The Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden, has sent an open letter to the “police family” to express her support for all police officers in the country.
Thursday was "a dark day for you and therefore for all of us," the Minister stressed, referring to the attack on two police officers in the Brussels-North area, which cost one of them his life.
Verlinden stressed the importance of daily police work, which ensures a "fundamental need" of society: "to guarantee the safety of its inhabitants."
"You don’t join the police to do a routine job from 9am to 5pm, or to be in the spotlight. It is a vocation, and one of the greatest services you can give to society. I hope that you will continue to find your motivation and that there will be young people to do this work in the future," she continued.
After the tragedy in Schaerbeek, the Minister also addressed her words to the families of the police officers, "a reassuring and indispensable home for our heroes."
"Even though you are probably incredibly proud, it is not always easy. And yet you don’t complain when your father, daughter, mother, son or partner leaves at night, on New Year’s Eve or works overtime because of an unexpected intervention. Not knowing if they will come back safe and sound, always with the fear of a bad outcome, like the nightmare the families of Thomas and Jason are living today," adds Annelies Verlinden.
"You are there for us, to protect society. But on the other hand, society has to protect you and will protect you too. We don’t touch our policemen. We are on your side," she concluded.
