How An Airport Ground To A Standstill
A Dutch Yearly Ritual To Remind Us Of The Importance Of Freedom
Boarding is completed, but somehow, the procedure halts. Our flight already has a slight delay, and I was already curious about how they would deal with this situation. Boarding was quickly done. But now, choices have to be made. The chosen path: stalling. A standstill. It appears the whole airport grinds to a halt.
I’m not sure where we were going that time. I think home to our expat lives. We had visited our country of birth for celebrations, maybe some business. It’s all not super relevant to this story. The point is, we were flying out of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on May the 4th. Around 20:00 hours. Yes, that’s 8 pm.
Rituals. I’m not a big fan. Some are fun, some are needed, but too often they are obscuring the meaning behind it to such an extent that the rituals take precedence over what they are supposed to symbolise. Too often, rituals are used to exclude the outsiders. As said, I’m not a fan. But rituals that are still in line with the traditions they are designed to celebrate, I have no problem with. One such ritual from my country of birth is taking place yearly on 4 May. At 20:00 hours. At that moment, the country grinds to a halt. It is when we observe 2 minutes of silence to commemorate those who have died fighting for our freedom, and for the freedom of others since the outbreak of World War II. It’s easy to forget when you live abroad. In all honesty: I often did. Remembered to remember at a different moment. Alone, mostly. In The Netherlands, on 4 May at 8 pm, it’s easy to remember. Even at one of the busiest airports of the world.
Silence.
After two minutes, the cabin crew starts moving again. The captain’s voice comes through on the PA. He explains how the airport shut down for 2 minutes, how the crew observed 2 minutes of silence, and why we all did so. Then, we taxi to one of the runways to fly away. In freedom. Happy to live in a free, democratic union of nations, where the rule of law is at the basis of our uquality.
We commemorated those who fought for us to live in such a way. As we should every year. It is a reminder how fragile that freedom is. An important reminder. A ritual that strengthens our memory of a past we do not want to return. An important ritual that we now pass on to our kids. Just as we pass on that freedom is something to be celebrated. Which in The Netherlands we do on 5 May.
