The shooting rampage in a busy shopping mall in Munich on July 22, 2016 was brutal but not unprecedented. What an accumulation of shocks it has been in Germany – 3 within the last 2 weeks. I don’t want to dwell on the pain and suffering of the people, which is evident. Instead what is noteworthy is the response the German people are showing in face of adversity.
Less than a week after the attack, I happened to be in Munich and I visited the shopping mall to see for myself the situation and the reaction of the people. It wasn’t a voyeuristic tour by any means, but having lived in Munich for several years and shopped at that very place regularly, I have a bond with the city.
The mall was full on a Tuesday evening with the shops and restaurants seem to be doing good business. At the entrances of several establishments’ handwritten boards at the entrances affirmed sympathy for the lives lost in the attacks, not only for Munich but also for other cities in Germany and France. Some even offered a special discount. I asked one shopkeeper why a discount for a tragedy. It isn’t a tragedy discount, he explained with composure: it was to draw more customers in the aftermath in order to show that life goes on and getting terrified by these attacks is not an option. Simple but pragmatic response, I thought. I looked around in the shopping mall; it did seem fuller than normal. People were eating ice-cream, having their Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and cakes), buying groceries or enjoying an “all you can eat” at the running sushi. Walking along, I came to the information desk and in front was a table, put up after the attack, covered with a white table cloth and a vase of the white flowers adorning it. On the table lay a large condolence book, atleast with a thousand pages. Half of it was already full and there was a long queue of people waiting to write their messages. I stood there for some time observing the people awaiting their turn, talking to each other, gaining strength in their serenity. Indeed, a touching and a simple way to show solidarity.
The state´s reaction has been stately as well. Munich´s police and politicians have been stoic in their response. As The Economist, a magazine on international news reports, Germany has resisted a tsunami of disinformation on social media and calmly sorted out fact from fiction.
Why I am writing this? This is a call for travelers not to be intimidated by these happenings and to visit Munich, Ansbach, Würzburg, Paris, Nice and the quaint town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy, France where the attack on the church happened only two days ago or any place your heart desires to go. Of course, don’t take undue risk but don’t let these terror elements be successful by giving in to the perceptions they precisely want to create. Keep Calm and Travel On!
So many wonderful places to explore in Germany, especially in the Bavarian region – Germany
Less than a week after the attack, I happened to be in Munich and I visited the shopping mall to see for myself the situation and the reaction of the people. It wasn’t a voyeuristic tour by any means, but having lived in Munich for several years and shopped at that very place regularly, I have a bond with the city.
The mall was full on a Tuesday evening with the shops and restaurants seem to be doing good business. At the entrances of several establishments’ handwritten boards at the entrances affirmed sympathy for the lives lost in the attacks, not only for Munich but also for other cities in Germany and France. Some even offered a special discount. I asked one shopkeeper why a discount for a tragedy. It isn’t a tragedy discount, he explained with composure: it was to draw more customers in the aftermath in order to show that life goes on and getting terrified by these attacks is not an option. Simple but pragmatic response, I thought. I looked around in the shopping mall; it did seem fuller than normal. People were eating ice-cream, having their Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and cakes), buying groceries or enjoying an “all you can eat” at the running sushi. Walking along, I came to the information desk and in front was a table, put up after the attack, covered with a white table cloth and a vase of the white flowers adorning it. On the table lay a large condolence book, atleast with a thousand pages. Half of it was already full and there was a long queue of people waiting to write their messages. I stood there for some time observing the people awaiting their turn, talking to each other, gaining strength in their serenity. Indeed, a touching and a simple way to show solidarity.
The state´s reaction has been stately as well. Munich´s police and politicians have been stoic in their response. As The Economist, a magazine on international news reports, Germany has resisted a tsunami of disinformation on social media and calmly sorted out fact from fiction.
Why I am writing this? This is a call for travelers not to be intimidated by these happenings and to visit Munich, Ansbach, Würzburg, Paris, Nice and the quaint town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy, France where the attack on the church happened only two days ago or any place your heart desires to go. Of course, don’t take undue risk but don’t let these terror elements be successful by giving in to the perceptions they precisely want to create. Keep Calm and Travel On!
So many wonderful places to explore in Germany, especially in the Bavarian region – Germany
