Fabian
London Bridge and Borough Markets Attack - 03.06.2017
My name is Fabian, and I'm an international student and a survivor of the London Bridge and Borough Markets terrorist attack.
In order to preserve his anonymity, Fabian has chosen to provide written testimony under an alias.
After being admitted to my dream university in London in 2017, my family gifted me a trip to visit my future home upon graduating from high school. After two lovely days, we concluded another busy day of sightseeing with an evening stroll through London's vibrant Borough Market. On London Bridge, we enjoyed the relative silence and, like all tourists do, spent time taking pictures of Tower Bridge and the City of London's skyline.
Suddenly we heard loud engine noises, which directed our attention to an accelerating van that mounted the pavement and quickly moved towards us. Without a chance to escape, the van thoroughly hit my relative, while only pure luck allowed me to dodge the vehicle narrowly. The drivers continued their carnage and actively steered the van to run over other pedestrians.
Subsequently, I tried to give first aid to my badly injured relative who was lying on the street, unable to move and barely conscious - all while avoiding police vehicles speeding to the scene. What ensued was pure chaos and a long and exhausting fight for survival.
While security forces responded to the attackers who continued their killing spree in Borough Market, we were on our own and I urgently searched for any form of medical help. As I would find out later, the ambulance could not enter the bridge due to security concerns, forcing us to wait for what felt like an eternity. After sixty minutes, we received the equipment to carry the very severely injured victims to the ambulances at the end of the bridge. Even then, the security threat did not allow them to bring the victims to the hospital, forcing us to wait once again.
I will never forget the faces of the other injured men and women gathered there, especially the ones for whom help came too late and who sadly passed away. Simultaneously, I will never cease to be thankful for the help we received; be it from the brave pedestrians who stayed with us when it was unclear whether the terrorists would return, the Police and Security Services who risked their lives engaging the terrorists, or the numerous surgeons who managed to save my relatives' life against all the odds.
In the end, we were the lucky ones.
We owe it to the eight innocent people who were killed to cherish our lives and to do all we can to prevent this from ever happening again.