A victim of the attack at Zaventem airport on March 22, 2016 told Tuesday how she had been vegetating for seven years, without managing to recover. “My daughters have tried everything. Fortunately they were there because I made three (suicide) attempts”, explained Riffi Khaddouj before the Assize Court responsible for judging these terrorist attacks.
The 63-year-old witness worked for the security company G4S on the day of the incident. A few days after the attacks, his employer asked him to come to work while the airport was being rebuilt. For a month and a half, she manages to cope, until a close colleague has a car accident on her way to work.
“The bucket was full but, there, it overflowed. It was over. Afterwards, I fell”, she testified. “I then remained two years in my chair, lying down. I made my children suffer.”
“The terrorists did not manage to kill me physically but psychologically”
Apart from when she was walking her dog, Riffi Khaddouj remained lying down, despite the requests of her three daughters to become again the one she was before.
The former director and supervisor of two airlines today can no longer write, has frequent memory lapses and is in failing health. “I vegetate in front of the TV, I do nothing all day. I haven’t been able to get into my bed for seven years.” Because of this sedentary lifestyle, the sexagenarian broke her legs and now moves with the help of a crutch. She sold her house, got rid of her furniture and moved into a small apartment.
Riffi Khaddouj’s daughters have tried everything to try to get him back on track, she explains. “Fortunately they were there because I made three (suicide) attempts. I don’t know how to help them when they need me today.”
The witness ended her testimony with a message of empathy towards the two Farisi brothers, the defendants who appear free at trial. “May God forgive them,” she concluded.