| OPEN WOUNDS OF AN ACT OF TERROR |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Tuesday, March 08 2005 |
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| March is a very difficult month for Jose Ramirez Gutierrez. His daughter, Andrea, turned 4 years old on March 4. And if it had not been for the events of last March 11, his wife, Maite, would have turned 34 on March 27.
March 11, or 11-M as it is known in Spain, is a day of mourning for all Spaniards. It's the day, one year ago, when the country suffered the worst terrorist attacks of its recent history. Ten bombs were set off in four commuter trains at the height of the morning rush hour, killing 191 people and injuring close to 1,800.
Maite was among the 76 who lost their lives at El Pozo del Tio Raimundo station. About 10 minutes earlier, she had boarded the train on her way to work as a customer-service representative for a distribution firm, the same one where her husband, Jose, worked as a driver. She worked the morning shift and he worked in the evenings so that their little Andrea would always be with one of them.
The attacks and the loss of his wife have been life-altering experiences for the whole family. Jose changed his shift at work. He takes his daughter to preschool every morning, goes to work and picks her up at the end of his shift. On Tuesday nights, his sister Lola takes care of the child while Jose goes to La Puerta del Sol, a public plaza at the center of Madrid, where he and dozens more convene from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to remember the loved ones they lost on March 11.
Lola is sad for her brother's and niece's loss but also angry with those who caused Maite's death. "Why are there people so cowardly and miserable that they would take so many innocent lives?" she asked. "Was it hatred? Was it power?" If the intention was to cause pain, Lola said they were successful.
But it is doubtful that the terrorists of 11-M had the families of their victims in mind when they meticulously planned their attacks. The bombings came shortly before the general elections in that country, which resulted in the ouster of Jose Maria Aznar as the head of the Spanish government. Spaniards repudiated his support of the war in Iraq, for which he sent 1,300 Spanish soldiers. Nine out of 10 Spaniards were against the war.
It did not help that Aznar blamed the Basque Separatist movement ETA for the bombings, even when it was evident that they were the work of Islamic extremists. The modus operandi for the attacks was not the one normally used by ETA, a group that usually takes credit for its terrorist actions. And those who believe in the symbolism of such attacks point out that they came 30 months after Sept. 11, 2001, and there were 911 days between both acts of terrorism.
Three days after the attacks in Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was elected head of the government, and shortly thereafter he retrieved the Spanish troops from Iraq. Since then, authorities have confirmed that, indeed, groups linked to al-Qaida were responsible for the attacks; dozens have been arrested, and 24 are in prison. And according to the Spanish press, found at the home of one of the suspects a few weeks after the terrorists attacks were detailed plans of New York's Grand Central Station, indicating possible plans to perpetrate attacks there also.
Jose and Lola were among those who voted for Rodriguez Zapatero, and one year later there are no regrets for having done so. But at 37 years of age and widowed, Jose isn't thinking about politicians; on April 4, he would have celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary with Maite.
All he has left to remind him of his beloved wife is little Andrea, who gives him a reason to get out of bed every morning but also serves as a constant reminder of his loss, and her loss. |
