Maelbeek station re-opens after terror attacks

Armed commandos in fatigues patrol the station, ride the subway and stand guard outside the many high profile buildings.

Maelbeek metro station, where, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb killing 16 commuters on a rush hour train, including an Indian national, opened its shutters for the first time since the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. At the entrance to the station, just a few hundred meters away from the European Union institutions, is a carpet of flowers and wreaths, most of which have dried over time. The memories, however, remain fresh for the city’s commuters, some of whom described feeling emotional.

“It’s a weird feeling because it is the first day, but scared … I am not,” said Sven (who preferred not to give his last name), an office worker in the area who uses the train every day.

A wall in the station has been converted into a memorial; people stood silently paying their respects, whispering in hushed tones to their companions, or taking photos of the many hand written messages, one of which read, “I got out alive, RIP those who didn’t.”

“Life goes on, we must continue,”Gauillaume de Brabandere,20, a student at St. Louis University in the city , told

The Hindu. Mr. Brabandere had come simply to see the station today. There was a problem with Mr. Brabandere’s bus on the morning of March 22, so he was late for the train. “ Since the attacks, Mr. Brabandere said his family has been concerned when he is out with his friends. “ We know it is not finished, probably we will have other attacks in the future.”

Armed commandos in fatigues patrol the station, ride the subway and stand guard outside the many high profile buildings in the city – a sign that despite citizens going about their lives, it is not quite business as usual in Brussels.