New England Honorary Consul for Belgium: Today Ended in Horror

Salem, MA - Patrick Cornelissen, the Honorary Consul of Belgium for New England and the General Manager of Salem's Hawthorne Hotel, is currently in Belgium as the country has come under terrorist attack.

"My first thoughts go out to the many casualties and their families," Cornelissen said in an email on Tuesday morning. "It is likely that there will be people from many nationalities among the victims; however, at this point in time there seems to be no indication that any of the casualties are from the New England area."

As the Honorary Consul of Belgium for New England, Cornelissen helps to promote and facilitate trade, cultural and social exchange between Belgium and the New England region.

Cornelissen said he is in Belgium for his mother's funeral.

"This situation certainly came as a shock and surprise to the entire country," he stated. "Since the first message earlier this morning started flooding my cell phone, the entire country since then is at a standstill. For several hours it was impossible to connect with people using cell phones. Luckily we were able to get in touch with family and friends through social media and our fixed home phones."

The terror level has been raised to the highest levels and the situation at the moment is that of caution and concern, Cornelissen stated.

"Schools closed their doors and kept students inside," he said. "When I tried to pick up my 15-year old niece at school, the entire school was in lockdown, yet the school administration did a tremendous job in keeping everyone informed and safe."

Cornelissen arrived at Zaventem, the national airport, on Friday and was scheduled to return to Boston later this week, although that is now up in the air.

"Being a small country, many Belgians in the New England area have friends and family who live, work or visit Brussels, and Zaventem, the national airport, is a place we all know well," he stated. "I myself arrived here last Friday and walked through the area that is now completely covered in debris and glass."

Cornelissen said it is hard to even fathom what happened and why. As a smaller international airport, he said the departure area and lobby is a place every citizen knows; it is a place where many have said goodbye to their friends, and looked up on the large rotating screen to see which flight to take and to find their way to the check-in counters.

"This day will forever be on the minds of all of us and will stay with us each time we travel," he said. "Many of us will today count their blessings, but for the victims and airport workers, this is a day that ended in horror. The second attacks in the subway, are equally as terrified, yet we all stand united in our feelings and condemn with the most powerful voice these senseless attacks on our values of democracy and freedom."

Photo via Honorary Consulate of Belgium in New England Facebook page