Panic in Amsterdam
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I experienced the weirdest event last night while visiting family in the Netherlands. We tuned in to watch the Remembrance Day ceremonies, including two minutes of silence in memory of those who perished in World War II. Trains, trams and traffic stops and the whole nation is silent.
It was moving to see the faces in the crowd, old veterans saluting, sad-faced people recalling parents and grandparents...a very solemn event. All of a sudden there were screams in the crowd and people started running. The queen and her family were quickly escorted from the scene. There was no indication of what was happening, other than the visual evidence of panic.
We thought we were witnessing another 9/11 or an attack similar to that experienced on the Queen's Day last year. It was chilling as we sat stunned waiting for some word of what we were witnessing on live TV.
Eventually, things calmed down, the queen returned and the ceremony continued. It turns out a disturbed man started screaming about a suitcase and people panicked. All in all, a strange experience and, unfortunately, symptomatic of the times in which we find ourselves.
Here's an account of the event, which received little, if any, attention in the general media. Not that big a deal, I guess, but it sure felt like it at the time.
After a viewing of "The Hurt Locker," one has a better understanding of the panic potential. IED's can be lethal.
Considering that the upcoming Memorial Day in the US is more an excess for a three day weekend and barbeques, it is nice that The Netherlands stops everything for their observance.
When we lived in Israel, everything stops, including traffic on the major expressways. People hear the siren and stop and get out of the cars to stand in silence. I was in a store in Diezengoff Mall in downtown Tel Aviv when the siren went off and the clerk simply left my stuff on the counter and everyone walked outside to stand silently on the sidewalk. I was very touched.
I thought this thread was gonna be about a pot shortage...LOL...Nice to see they haven't forgotten...To bad so many Americans have..
That is indeed weird. With all that is going on in Europe, I'm still surprised at how little coverage it all gets here. Lots of unrest that gets hardly a mention. The Dutch papers said the guy who yelled bomb is well known with the police from drugs to thievery and some assaults. There was one snippet that someone had dropped a suitcase near where that happened but that person was released and not involved. Could it simply be a drug addict who saw the tourist drop the case and he freaked out? Quite possibly. But you can't been too careful. The emergency rooms in the area treated 63 people that were injured in that - fortunately non seriously hurt. Some were children that were hurt when crowd fences fell on them. Very scary.
I've been fortunate enough to be in London twice on Rememberence Sunday in November. The first time we were able to witness the parade of veterans, soldiers and bands as the marched after the ceremony at the Centopath monument. We were also fortunate enough to attend the service at Westminster Abbey. That included hymns such as "Our God Our help in Ages Past", Taps from the organ loft, the two minutes of silence at 11:00PM, the laying of the wreath at the grave of the unknown soldier, and finally a rousing rendidtion of " God Save the Queen". It was one of the more moving things I've ever attended. I had occasion to be in London several years later and attended the service again this time sitting with a group of British soldiers. Those folks really know how to pay tribute to their fallen service men.
In the Netherlands it is really impressive too. The whole country does the 2 minutes of silence. I remember the very first time I experienced that I was stunned. I was riding up north of Amsterdam on the throughway and cars were pulling off to the breakdown lanes all over the place and parking. My friend said, oh, yes, the time, and pulled off too, then explained the moment of silence. A few cars were still driving by, but it struck me how few there were. Having been an occupied country that suffered many atrocities, they do indeed take their remembrance seriously. Even Schiphol airport as big as it is, does a great job at getting the moment of silence.
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Everyone seems to be on hair-trigger. Many have chosen to be ruled by fear.