THE HORROR HIDDEN
Brussels seems comfortably unaware of its sordid roots. The Royal Palace still stands majestically on the rue Brederode. The buildings that administered the rape of the Congo have been long gone. Behind the palace astride the requisite horse sits the Butcher, himself, Leopold II, forever ossified in a statue. The renovation of this palace, its glittering greenhouses, the splendid chÈÆ'teau, Laeken, where the royal family lives, the gigantic, heroic Cinquantenaire arch give no hint that all this and much more of Belgium came from stolen lands and severed hands, an ocean of blood, murdered families and hordes of abandoned orphans. Ten million native Africans perished under the monstrous hands of Leopold the butcher, once perhaps the wealthiest man on the planet.
CODA
The butchers have returned to Belgium and to Europe. They, like Leopold, show no mercy. They kill, wantonly, randomly, completely. Their profit? Who knows? Some stupid idea. In Liege, the gun factories hum. In Brussels, the camellias and azaleas are blooming in the splendid greenhouses of Laeken. Innocent blood runs in the streets. The political butchers in expensive suits remain safe in their bullet-proof government limousines. The horror! The horror!
James Ryan
March 29, 2016
Istanbul
REFERENCES:
Belgian Arms Dealer Confesses to Supplying Paris Attackers, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/1.637034 Belgian Arms Dealer Supplied Paris Gunmen With Weapons
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