U of M student Wendy Motte is a native Belgian and has family who lives in the country. Tuesday’s bombings in the Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek Metro system left more than 30 people dead and dozens more injured.
Although the latest ISIS attack occurred more than 4,000 miles across the world, the severity of the impact has one University of Memphis student fearful for the safety of her family who resides in Belgium.
Wendy Motte, 20, who is a native Belgian, said she was overwhelmingly sad after hearing about the terrorist attack.
The first thing that came to her mind was her brother, a member of the Belgian army.
“My brother is in charge of making sure all the men in his area are safe,†Motte said. “He’s actually scared about fighting back because then the killing may be an ongoing situation. It’s scary because I can’t talk to him as much, so when he gets time, he calls and tells me he’s safe.â€
Motte also has a friend who attends a Belgian university and an uncle enlisted in an army near Brussels.
Motte said many people in Belgium rely on public transportation, which is now closed, along with schools in the area, in response to the bombings.
“A big problem right now is transportation because everything is shut down,†Motte said. “Many students can’t make it home safely now, so they’re having to find places to live. Some people are even having to sleep over with random people if they can’t afford to stay in hotels.â€
A Belgian reporter said law enforcement has led a number of searches around the country in hopes of locating the people responsible for Tuesday’s massacre, yet as of Wednesday, no one has been taken into custody.
Belgian authorities released a photo of a man wearing lightcolored clothing, a hat and sunglasses as a possible suspect.
In the same photo, two men wearing black have also been connected to the bombings as possible suicide bombers. A cab driver who transported the three men told authorities where he picked the possible suspects up from after hearing about the tragedy.
Two brothers, identified as Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, are being investigated as possible suspects, while investigators are continually searching for the third suspect who is believed to still be at large.
Belgium had been receiving a series of terrorist threats over the last few months, yet the amount of devastation done to the country weighed no less. ISIS has promised that Belgium and any other countries against them will feel their wrath even more than in recent attacks if rebellion continues.
In a statement released by the terrorist group’s telegram account: “We promise dark days to the states who have allied against Islamic State in reply to their aggression against our state.
And what awaits you will be harder and more bitter with the grace of Allah.†And one Twitter post from well-known ISIS supporters read, “What will be coming is worse.â€
These series of blasts were thought to have been the result of the arrest of terrorist Salah Abdeslam just last week in Brussels. Abdeslam was responsible for plotting the atrocities in Paris this past November.
British security and police force attendance was increased around the country after the series of bomb attacks in Paris, yet it was not enough to prevent ISIS from attacking Europe once again.
“We are at war in Europe and have been for several months now,†French prime minster Manuel Valls said, according to CNN.
Belgium intends to increase their security around the country and implement more intense checks at the United Kingdom’s border, according to Home Secretary of the UK Theresa May, as reported by CNN.
Motte said she hopes security in Belgium will increase to prevent future attacks from happening.
“What’s crazy is that ISIS threatened to attack Belgium after the Paris attacks, and now it has happened,†Motte said. “But you just can’t be prepared for these types of things because you just never know… who or what’s next.â€
