I went to
Brussels for the second time this fall. The first time was more than 23 years
ago. I had spent one afternoon and one
night as was going to New York for my third year in college. I had found a cheap ticket on a flight with
Sabena Airlines, which no longer exists.
Belgium now has a Brussels Airlines I believe, but I never used it. On
that one August evening twenty three years ago, Brussels had seemed quite safe,
quiet and friendly. This September,
Brussels to my surprise, seemed less safe, a lot less safe.
...
I was going
to Brussels to attend the Lions Clubs
International’s 58. Europa Forum.
Last year it was held in Maastricht, The Netherlands and next year the
yearly European gathering of Lions Clubs Members in Europe will be held in
Istanbul. Since this year I am the
vice-council secretary of the Lions Turkish Council, I wanted to be there as a
Lion, but also Belgium was one of the few countries in Europe that I had been
in only once. I wanted to see the new
Brussels as well.
This summer
I had been to China for the first time and I had felt quite unsafe in this huge
country. Strangely, I felt the same “uneasiness”
in Brussels. Strange. The ‘de facto’
capital of the European Union seems to have turned into a city where you need
to be careful. Careful to make sure you
watch and protect your purse, your wallet, your phone, whatever you may be
carrying. In a split second you may lose
your passport and all your important belongings. I had not seen so frequent “pick-pocket”
incidents in a long time. About 25-30
years ago, every time we visited Italy, we would be told to be very careful and
I had tried to be a little bit more careful in Italy, a country that I really
love to go to.
I had been
in hundreds of taxis around the world.
In Europe taking a taxi is usually a trouble free experience. Usually. In Brussels, it was less frequent to
meet a decent taxi driver. I do not
speak Dutch, I speak some French. However
I do not choose to speak French if I do not really have to. Still, I was happy to be able to understand
one of the languages spoken in the Belgium.
When I go
to a country and a city that I do not know well, I always buy a book about the
place and a map beforehand. To be able
to move around a city comfortable, I need a map. My mind needs a map. And I had a map of Brussels that I bought in
Istanbul with from day one. I also got a
more practical city map from the hotel I was staying at as well.
So almost
every time I go in a taxi in Brussels, I knew where I was and where I was going
and the approximate distances. Brussels
is a city you can walk and discover in a couple of hours, but my mind still wants
a map and I do not fight with that need any more. In four days I was in Brussels, I saw taxi
drivers who tried to convince me that there were fixed minimal rates for
certain destinations, that of course did not exit and lucky that I knew did not
exits. I met taxi drivers who tried to
take unreasonably long routes to places that I had gone three or four times
before from other and cheaper routes. It
was very strange to see what taxi drivers in Brussels were willing to do to get
two, three, five Euros more from their clients.
It did not feel like Europe. I found myself scolding drivers and getting
out of taxis in the middle of the roads.
I only had the trouble of changing couple of taxis and maybe paying
extra 5-10 Euros, but some Turkish Lions Clubs members attending the Lions
Europa Forum were not as lucky. One lady
even had her handbag stolen at the lobby of the four star hotel we were staying
in. The hotel management showed us the
signs that they had put in the lobby to warn customers about the theft problem
in Brussels, which we had not been aware of before the theft. I am not sure if this is a result of the
Economical problems in the EU or about Brussels changing after being the
capital of Europe, but certainly Brussels is not the sweet and peaceful city
that I liked and wanted to visit again this September. The weather was amazing. It was sunny and
warm, without a drop of rain, which I was told was to be expected any day in
the Fall.
I had one
positive encounter with an old Tunisian taxi driver. As I got in his cab, we started to talk in
French. I am never confident with my
French. But this sweet old man convinced
me to carry on talking and we had a wonderful talk for about twenty
minutes. As I was getting out of the
taxi, he gave me a very gentle smile and told me that I did well. I found myself smiling back. I was talking only in French for twenty
minutes and we had talked about our countries, families, politics and more.
...
The Lions
Europa Forum that I attended in Brussels was really great. There were very
interesting sessions on service projects in Europe, as well as Leadership
trainings. Every year different
competitions for the youth take place at the Lions Europa Forums. One of them is the Lions European Music
Competition. This year’s instrument was
the cello. And I am very proud to
announce that a young Turkish cellist Dorukhan
Doruk got the first place where 18 countries were competing. Dorukhan really is an amazing musician and
very smart, kind hearted and a very well-mannered young man. In the 21 year history of this music
competition, for the first time a winner played with his instrument with an
orchestra, The European Symphony Orchestra, at the closing ceremony of the
forum to about 1500 people. His performance ended with a standing ovation. I could
not help but think of Benyamin Sonmez,
a very talented cellist from Fethiye that we lost in 2011 at the age of
28. As most of you know, our town of
Fethiye organised its first Classical Music Festival in his honour with the
complete support of official and non-governmental organizations in Fethiye.
Cello was an instrument that I was not very familiar with. Dorukhan Doruk and
Benyamin Sonmez put this instrument in my awareness that is hard to diminish or
take back. 
For more
information on Dorukhan Doruk: www.dorukhandoruk.com and for information on Fethiye
Classical Music Festival, which I hope will continue in the coming years: www.festiyefest.com.
...
I met many
old Lion friend from different parts of Europe in Brussels. Especially dear friends from Romania, The
Netherlands, Austria and from the headquarters of Lions Clubs International in
the US. I had the chance to see Lions
Clubs International’s Past International President Dr. Wing-Kun Tam, from Hong Kong China, whom I had the honour of
meeting in İzmir last year. We had met
in Busan, Korea as well this summer, but only shortly. Of course, our current Lions International President Mr. Wayne Madden
was also in Brussels. Dorukhan Doruk
received his music award from International President Mr. Madden.
...
My dentist
in Istanbul is a wonderful lady from Belgium.
And many friends from different parts of Belgium. I have always loved their friendly, down to
earth but gentle attitude. If I return
to Belgium, I hope it will be to visit friends.
Like almost every piece of land on the planet, life feels safer and
happier among friends.
With love
and light.
Zeynep
Quote of the Week:
“Reality is always kinder than the stories we tell about it.”
-
Byron Katie, “Loving What Is”
Affirmation of the Week:
From Louise L. Hay: “I attract
only healthy relationships. I am always
treated well.”
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