HOla to all the Espanoles and my mmers.
My heart and prayers are with all of u on this day of horrer. This does bring back memories of 9/11. I wish u all well and ur families. I do believe that with ur strength and faith and support of all those who love u, spain especailly madrid will overcome this day. I just wonder what is our world comming to. I know however upon my arrival to ur beautifull city in the next copule of weeks, ur warmth will be there. I will keep in touch. Ques Dios Los Bendiga, Besos y abrazos.
Su amiga Lily

we are all ok, no one at work nor family or friends have been hurt by the attacks or their results. I was just in the office when it happened and I can tell you, we were all nervously looking at seeing who would come in to work and we called all who were late or not coming.
These kind of actions serve no purpose and nothing constructive comes from destructing life. Love to all of you and all my support to you who need to deal with the loss of loved ones.

We will definately be there tonight at 7 to demonstrate our support to the victims and to condemn these actions.

I would like to quote the words of a wise man:

"Destruction is not the law of humans. Man lives freely only by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him.
Every murder or other injury, no matter for what cause, committed or inflicted on
another is a crime against humanity"

Well after I responded I almost had a heart attack. I was online reading articles about the bombings to inform some friends and I saw a map of where El Pozo and Sta Eugenia were with the neighborhoods named. I had NO idea they were in Villecas. My three best friends in Madrid live there and always take the train direction Atocha to go to school.

So I was a little worried because I hadn�t called them this morning. Ran home and called. Two of them didn�t answer their cells and the other was "no disponible." I started to really worry. I called my friend Sandra. She said she�d been calling since 8 AM and nothing. But one of them lived near her and she knew she was okay because she takes the bus. One of them is really into fan clubs so I was on the phone calling everyone I knew in the David Bisbal fan club and they, too, had been calling since 8 AM without success. By the time I got to the last number I had I was already crying. They promised me as soon as they located him, they�d call.

Well at 5.30 my friend Ivan called me because Tono told him that I was really upset. He said, "No me quedaba bateria asi deje el movil en casa. Porque te estas preocupando? Siempre cojo el autobus al cole." I have NEVER felt so relieved in my life. I don�t know WHAT I would have done if something had happened to Ivan and Javi. They�re just two of the nicest, most open and friendly people I�ve ever met in my life. They said things are really bad in their neighborhood, but thankfully nobody they know has died.

Death toll in my friends� family: 1 cousin of my excoworker in Lloret.

Melinda

It looks like our student population at the academy will remain unchanged. However, one of our students lost two teenage friends in the Santa Eugenia blast as she just moved to our community from there and would have normally been on that train with them. She actually came to class last night, poor thing. She was a mess. We did the best we could to console her, but what can you say. What a tragedy! Why?!

I also learned of a friend whose coworker was in one of the wagon's of the Atocha blast and he miraculously survived. He wandered around most of the day in shock and actually appeared at work around lunch time. They sought help for him immediately because he was in a tremendously emotional state.

quote:

I really took exception to Roland's political opportunism in one of the previous replies in this topic.

I'm sorry if you think I'm being political opportunistic at this time. It may be the anger and stress I've experienced in the last few days that may be making me lash out at those I feel responsible.

I assure you though I'm not here to score political points. I live just down the street from Atocha and having regularly taken those trains, I cannot begin to tell you how hard it is for me now.

I added that post because I saw people (especially Aznar) rushing to place the blame squarely on ETA without bothering to wait for proof.

I may be rushing to place blame too quickly as well. But believe me this is not just "political opportunism".

- Roland

Our deepest sympathies from here in Asturias. I lived in Madrid before and I am told the tally in my former company is 1 dead 3 injured as many lived in the Alcal� corridor. I can only imagine this all over Madrid today. We have just finished a work stoppage here.

One shouldn't be finger pointing before knowing the results of any investigation.

We have one hospitalised from my job and my husband's office has one dead and several in the hospital.

The main difference with other terrorist attacks in Spains for me is that this attack was aiming to kill as many civilians as possible. Thank god all of the 10+ bombs didn't go off in the Atocha station as the murderers had planned. We'd have seen over 1,000 dead!

My sympathies to everyone!

Roland and everyone non-Spanish or who hasn't been living here long enough to be familiar with ETA's terror,

Of course we blame ETA from minute one after this happened, and I can assure you, you would too; ETA had killed 851 people until yesterday: military, civil, politicians, journalists, policemen/women, children, babies (it happens when you place bombs in cars knowing that they'll explode when the 'guardia civil' dad takes the twin toddlers to kindergarden the next morning, you know?), ex-ETA's members...you name it; and wounded countless (plus all the mutilations, kidnappings, blackmail....who can ever forget the 48hrs. from hell the whole country spent hoping/praying they'd spare Miguel Angel Blanco's life in 1997?!!!) performs death-threats and extorts hundreds of people, mostly entrepreneurs, from their "beloved" Basque land on a daily basis; a deadly trickle over the last 35 years....

Right now everything seems so confusing, and to tell you the truth, the thought that besides ETA's now we have to live with other people's crimes is quite unbearable.
I just wished the fact that this time ETA has changed their modus operandi a little was a sign that they are desperate and in its death throes.

I agree 100% President Aznar commited huge mistakes regarding the handling of the Irak attack/invasion, but let's not confuse things, please, he IS NOT a murderer; and he's someone who has, at least, been "fighting" against ETA quite succesfully.

Today at noon while we were all downstairs silently demonstrating our appall, the death of 3 girls who worked for another company in our office building was confirmed....

Here in England we have constant coverage and updates. Our most sincere thoughts are with you at this sad time.

Rosie

i was so saddened and angry to hear about the bombings. i'm glad to know that so many of my dear friends in madrid are safe, though i mourn with all the people who have lost friends and family members. my heart and prayers are with you guys.
desha

Roland wrote...

quote:

This bombing does not follow the ETA modus operandi. They normally plant bombs, warn the authorities, wait for them to clear the station, and then set the explosives off.

Roland, this actually did follow the ETA "mo", they left various "mochila-bombas" (backpack bombs) as traps to explode when the police arrived but they were luckily detonated under control by the bomb squad. they also used the same explosive combination that ETA normally uses.

so, while this attack may have ALSO had the fingerprints of others on it, it also screamed ETA.

laurencio, even if ETA are not responsable for this one (unlikely), they deserve the finger-pointing anway, i am sure you will agree.

saludos,
jer...

For those of you in Madrid, and through out Spain, please add my prayers to yours at 19 hours tonight.

Like so many others, my heart and tears have been with you for the last nearly 30 hours - I'm so just so grateful that the mm community and their families are safe -

Wendy

Quite honestly anyone who puts a bomb on a train - to me they are complete shit and I don't care where that person is from or what group they are part of. Who puts a bomb on a train? Or in a mosque? Or blows up a building?

I saw this in NYC and Barcelona and now again, this will just keep on happening.

My heart cries for the wonderful people of Spain. Your history is such a noble history and your people are such a brave and noble people. We the people of the U.S.A. grieve with you in these dark hours.
My prayers are for peace beyond all understanding for all the families and friends of the deceased and wounded. May God bring healing to all physically wounded and spiritually wounded. People of Madrid and all of Spain, I love you.
dboz

I found this interesting article in the Washington Post about ETA.

I hear you Paloma. My emotions and thoughts are like most people's. Shock, anger, fatigue, and disbelief. I need to back off a bit from accusing the PP, protest the violence, and wait for the truth to be found.

- Roland