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Stewart visits Spain
after attack
By Nicole Stanley
Collegian Reporter
Two weeks ago, David
Stewart, associate professor of history, left for Spain with no
second thoughts.
Just a week before, Spain had endured the worst
terrorist attack in its history with the bombing of four commuter
trains in Madrid. The attack killed more than 190 people and wounded
1,800, standing as the worst attack in Europe since 1988.
Having planned his trip for several months,
Stewart said both he and his family felt at ease, and getting
into the country was no more difficult than his previous travels.
"I just walked up to the guy, and without
even looking at my passport he stamped it and I went through,"
Stewart said. "I could have used anyone's passport, and he
wouldn't have known."
Once in Barcelona, Stewart searched local archives
for evidence supporting a new book he plans to write entitled,
The War of Spanish Succession. He said he hopes to find a grant
within the next year and then take a sabbatical to finish writing.
He also met with Hillsdale graduate Andrew Mitchell,
who now attends Ohio State University and has lived in Catalunya,
Spain, since September. Mitchell is researching his dissertation
on the role of the clergy in the revolts of the Catalans.
Mitchell said the most prominent change in Spain
since the bombings has been in the government. Spanish elections
were held three days after the attack and resulted in a triumph
for the Socialist party who won on the platform that they would
pull Spanish troops out of Iraq.
"Other than superficial political changes,
life has resumed as normal," Mitchell said. "People
are shopping, talking, dancing, listening to music just as they
were before."
Stewart said he also did not notice any changes
in the security of the trains or subway stations. In fact, the
only evidence of the attack was a massive march in Barcelona in
support of the victims of the Madrid bombings.
The protest restricted itself to a half-hour
march with candles and posters bearing messages such as, "U.S.
Out of Europe" and "We hate George Bush," along
with the victim support messages.
With the Madrid attack occurring exactly two
and a half years after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States,
Mitchell said there were some surprising similarities and differences
between the two.
"There was the amazing similarity of the
way people, complete strangers in a big city, were running to
help the wounded get off trains, getting in line to donate blood,
or comforting the relatives of missing persons," he said.
"Just as in New York, a city not known
for brotherly love, there is still a spark that touches people
to help their fellow man."
Mitchell said the starkest contrast was the
lack of religion in response to a massive number of deaths.
Instead of invoking a higher power, as most
did in America, those in Madrid carried peace signs and shouted
political slogans for comfort.
Now three weeks removed from the tragic attack
in Madrid, 14 men stand charged for the bombings, and the hunt
continues to find the responsible party.
Blame has fallen on both the Basque separatists
and al-Qaida, but neither group's involvement has been proven.
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Photo courtesy of David Stewart
A protest in Barcelona, Spain,
after the terrorist attack on Madrid was the largest Stewart said
he had seen. The sign says: "Against Israel support Palestinians."
The march was mainly in support of the victims, but Stewart said
some signs said "I hate Bush" and "U.S. Out of
Europe."
Photo courtesy of David Stewart
People gather for a protest in
Barcelona, Spain, supporting the victims of the recent Madrid
bombing that killed more than 190.
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