Beautiful Barca united against terror: My experience
It’s been over a week now since I arrived in Barcelona… just over a week since I received this nauseating news flash as I stepped off the aircraft.

During an extremely thoughtful taxi drive, I dwelled on the nightmare that had occurred here whilst I was in the air.
We were met by sealed hotel doors, obliged to show our passports to prove our identity. The rest of the evening we spent locked indoors.
Sleep came uneasy that night. I wondered how the people of this exuberant city would recover from something of this magnitude… the biggest terror attack in Spain since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.
It’s the second time I’ve experienced the aftermath of a terror attack first hand, as I was in Manchester for my birthday just a few days after the Arena bombing in May of this year.
In both instances, people stood undivided in incredibly dark times. Whether that be a load of Mancs at a Courteeners concert singing ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, or Barcelona’s locals bravely singing and chanting down the street of Las Ramblas just a day after the attack.

Experiencing things like this made me realise how defiant the human spirit can be. It overpowers the horrific acts committed by a twisted ideology – a lack of understanding of basic human ideosyncrasies.
I believe pictures, and videos in this case, can speak a thousand words. I’d like to share some of the moving experiences I captured on Las Ramblas a day/ the days following.
People braved the streets and came in their masses to pay respects to the now 16 victims.
Terror’s objective is to spread fear and force people to live in constant paranoia. Yet, this video shows the streets were completely overflowing. People cycled, ate out and went to work. They went about their ordinary lives in extraordinary times, refusing to let terror dominate. Not even for a day.
Hundreds of candles, cards, flowers, flags and messages were scattered all the way down the street.
People united in body, soul and grief as they mourned through a Latin, religious chant.
This man reduced many to tears as he embraced queues of people whilst standing by this sign.

The words were written in Catalan, Spanish, English, Arabic and French; this video reinforcing the important fact terrorism has no religion.
A quote comes to mind when I think about my days in Barcelona… a quote which seems particularly relevant in the current climate, and a point on which to meditate.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – MLK
