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Hello everyone!
I am certain that many of you wonder how life is like in London, as you all have seen the images of an exploded bus, bloody people, and mass congestion flashing over your TV screen across the world. I was asleep when the bombs exploded and was awoken by a friend of mine who could not get into the city because of the event.
THE TERRORIST ATTACKS
During the day, I watched the events on television, horrified by the fact that I know each of the locations very well, as I have passed them many times. At first, we thought there had been six explosions and three buses bombed, but that was not correct. At 08:51, the first bomb exploded on a Circle Line train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate Station. At 08:56, the second bomb exploded on a Picadilly Line train between King's Cross and Russel Square. At 09:17, the third bomb exploded on a train in Edgware Road station, damaging two other trains on adjacent platforms. The fourth bomb exploded on the top floor of a double-decker bus in Tavistock Place, in Bloomsbury (close to the British Museum and the School of African and Oriental Studies).
It appeared that there had been six bombs, as people were leaving the damaged trains through Liverpool Street and Aldgate, as well as through King's Cross and Russel Square (because the trains were in the tunnels between these stations). The numbers of dead and injured vary from news source to news source, and will certainly be adjusted within the next few days. Roughly, 40 people died and 700 were injured.
I visited two of the bomb sites with my friends KC and Florian yesterday evening. I first went to Aldgate, where the police had set up a perimeter, about 200 meters all around the site, and there was a policeman standing on virtually every street that leads to the site (of which there are many, as Aldgate is a star-like intersection). On the site, there was a horde of policemen, London Transport workers, and other officials. They had set up a tent, floodlights, and it was clear that the investigation was being conducted with a high amount of care. All around, television crews from all around the world were present.
I then went to Liverpool Street, one of the six main train termini of London. The station was open as usual, people walking through as if nothing had happened. London Transport always posts service disruptions on hand-written signs, one of which I saw. It was written at 09:00, and only stated that there were no trains to Aldgate, Bank, and a few other stations in the area. Clearly, but 09:00, nobody was yet aware of what had happened. As I deemed this to be a "historical document", I wanted to take a photograph -- only to be brusquely interrupted by two security officers who came running and shouting: "No photographs!" I wondered why, flashed my press pass, and they told me that due to security reasons nobody was allowed to take photographs within the station. They questioned me whether I had taken any other photographs in the station, apparently threatening to take my film. I convinced them that I hadn't and left (only to be followed by them until I had left the station).
We then headed to Tavistock Place, the site where the bus was bombed. Throughout the walk there (which is quite far, through half of London's centre, we did not notice any difference to a normal day in London. There was no tube running, but there were buses, cars, and people on the road as on every usual Thursday evening.
At Tavistock Place, the perimeter set up by the police was far wider than in Aldgate. The whole of Russel Square was barred from public access, and we had to make a wide detour to get to Tavistock Place. We could not enter the street, but in the distance, behind a few bushes, we could clearly see the top of the bus, which was open due to the explosion. Only the yellow handrails were sticking uselessly into the air. Again, the area just outside the perimeter was as usual.
As it was getting too dark for photographs, we headed home.
THE AFTERMATH
Today, buses and the tube are running again, except for minor stretches of the affected lines. The tube is being used, but not half as much as on other workdays. The Central Line is spookily empty. London is not in a state of shock, panic, or terror. Every Londoner had been waiting for such an attack to happen, and I have expected it throughout the last three years that I have lived here. The police and medical services were well-prepared for such an event, which is evident in the speed at which police and medical teams arrived. Today's papers state that doctors operated on the street within minutes.
Several things about this attack struck me as odd and lead me to the conclusion that it was conducted in an amateurish manner. I do not have enough information to rule out Al-Qaeda involvement in the attack, but I seriously doubt that it was planned and conducted by veteran terrorists, but rather by amateurs who are fascinated by "Islamistic" terrorism (Islamistic is in quotes, as terrorism and Islam are two very different things).
Primarily, the bombs were very ineffective, as they must have been small (or weak), and placed badly. I know what a London train during rush hour looks like: All space is used up, people are crammed together, and it sometimes feels hard to breathe. To get into a train, one usually has to wait for three trains to pass, and then to push oneself into the carriage. A bomb in such a train should kill more than seven people (which is the death toll at Aldgate). The bomb in the bus was placed ineffectively, too -- on the top floor. Generally, the upper floor of the buses is not half as full as the lower floor (as nobody is standing). Also, on the top floor the bomb has less power, as it can blow the top off, and much of the explosion's power goes into the air.
Also, the bombs exploded within one hour, and not within minutes. Terrorists all around the world have managed to explode several bombs in different locations at the exact same time. Eyewitnesses on the bus mentioned a nervous man, who left the bus shortly before it exploded. Certainly, it was very similar in the train bombs.
Additionally, the placing of the bombs is odd. Two of the bombs went off in Muslim areas of London. Aldgate (which is the gateway to Whitechapel) is an area with a majority of Bangladeshi Muslims and is very close to Brick Lane, which is often referred to as Banglatown. The area is very poor. Edgware Road is a richer area, which is predominantly Arabic. Outside the tube station, there are shops with no English writing on them, and "halal" restaurants are all around. Tavistock place is a two or three minutes' walk from the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), which is part of the University of London. All those who wish to study Arabic language, literature, or culture are there, and the majority of the staff is Arabic. Clearly, the bombs exploded in strikingly odd areas.
London has survived the attacks as if nothing had happened. The terrorists may have succeeded in disabling a city of ten million for a day, but in the long term their goal (terror) has failed.
