We stood with Paris, we now stand with Brussels

Four months after the attacks in Paris, it is now Brussels that takes the toll to the criminal folly of terrorism.

We stood with Paris. We now stand with Brussels. And with
Europe. But that is not all. We will have to start fighting
intelligently for our open society.

Four months after the attacks in Paris, it is now Brussels that takes the toll to the
criminal folly of terrorism.

“Our Brussels Office is located right above the subway station Maelbeek. It is only for pure chance
that the attacks of Tuesday morning have not hit tragically our Organization directly”, said Ludger
Ramme, President of CEC European Managers. “But our sorrow and dismay for what happened is
not any less profound: Brussels is our second home, the heart and the brain of that very precious
construction that is our common European Union. Like for Paris last year, we all feel like these
barbarous attacks had happened in our hometowns, and we all feel united in the deepest grief for
the victims, their families and their friends.

Feelings of rage and anger grow in many of us, but we should overcome this quickly and listen to
our rationality. The fear will remain and fear will advise us to stay alert. It is now the time to unite
not in words but in action, it is time to go to places like Schaerbeek, Molenbeek and everywhere
else in our cities to get rid of all these “parallel” societies by bringing hope, education and better
opportunities to the misled citizens that we all have neglected before. And it is time to leave the
issue of integrating immigrants not to weak politicians, who for decades have closed their eyes for
electoral purposes and let all this happen, with areas of our cities completely out of control. We
need to stop this political window-dressing and say the truth: everybody of us is responsible and
everybody needs to get involved to save our freedom. What lies ahead of us is probably the
biggest collective commitment our modern societies have ever been asked to take.