Today the Eustory-group went on a trip to southern Belgium, Vallonia, to visit and see the great canal systems and the museum of the former coalmine ‘Le Bois du Cazier’ .
During the hydraulic ship lifting
We first got on the bus and drove to the Houdeng-Aimeries waterlift, where we after a nice and very sunny trip on the channel, actually got to try out the world famous waterlifts. We had a quick lunch at the information center, where we also got the chance to look at some old former worker baracks.
After lunch we headed to the museum and memorial center of the former coalmine of Le Bois du Cazier. There we got an inspiring guided tour through the everyday lives of the minors and got to see the tools and routines that the workers had.
The highlight of the day was hearing about the big disaster on 8. August in 1956, where over 250 coalminors got trapped in the mine and died.
In the memorial of 'Bois de Caziers"
We got to watch a short film, where authentical material was shown from the day of the accident, which was truly intresting. Before getting on the bus again, we got some time to take our photos and after a quick stop at the famous Waterloo lionstatue we arrived back in Brussels.
Krista: ”Today was a very relaxing and interesting day. Hearing and learning about the mining accident made me realize, that sometimes a disaster can bring awareness to the problems minorities are facing.”