The city of Brussels was on lockdown earlier this week after threats of more terrorist attacks in western Europe. Schools, museums, government offices, public transportation, and shops all ground to a halt in order to prevent another attack like the Nov. 13 bombings and shootings in Paris. Most of the restrictions have now been lifted.
Belgium's capital is home to NATO and the European Union, which means there are fairly high-profile targets. The climate of fear is palpable across Europe, and the economic impact is going to be real as travel fares and hotel rates fall, and there are doubts about whether Brussels famous Christmas market - which draws close to two million annually - will open.
"Remember after 9/11 the economic impact in New York and DC and elsewhere as people stayed in. And in this case they're being told to stay in, and shops are being told to close. So we are going to feel that, and it likely is going to be very widespread," says Rebecca Cruise, the assistant dean of the University of Oklahoma's College of International Studies and a contributor to KGOU's World Views. "But the sense of fear is likely going to continue, and as you mentioned, we are heading into the holiday season. This is big money time. People are going to be out shopping, or are usually are out shopping, and perhaps they will think differently, and also high travel season."
But there are bright spots, and moments of optimism and levity despite Europe's caution. As police in Brussels asked citizens to stay indoors, they also asked them to stay silent on social media in order to prevent terrorists from knowing what was happening in Brussels. Belgian citizens responded with an onslaught of cat photos and memes on Twitter using the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown.
Major police operation underway in #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/DUZwfi0lOO
— Harry Boone (@towersight) November 22, 2015
"Apparently the security level was put up to 4, and the French word for "four" sounds very similar to "cat," and so that's where that came from," Cruise said. "They are hilarious. And I think it is important. Our comedy, humor, we have to kind of humanize this to some level, try to get back to everyday life or to make light of things that really are very, very tragic and hard to make light of. And being able to laugh in these difficult times is important, and sign of being able to move on."
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