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« To the music | Home | Code Red »

No one can reassure that it is ever going to end well

Friday 05 February 2016 At 13th November 2015 I travelled by train to Amsterdam. I was on my way to a symposium at the Free University. Once I arrived in Amsterdam, I had (according to the route description) to go by express tram line 51 to the Boelenslaan. It was a little confusing, because I was referred to the subway station and a tram isn’t a subway as far as I know. A platform assistant saw my confusion and explained that I had to get out of line 51 at the Boelenslaan. First check in, after getting out checking out. And then I was near the University. “It will be fine”, the platform assistant reassured me.
But a while later another traveler, who just like me was not so well-known with the public transport in Amsterdam, directed me up where the trams are. Above was another platform assistant who explained that I really had to get back to the subway station. With the tram/subway line 51 to the Boelenslaan and get out there. “Then it will all be fine”, she reassured me. She was right. Together with Ineke, a student from Brussels who was also on line 51 and went to the symposium, I got out at Boelenslaan. We checked out and later when we went back we checked in neatly. Until Central Station everything went fine and satisfied we said goodbye and wished each other a good journey.
Ineke’s train left before mine and had a little delay, so I heard later. My train had a little more delay than that, turned out soon. “No”, said an amazed conductor. “Your train doesn’t leave at all!” She gazed at the screen of her smartphone. Hours of arrival and departure flashed by. And there were also messages about trains which wouldn’t arrive or depart. “It’s chaos, really chaos”, the ticket taker mumbled. After a new message, she pointed me to a train which probably would leave in five minutes. “It’s chaos”, she repeated. “But it will be fine”. After searching for my train, which didn’t ride after all, I began to doubt if it would ever become fine with my journey. When so many trains didn’t ride for so many unknown reasons, could I assume that I would sleep in my own bed that night? Another nice conductor assured me once again that it would be fine, really! After some searching and some waiting I eventually was in the train which went the right way. In Lelystad I had to get on another train and it turned out that the train which would take me to my city had a significant delay too. But after a while waiting in the cold I was finally in the train home. Just at that time I dared to believe that the nice and helpful conductors were right when reassuring that it would turn out fine. But...there was another unexpected change of trains, my city being almost in sight mind you! Again there were passengers half frozen but resting waiting at a little station. But once in our train we rode short after entering my own station. I had travelled about 4 hours by train for 200 kilometers.
And at home, while I was sitting on my couch, safe and with a cup of tea, in Paris (about 630 kilometers south) a group of terrorists were preparing horrible attacks. On behalf of their view of religion and with the intention to spread death and destruction. No one who could stop them. And no one can reassure that it is ever going to end well.


Translation: Astrid Kostelijk and Piet Commandeur
 

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