Views from the City: Atocha Memorial to the Victims of the 11-M 2004 Terrorist Attacks in Madrid

Currently, Madrid has two memorials honoring the lives of the 192 victims of the terrorist attacks at the Atocha train station. One of the memorials, El Bosque de los Ausentes - The Forest of the Departed - is located in El Parque de Buen Retiro, which sits on the east side of downtown Madrid. This installation of 'Views from the City" will focus on the second memorial at the station.

The 'Monumento en Recuerdo de las Victimas del 11-M," which was unveiled on March 11, 2007, features four sections: an entrance with the names of the 192 victims, a blue room with an opening in the roof that leads to a pressurized plastic membrane with inscription from condolences from around the world that the country received after the attacks. A glass tower, which stands next to the station, encapsulates the membrane; the tower lights up in the evening.

The panel with the victim's names

The contemplation room

The membrane with copies of condolences from countries around the world

The view of glass tower from the Atocha Renfe station

Some background about the attacks. On the morning of March 11, 2004, an group of Islamic terrorists, who were 'inspired' by Al Qaeda, detonated backpack bombs on four Cercenias trains that serve the suburbs around Madrid. 192 people were killed; 1,800 injured. The aftermath of the attacks, which occurred three days before the country's national election, shook the Spanish political establishment as the PSOE and the incumbent PP began to accuse each other of covering up information over the source of the attacks.

Long story short, the PSOE defeated the right wing PP, which initially blamed the attacks on the ETA to save face over the claims that the attacks were a direct response for the Spanish government's involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I will not attempt to summarize the entire course of events; I suggest the wikipedia entry and this bbc link for more information on 11-M and its aftermath.

Although I do not know anyone who lost a loved one in the attacks, I am very familiar with these trains: I take a Cercanias to the UC3M's campus in Getafe to conduct my research. I have also visited Alcala de Henares, Cervantez's birthplace and the Cercanias station where the suicide bombers loaded the explosives on each train. Whenever I take the line out to Getafe, I think for a moment about the individuals who were rushing to Madrid, only to never make it to their destination. It is truly a haunting feeling to experience on a pleasant ride to campus.