Reflections of Traveling Overseas During Terrorist Events

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Incidents of 9/11

When I think about the incidents of 9/11 and how the U.S. targets that were hit were located quite distant from each other—the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the plane in flight which went down in flight because the passengers knew what was happening and kept it from doing more damage to a larger target, my mind started to think—be watchful no matter where you are, we are all susceptible to these events.

European solidarity

My thought is that because of the large sprawl of the European Union which is composed of many countries with differing governments versus our large land mass of the United States which is composed of states united under one government and also like-minded in solidarity against terrorism–there is definitely a sense of separation in Europe when it comes to terrorism.

I think that’s why it was such a big statement when French President, Francois Hollande said that the attackers had struck not just Brussels, but all of Europe. In that one statement, there was the beginning of a movement of solidarity.

 

                      

Leaving Dusseldorf

Upon my flight out of Dusseldorf back to London on the evening of Wednesday, March 23rd,–travel became incredibly challenging. People had driven the 2 hours from Brussels to Dusseldorf to make flights out since the Brussels airport was still not back to schedule. Many flights were delayed and diverted.

My flight was delayed and upon arrival into Heathrow airport in the evening, it was astonishing how many evening flights were still coming in at this late hour. The customs lines were so overwhelming.

You couldn’t even see where the counters were—that’s how far away the end of the lines were. It took about 2 hours to clear through.  All I wanted at this point was get to my hotel and go to bed so I could get up early and make my flight out–back home to everything that is familiar to me and everyone that cares about me.

This time upon my return, it felt so incredibly good to be in America. I truly felt thankful.

Closing thoughts

I do realize that we cannot live in a world that is so paralyzed by the fear of terrorism that we decide not to travel.

That sends the wrong message and only takes away our power as a population of free thinking people. There so much to see throughout the world. It doesn’t make sense to stop your life and shut down out of fear.

I love the beauty, the history, the people, and the culture of these vibrant cities that I am so fortunate to travel to for work. We just need to be smart how we travel and be conscious and alert to our surroundings.

Wishing my Latin Business Today family a very Happy Easter!

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