n the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Brussels which claimed the lives of 34 people and injured over 200, hundreds of people have gathered in the city's central square to show their defiance in the face of adversity.
(Reuters)
Visitors to Bourse Square have turned the plaza into a giant message board and left hundreds of messages, written in chalk, of defiance, comfort and solidarity in response to the bombings.
(Reuters)
Belgians and tourists have flocked to the plaza outside the Bourse, the Belgian stock exchange, following the devastating terror attacks, which struck the city’s airport and a metro station on Tuesday morning.
The act of going to the square in itself represented an act of defiance, given that people in the city have been told to stay at home and “avoid all unnecessary movements”.
Bourse square, center of Brussels. Passers-by are writing peace messages with chalks on the ground #BrusselsAttacks pic.twitter.com/EBtuyavhYC
— Little Bxl Sunshines (@little_Brussels) March 22, 2016
Love & Music will bring us together. #brusselsattack #ABconcerts pic.twitter.com/jCWKq0MCD5
— Ancienne Belgique (@ABconcerts) March 22, 2016
Plantu, a celebrated cartoonist from the French newspaper Le Monde, drew a figure which has been widely circulated on social media.
It shows a figure in the French tricolor hugging another in the red, yellow and black flag of Belgium, with both characters shedding a tear.
LES ATTENTATS CE MARDI 22 MARS À BRUXELLES.
— PLANTU (@plantu) March 22, 2016
(Le dessin du Monde) pic.twitter.com/9OCYMhOCpf
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