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Madrid dreading anniversary of train bombings
On March 11, 2004, 10 bombs exploded on four Madrid commuter trains, killing 191 people, wounding 1,900 and setting off a chain of events that dragged the country through mourning, outrage, huge street protests, an election, a change of government and the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq. "We're all still a little bit affected," said Enrique Sanchez, one of the first ambulance drivers to arrive at Santa Eugenia station, where one of the trains was hit. "It's way too soon to be reliving all this. "At the time when were treating all those injured people, we were crying. We couldn't believe what were seeing. I remember their faces, every one of them, but not their names because there was a deathly silence. The people had terror in their eyes." The victims -- the survivors, the injured and relatives of the dead -- have told Spanish media they cannot bear to see the repeated video clips and still pictures of the trains that, as Sanchez told Reuters that day, were ripped open "like a can of tuna." The March 11 Victims Association, which shamed politicians for taking advantage of the most devastating tragedy in modern Spanish history, has asked officials to cancel plans to ring church bells at 7:37 on the morning of the 11th to mark the first explosion. The plan still stands. "That date scares us," said Laura, who lost the use of her legs in the attacks and spent nine months in hospital. "I ask you (in the media) to treat the day in the most dignified manner possible," she told a forum on international terrorism last month. Her last name was not revealed to protect her privacy. Another victim said she didn't even want to think about the anniversary. "For six months I couldn't even watch television. I didn't want to see the faces of the killers," she said, asking to remain anonymous because of the nature of her ordeal. Islamist militants -- mostly from Morocco and other North African countries -- claimed the attacks in the name of al Qaeda, saying they were in revenge for Spain sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Seventy-four people have been arrested in the criminal investigation, and of those 24 remain in jail, 17 are under court supervision and 33 have been freed. ABOARD THE DEATH TRAIN Gloria Estelle Jimenez, a Colombian factory worker supporting two children in her home country, was on a train when the first of two bombs went off during a stop at Atocha station. "I never wanted to get off at Atocha again," said Jimenez, who agreed to return there to talk to Reuters. The memories flooded back. Then came the tears. "I saw a man being blown onto the platform. We all started running, screaming and crying. When I was about to reach the stairs I saw a woman who had fallen to the floor. Everybody was stepping over her, even myself. When I was stepping over her I heard the second explosion.
"I was thinking right then, I don't want to die because I have to care for my children." MORE TRAUMA TO COME In the emotionally charged atmosphere, Spain still had a general election to think about, and it still wasn't clear who was behind the attacks. The attacks took place on a Thursday and the vote was set for Sunday. Mounting evidence pointed to Islamist militants, but until midnight before the polls opened the government maintained the Basque separatist group ETA was the prime suspect. It was then that a videotape was revealed in which jihadists claimed responsibility. The ruling conservative party, which had sent Spanish soldiers to Iraq, was swept from power by the Socialists who later withdrew them. Within weeks the bombers attempted a second attack on a high-speed rail line and on April 3 seven of them blew themselves up in a suburban Madrid apartment, killing a special police agent as well. Amid the grief and disbelief, Spaniards took inspiration and civic pride from the way paramedics, doctors, police, social workers and others on the front lines responded to the tragedy. "We have become better people for it," said ambulance driver Sanchez. "We have learned to love more, to treat people better. The whole thing overwhelmed us that day, but not anymore. Now we are prepared for something like this, and a whole lot more." |
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