Greetings from London,
Jan van der Crabben
I am certain that many of you wonder how life is like in London, as you all have seen the images of an exploded bus, bloody people, and mass congestion flashing over your TV screen across the world. I was asleep when the bombs exploded and was awoken by a friend of mine who could not get into the city because of the event.
THE TERRORIST ATTACKS
During the day, I watched the events on television, horrified by the fact that I know each of the locations very well, as I have passed them many times. At first, we thought there had been six explosions and three buses bombed, but that was not correct. At 08:51, the first bomb exploded on a Circle Line train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate Station. At 08:56, the second bomb exploded on a Picadilly Line train between King's Cross and Russel Square. At 09:17, the third bomb exploded on a train in Edgware Road station, damaging two other trains on adjacent platforms. The fourth bomb exploded on the top floor of a double-decker bus in Tavistock Place, in Bloomsbury (close to the British Museum and the School of African and Oriental Studies).
It appeared that there had been six bombs, as people were leaving the damaged trains through Liverpool Street and Aldgate, as well as through King's Cross and Russel Square (because the trains were in the tunnels between these stations). The numbers of dead and injured vary from news source to news source, and will certainly be adjusted within the next few days. Roughly, 40 people died and 700 were injured.
I visited two of the bomb sites with my friends KC and Florian yesterday evening. I first went to Aldgate, where the police had set up a perimeter, about 200 meters all around the site, and there was a policeman standing on virtually every street that leads to the site (of which there are many, as Aldgate is a star-like intersection). On the site, there was a horde of policemen, London Transport workers, and other officials. They had set up a tent, floodlights, and it was clear that the investigation was being conducted with a high amount of care. All around, television crews from all around the world were present.
I then went to Liverpool Street, one of the six main train termini of London. The station was open as usual, people walking through as if nothing had happened. London Transport always posts service disruptions on hand-written signs, one of which I saw. It was written at 09:00, and only stated that there were no trains to Aldgate, Bank, and a few other stations in the area. Clearly, but 09:00, nobody was yet aware of what had happened. As I deemed this to be a "historical document", I wanted to take a photograph -- only to be brusquely interrupted by two security officers who came running and shouting: "No photographs!" I wondered why, flashed my press pass, and they told me that due to security reasons nobody was allowed to take photographs within the station. They questioned me whether I had taken any other photographs in the station, apparently threatening to take my film. I convinced them that I hadn't and left (only to be followed by them until I had left the station).
We then headed to Tavistock Place, the site where the bus was bombed. Throughout the walk there (which is quite far, through half of London's centre, we did not notice any difference to a normal day in London. There was no tube running, but there were buses, cars, and people on the road as on every usual Thursday evening.
At Tavistock Place, the perimeter set up by the police was far wider than in Aldgate. The whole of Russel Square was barred from public access, and we had to make a wide detour to get to Tavistock Place. We could not enter the street, but in the distance, behind a few bushes, we could clearly see the top of the bus, which was open due to the explosion. Only the yellow handrails were sticking uselessly into the air. Again, the area just outside the perimeter was as usual.
As it was getting too dark for photographs, we headed home.
THE AFTERMATH
Today, buses and the tube are running again, except for minor stretches of the affected lines. The tube is being used, but not half as much as on other workdays. The Central Line is spookily empty. London is not in a state of shock, panic, or terror. Every Londoner had been waiting for such an attack to happen, and I have expected it throughout the last three years that I have lived here. The police and medical services were well-prepared for such an event, which is evident in the speed at which police and medical teams arrived. Today's papers state that doctors operated on the street within minutes.
Several things about this attack struck me as odd and lead me to the conclusion that it was conducted in an amateurish manner. I do not have enough information to rule out Al-Qaeda involvement in the attack, but I seriously doubt that it was planned and conducted by veteran terrorists, but rather by amateurs who are fascinated by "Islamistic" terrorism (Islamistic is in quotes, as terrorism and Islam are two very different things).
Primarily, the bombs were very ineffective, as they must have been small (or weak), and placed badly. I know what a London train during rush hour looks like: All space is used up, people are crammed together, and it sometimes feels hard to breathe. To get into a train, one usually has to wait for three trains to pass, and then to push oneself into the carriage. A bomb in such a train should kill more than seven people (which is the death toll at Aldgate). The bomb in the bus was placed ineffectively, too -- on the top floor. Generally, the upper floor of the buses is not half as full as the lower floor (as nobody is standing). Also, on the top floor the bomb has less power, as it can blow the top off, and much of the explosion's power goes into the air.
Also, the bombs exploded within one hour, and not within minutes. Terrorists all around the world have managed to explode several bombs in different locations at the exact same time. Eyewitnesses on the bus mentioned a nervous man, who left the bus shortly before it exploded. Certainly, it was very similar in the train bombs.
Additionally, the placing of the bombs is odd. Two of the bombs went off in Muslim areas of London. Aldgate (which is the gateway to Whitechapel) is an area with a majority of Bangladeshi Muslims and is very close to Brick Lane, which is often referred to as Banglatown. The area is very poor. Edgware Road is a richer area, which is predominantly Arabic. Outside the tube station, there are shops with no English writing on them, and "halal" restaurants are all around. Tavistock place is a two or three minutes' walk from the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), which is part of the University of London. All those who wish to study Arabic language, literature, or culture are there, and the majority of the staff is Arabic. Clearly, the bombs exploded in strikingly odd areas.
London has survived the attacks as if nothing had happened. The terrorists may have succeeded in disabling a city of ten million for a day, but in the long term their goal (terror) has failed.
Greetings from London,
Jan van der Crabben
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