80,000 protest over MP3 murder
80,000 people take part in a silent march in
Brussels to protest over the murder of a teenager who refused to give thieves
his MP3 player.
80,000 people have taken part in a silent march in Brussels to protest over the murder of a teenager who refused to give thieves his MP3 player.
Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17, was with a friend at the busy central station when he was stabbed five times in the chest after refusing to hand over his digital music player to muggers.
The rush-hour death shocked Belgium.
The murdered boy’s parents held hands as they walked at the heart of the procession. They had requested a silent march without banners or signs of political affiliation.
Fears of racial tension have been high as the killers appear from the CCTV footage to be of North African origin but his mother appealed for calm.
“Don’t ask me to hate all Arabs,” she said in an interview with Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure. “The youths that killed my son are thugs but don’t generalise.”
Posting this at Dvorak Uncensored, this morning, I made No Comment. A position I often take on some categories of news. There is no surprise over an event like this anywhere on Earth. Except for the principled position taken by the boy's parents -- and the willingness of Belgian citizens to honor it.
In so many other nations, the child's murder for greed and gain would be met by a barrage of racism and political opportunism. Doubtless, there are crass representatives of the Congressional breed at hand. Just as there was for Terri Schiavo. Just as there wasn't for Emmet Till.
I credit those thousands who marched over this boy's sad end. Grieving as similar thousands grieve the world over for youngsters meeting an equally sad end in Iraq -- every day -- on all sides.
Posted: Mon - April 24, 2006 at 07:05 AM