Index – Foreigner – Hungarians in Vienna on the terrorist attack – I can still hear the helicopters

Blanka, 27, moved to Vienna from a border town a few years ago and is currently in Graz, but at the time of the attack several of his friends were in the Austrian capital.

Outside of impact, thank goodness, they have no problem.

– writes.

One of his girlfriends was close to the attack that night, luckily she was late so she didn’t land on Schwedenplatz, where the shooting took place. However, he saw from afar that one of the terrorists was running down the street while firing a series of machine guns at one of the trams.

My girlfriend told me it was total chaos, but the police were very professional and helpful.

He also learned about the events through social media and the Austrian and Hungarian press. According to him, although the press did not see a connection between the terrorist attacks in France and the events in Vienna at first, they were immediately connected by Austrian netizens.

András is studying in Vienna as a university student, he believes that the attack was not religious, the Islamists did not target the nearby synagogue, the attack was more against many, many people in bars and restaurants who wanted to have fun for the last time due to the restrictions of the touch curfew. .

Schwedenplatz is like Deák Ferenc tér in Budapest. There are many pubs, cafes, discos, full of young people, we also go there.

András lives in the 11th district, far from the filming location, where everything seems quiet. However, streets and shops in the city center have also been closed, but he finds that life continues in other parts of the city and public transport has resumed in the morning.

According to him, the Austrians passed the test of humanity, after the attack there were countless offers for those who were trapped inside the city center due to closures and stops of public transport, they were offered accommodation by close neighbors.

In his environment, he did not find that people were directly related to what happened with immigration.

The first reaction was more shock and fear, but on second thought, unfortunately, that was exactly what they intended with the murder. Many of us have been injured by all this shooting because we love Vienna so much, it is not a coincidence that they are among the most livable cities in the world. But the cohesion that was seen last night among residents in the online space is, I think, very encouraging, so it will be easier for everyone to process what happened.

Kata was having tea at home with a girlfriend when the incident happened, she is also a university student, currently living in the 13th district, near Schönbrunn, living in Austria for five years. There was the sound of the helicopter, and then Hungarian and Austrian acquaintances called in turn to see if he was okay. They immediately turned on the television and began reading the news on social media.

We didn’t want to believe that this could happen here. Last week, it was there that we celebrated Austrian independence in one of my favorite jazz bars, rather than a civilian victim of the shooting.

Kata would have also intended to have fun downtown on Monday night, but she eventually stayed home because she got sick.

Personally, I see that the spirituality of Vienna tries to encourage everyone to accept it. Obviously, there are parties that see a link between immigration and terrorism, but do not find many followers. I also lived in a district that is similar to the 8th district of Budapest, but even there I felt like there was a police presence, so nothing could happen. So it is amazing and incomprehensible how close everything was. Even now, I still hear helicopters and sometimes the sirens of police cars and ambulances.

(Cover image: Police at the scene of the attack on November 3, 2020. Photo: Alex Halada / AFP)