We stood still.
Tens of thousands of us.
Gathered together on Dam.
To remember.
The wind played with the flags, making them flutter. The red-white-blue at half mast flew above my head, dancing in the wind. It's movement were so random, so free, so natural. I closed my eyes and the image of the flag flying so freely stayed with me. The price of that freedom is invaluable.
May there be peace... May there be hope... May there be freedom... May there be freedom from fear...
In my mind there were flashbacks of pictures, movies, black and white documentaries of brave souls who have moved on, into a braver world beyond this one. They collided with the sounds and images embedded in our TV screens and the front pages. The bloodshed... the cries... the suffering... the nightmares... Wearing such a clean and white shirt suddenly filled me with guilt.
Just as suddenly as silence fell, music rose from the military band. A familiar tune, and in that moment I shivered slightly, making me wonder whether it was the evening breeze, or the rhythm of the national anthem that had such an emotional effect on me. All around me was a low murmur, as people softly sang.
... den vaderland getrouwe blijf ik tot in de dood. Een Prinse van Oranje...Befitting to the atmosphere, it suddenly became colder. The sun had set behind the Royal Palace, casting a long shadow looming over our heads. The breeze caressed our cheeks, and the mood felt so familiar, but at the same time, seemed so very distant. The white marble National Monument looked soiled, covered in grime and soot, while the carvings of men and women who have just broken their shackles seemed somewhat faded, and eroded with the passage of time. What is normally a touristic photo-op donned on a more solemn meaning.
Wreaths of flowers were laid before the monument, by the Queen and the Crown Prince, by veterans, by the Prime Minister, Ministers. Sixty-two children (one for each year since the end of the war) also quietly laid red and white flowers to rest at the steps of the monument. To the unknown many who so senselessly died in Europe and in Asia... For the first time in history, young veterans, some perhaps just a few years older than me, were able to sit together with the older ones. The world war may have ended, but conflicts still continue to brew, and the Dutch are involved in various 'peace-keeping' missions around the world. In everyone's eyes was an unspoken grief.
I stood there and watched the crowd slowly disperse. One moment the square was full, the next it was almost empty. I pulled on my jacket to keep warm, only to realise elsewhere it was even colder.
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