Be on guard if you are visiting Belgium
Last
Monday, March 9, I was on a flight from Philadelphia
to Brussels . The
reason for my business trip: I was to host a business workshop in Antwerp on Wednesday and
present a talk there, too. My British Airways flight left on time in the
evening of Monday to arrive the next morning in London ’s Heathrow airport. Heathrow still
does not have enough jetways or jet bridges, so all the passengers had to be
transported by buses to Terminal 5 from our plane.
There inside
the terminal I spent two hours relaxing in the Executive Lounge before my
connecting flight for Brussels
would leave. Since I did not have any checked out luggage it was a quick
process to be in the exit lounge area of the airport. There I sent a text
message to Sandy, a colleague of mine, who was supposed to be waiting for me
there. Her flight was supposed to have arrived an hour earlier. But when she
did not respond I started looking out for her inside the exit lounge area. She
was nowhere to be found.
Spotting
an empty chair next to a white European young woman, who was sitting and seemed
like a passenger with a big suitcase and a small bag, I asked if it was
available to put my computer bag there. She said okay. After putting my computer
bag there and my carry-on bag on the floor next to the empty chair, I made a
phone call to my colleague from my cell phone at 11:23 A.M. I was fortunate to find
Sandy
responding on the other end of the phone. She had taken a limousine that morning,
which had come to pick her from the airport to Radisson Hotel in Antwerp . She said that
there was another limousine driver waiting for me, too, at the airport, and
that I should be able to quickly spot him under the company flag.
Hardly had
I spoken for a minute with Sandy
with my back to my bags when turning around I could not spot my computer bag any
more on the chair. I quickly told Sandy as to
what had just happened that I had possibly become a victim of an organized
theft inside Brussels
airport. I promptly ended my call with Sandy
and asked the young girl sitting on the chair next to where my bag once
belonged if she had seen anyone pick my computer bag. She said she did not. I
simply could not believe her answer. It appeared so odd that someone sitting
next to my computer bag would not notice such a theft unless she herself was a
party to the crime. Without proof, I can’t, of course, accuse her of committing
the theft or being a party to the crime gang. I ran towards the main exit gate
to spot anyone carrying my computer bag, but could not find anyone. I tried to
find anyone sitting or walking inside the exit lounge with my bag, but could
not find anyone. I inquired about police.
Sadly, no
police was available on the main floor, near the crime scene. So, I searched
for the airport Information desk. The lady in the counter told me to go
upstairs and find the police office. It was not an easy find and took precious
minutes away when I ultimately found the security police office in one corner. After
dialing a number and mentioning that my computer bag got stolen, the door to
the office opened up and a police officer by the name of De Ruysscher let me
in. He took the theft report from me. I told him exactly the time when the
crime probably had taken place since my smart phone could provide me the
precise time when I had made the call to Sandy .
He said that the airport has security cameras and might be able to find the image
of the criminal. In spite of my request to visit the crime spot, he declined to
come down saying that he knew the spot well. He appeared helpful though and
dialed my company’s computer Helpdesk office to seek information on serial
number of my laptop computer. After nearly spending an hour with him, I came
down again looking out for my computer. By that time, the young girl was
nowhere to be found.
I was
able to find the limousine driver waiting for me and disclosed to him as to
what had happened to me. He was not surprised saying that shortly after I had
lost my computer bag there was a Chinese traveler who also lost his bag.
Apparently, the Brussels airport is one of the
most insecure airports in the Europe with some
organized crime gangs operating unscathed inside who victimize un-mindful
passengers.
I was
told as Brussels
had become the center of the European Union the crimes in the city had
skyrocketed for at least a decade. I surely fit into the mold of a targeted
victim who seemed more interested to spot my colleague than minding my bags. I
trusted the young white European girl to be on the watch while I turned my back
to her while making call to Sandy .
It is possible that she herself put my bag inside her large suitcase while I
was talking with Sandy .
God knows what truly happened and who did it! But I can’t ignore the possibilities.
Although the idea of taking her picture with my phone camera did come to my
mind, I did not take any picture. There were many Africans also sitting in the
exit lounge of the airport, as were other Europeans. Anyone of them could be
part of such an organized crime gang victimizing passengers.
I have been
a frequent traveler for nearly a quarter century. Never before was I a victim
of theft inside an airport although I had heard of similar stories from others
traveling into various European cities, esp. Rome ,
Paris , Madrid , Barcelona and Athens .
Although all the countries of South Asia are
poor, in any of my more frequent trips there over the last four decades, I did
not face theft personally or know of anyone being a victim of theft inside the
airports there. As a very cautious traveler I have always been on my guard but
did not realize that it was my turn to become a victim. And where else but Brussels for that rude
awakening!
As a
former colony of other European countries and herself once a colonizer of vast
territories in Africa, e.g., Belgian Congo (Zaire/Congo) and Rwanda, the
Kingdom Belgium –sandwiched between Germany and Holland – is trying to find her
true identity these days. It is a founding member of the
European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several
other major international organizations such as the NATO. With a population of
nearly 11 million people, it is roughly one-fifth the size of Bangladesh . It
is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking,
mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59%
of the population, and the French-speaking,
mostly Walloon population and Brussels inhabitants, which comprises 41% of
all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who are officially recognized.
Although Roman Catholicism has traditionally been Belgium 's majority religion, only a
quarter of the Belgians today claim to be Catholic these days.
I reached Antwerp , which with a population of half a
million people is by far the most populous Belgian city, shortly after 2 p.m.
on Tuesday. On my way I noticed many Hasidic Jews living in the city. The city
also has a sizable number of Turkish and other Muslims. The Antwerp
metropolitan area is currently the second largest in Belgium . The city is located on the
river Scheldt, which is linked to
the North
Sea by the Westerschelde estuary. The Port
of Antwerp is one of the biggest ports in the
world, ranking third in Europe and within the top 20 globally. The city has many historical landmarks including
churches and the municipal city hall building.
We were
invited by the city mayor to visit the city hall, which is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Erected in 1565,
it was observing its 550th year anniversary. A tour guide showed us
many parts of the city detailing its rich history.
Before leaving the city for my
return trip to Philadelphia
on Friday morning, all the inquiries from the hotel about my stolen laptop to
the airport police office turned out negative: they were not able to find
anything. That tells a lot about how insecure and unsafe Brussels airport has become.
So, if you are visiting Brussels : be on your
guard. Apparently the city has become also the crime capital for theft in Europe !
Comments
Post a Comment