Many in Munich were stranded when the city was in lockdown following a shooting in a mall that left at least nine people dead.
However, help started to pour in via social media. Locals started tweeting “#Offentür” or “Open Door” to offer their homes and provide shelter to those who could not go home.
Muslim citizens also came forward in this time of need. Mosques remained open all night long to provide shelter.
#Munich.
Mosques in town will be open all night long for everyone stuck because of the road block@izmedien #offentuer— Aspenia online (@Aspeniaonline) 22 July 2016
The reaction Was similar to what Parisians did after the Bataclan shooting with the #PorteOuverte hashtag.
We have beer and a place to sleep near Prinzregentenplatz / Max-Weber-Platz. DM me! #opendoor #opendoormunich #offentuer
— Jo (@JoTaucher) 22 July 2016
Heather Lafleur, originally from Montreal, Canada, was one such person in the city.
Lafleur welcomed people in her house as they were stranded after the subway closed and the streets deserted.
“[Locals] are able to post something to social media with an address and allow people to come into their homes, and feed them, or allow them to spend the night until the city is safe,” Lafleur told a Canadian news agency.
#offentuer anybody who is stuck around Poccistraße & can’t get a place to stay for tonight, please tweet back. We are happy to welcome!
— Riya Mukherjee (@myself_Riya) 22 July 2016
This generous woman hosted several people from her husband’s office and even served them dinner.
“We had people over and ate, and tried to celebrate life. We have to continue on.”
Nothing to fear but fear itself
Guillaume Champeau, another Montrealer living in Munich, insisted on walking home from his job to defy the lingering fear of terrorism.
“I don’t want to live in fear,” Champeau said. “Bad things happen all over the world. You have to live your life.”
He added the feeling in Munich at the moment is “pure dread” and it makes him appreciate how safe Canada is.
Lafleur agrees and said the string of terrorist attacks in Europe makes her consider coming back to Canada after 20 years abroad.
She said her 12-year-old daughter heard a strange noise in the subway one day and thought it was a shooting.
“The luxury of safety we’ve had our whole lives is over,” Lafleur said.
Courtesy: cbc.ca.
