DENVER — Colorado and Belgium might be far away from each other, but that does not mean the two areas don’t share ties.
That is especially true Tuesday after the terror attacks in Brussels where at least 30 were killed and hundreds were injured.
The city’s transportation hubs were targeted.
“Everyone is pretty much in shock and sad — everywhere we’ve gone,” said Lisa and Gerry Dewil, a couple from Evergreen vacationing in Belgium. “The guidelines earlier were to stay inside.”
For Belgians living in Colorado, there was anxiety.
“I woke up with my phone ringing next to my bed,” Carlo Kriekels said.
Kriekels was born in Belgium and was able to connect with his family shortly before he was interviewed. They are all safe.
“People are in complete shock at this moment, all the schools are in lockdown in Belgium, the kids are kept out of school,” Kriekels said.
But you don’t have to be in Belgium or from there to be impacted by Tuesday’s attacks.
“These kind of things leave me speechless, these kind of things make me numb,” said James Pachorek, owner of the Belgian Bar Cheeky Monk.
Pachorek’s friend Jeff, who supplies beer to his bar, is Belgian and was inside the Brussels airport during the attack.
Pachoreck said brewers from Colorado and Belgium have become close over the years because of their love of beer, a fact confirmed by the Honorary Belgium Consulate in Denver.
“Belgium is a wonderful place and didn’t deserve this. This is an attack against many countries,” said Frank Schuchat, honorary Belgium Consul in Denver.