despite the pain, I had to get back up and seek refuge elsewhere.”

Vella was then taken to the military hospital in Brussels, where he could also notice several injured children. He suffered slight injuries to his back.