“My children are completely upset. One keeps talking about it, the other says almost nothing. It just sits there. Empty.” Two children of Robby Van Damme saw the tragedy in Ghent on Thursday, in which a five-year-old Ukrainian boy died, happening before their eyes. “Barely three meters from that fallen branch. For the same money it would have been them.”
LOOK. “Irresponsible that children were allowed to play outside here”
It should have been a fun day for Matisse (3) and Tibo (9) at the Kabonga playground, but it was anything but. The images on their retinas: they have to live with them for the rest of their lives. They said they had played outside almost all morning. Free game. Hide and seek. Playing tag. Everyone did what they wanted. But then there was a gathering and things went wrong. “Matisse keeps talking about it, it happened right in front of him.” Tibo has also seen everything. “He saw that little boy lying under that tree. I can’t even imagine what must be going through his head today. That’s horrible. He just sits there. Normally Tibo is someone who plays and is busy. Now it is completely… empty.”
Robby Van Damme is angry. First of all, on the playground activities. “Why on earth did those people let children play outside? And why trees? Look at that clubroom, it’s huge. Anyone could have easily done that. And there were also plenty of places on the square without trees nearby. It is clear to me: those children should never have been allowed outside. Not since the morning.”
“I don’t know how my children will process this. I’m going to take them to the place where it happened. Certainly not now, but in a while. First carefully go to the edge of the park and see if they want to enter. Step by step. Watch what they do, watch how they react. And hope that they will get over this one day.”
Public prosecutor opens investigation into accidental killing after death of toddler (5) during stormy weather in Ghent
RECONSTRUCTION. They just went inside with the kids because the wind was too strong: how power warnings failed to prevent toddler from dying in storm Ciarán (+)
OUR OPINION. “A storm doesn’t have to have anyone to blame” (+)
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