The lives of numerous Boston University students changed Thursday when a series of coordinated explosions ripped through train cars and multiple train stations in the heart of Madrid.
The bombings, which killed 200 people and injured more than 1,400, did not injure or kill any BU students, according to BU spokesman Colin Riley, but they did strike very close to home for many BU students in Madrid at the time, several said.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Matt Bezerman, whose hostel was two train stops away from Atoche station – ground zero for the attacks and Madrid’s main train station – saw the confusion and reaction up close.
“[The television] showed pretty gory footage of people and some pretty gruesome injuries,” he said. “It was much more uncensored than American coverage.”
Students on Spring Break in other parts of Spain also felt the repercussions of the attacks and witnessed the nation’s reaction to the tragedy.
Jillian Wyvill, a School of Management sophomore, was on break in Malaga in southern Spain when she heard of the attacks.
“There were British, German and Spanish news stations that were simultaneously broadcasting from ground zero,” she said. “It was all shots of the train and rescuers going through the rubble – very graphic images, dead bodies covered with sheets, pools of blood.
“In the city, most of the shops were shutting down early,” Wyvill added. “In other parts of Spain, there were huge showings of people to mourn the losses.”
The attacks hit home the hardest for CAS sophomore Jessica Ventura, who had a ticket to travel through the Atoche station the day after the attacks took place.
“When the attacks happened, I was in the hotel room and we had gotten a call from our friend’s mom asking if everyone was OK,” she said. “We turned on the TV and found out that the train station and some of the trains had been bombed.
“When they said it was the Atoche train station in Madrid, I got freaked out because I had just been there on Saturday and was supposed to go back on Friday,” Ventura added.
The attacks brought the city and country to a near standstill, Ventura said.
“After the attacks happened everyone was mourning,” she said. “[The government] called for three days of mourning and shut down all the trains.”
The marches that followed the attacks were in close view for Bezerman, he said.
“We saw the Madrid marches on TV, but in San Sebastian up north there were marches in the streets right outside our hostel window,” he said. “I talked to a few people from Spain and they all told me that the people weren’t blaming America, just their own government.”
Students said they were impressed with the people of Spain, who they said showed unity in the days following the attacks.
“Everybody was united by the feeling of mourning,” said College of Communication sophomore Stephanie Naudin, who was spending her break in Marbella, Spain when she heard of the attacks. “The Spanish people are very lovable people, so when that kind of thing happens they become united. It was like the whole country had lost something.”
Bezerman saw the people’s unity as a reminder of the American response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Based on all the marches and demonstrations, it definitely united the people,” he said. “It was just very reminiscent of how our country reacted after 9/11. The people really seemed to unite for the most part.”
Spanish government officials initially blamed the Basque separatist group ETA, which has been identified as a terrorist organization by the United States and Spain, but later found ties to al-Qaida operatives.
While the country mourned, most students did not feel a threat to their safety and did not expect future attacks.
“I don’t think [Madrid] is a far more dangerous place [after the attacks],” Wyvill said. “I think that the people living in Spain are going to be thinking twice about traveling but I don’t think they should necessarily be worried about another attack.”
The response of the government after the attacks made Bezerman feel much safer traveling around the country, he said.
“I felt safe because I knew the attacks were over,” Bezerman said. “There were police everywhere. We happened to be leaving Madrid that morning anyway to head up north to the Basque region of Spain, so if anything we were getting out of harm’s way.”
But while several students said they felt relatively safe, Ventura’s nerves were still shaky in the following days.
“I was really scared because I had to spend the night in the airport [at Madrid],” she said. “I was really scared about them going for the airport too.”