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Dublin photographer captures Belgian grief in one moving portrait

Cameraman Alex Sapienza took this shot after a long day of filming in Brussels.

brussels alex Alex Sapienza Alex Sapienza

A QUIET CORNER in a quiet bar on a deserted street in Brussels.

Two friends huddle together, one with drink still in hand, still reeling from the attacks on their city.

Dublin-based photographer Alex Sapienza captured the scene last night in a bar on Rue Stevin in the Belgian city. He had been having a late drink following a day of filming with RTÉ’s Primetime, following up on the terrorist explosions that killed 31 people and injured at least 270.

His description of the photograph:

After a very long day… In a bar in Brussels last night… The two gentlemen in this pic had been grieving and drinking all day after the tragic events of the day. Eventually exhaustion and alcohol took over them.

Sapienza – owner of South William Studios in Dublin – first posted the image on his personal Facebook page, and we republish it here with his kind permission to share, his tribute to the grieving city.

Remembrance ceremonies and impromptu vigils have been happening all over Brussels as the city emerges cautiously into the aftermath of the killings. Residents left chalked messages of love to their hometown on Place de la Bourse, while landmarks across the rest of Europe were lit up in the black, yellow and red of the Belgian flag as a mark of solidarity.

‘Brussels, I love you’: Hundreds flock to city square to mourn>

Photos: The devastation of the attacks in Brussels>

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    Mute Bob Freeman
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 2:55 PM

    Maybe they saw some lad prancing around taking photos and wanted nothing to do with it!

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    Mute Marg murphy
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 2:54 PM

    Looks staged to me.

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    Mute Paudi Onail
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 4:01 PM

    course its staged, nothing great about it. same for these ‘amazing’ landscape photos doctored in editing programs. the world is full of them, the sheep know no better.

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    Mute Nazalia
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 2:58 PM

    Two guys from RTE hiding under a blanket?

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    Mute Jon Coll
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:01 PM

    Here’s how dublin photographer ends his career by having work published on journal

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    Mute Richard F
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:33 PM

    That’s miriam o callaghan and marty whelan under that blanket

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    Mute James McCartney
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 2:51 PM

    You can’t see their eyes.

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    Mute Ciarán O'Sullivan
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 5:04 PM

    A more appropriate title might be: “Europe continues to hide under the blanket long after we needed to stand as a people”

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    Mute IrishGravyTrain
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 2:56 PM

    #sadnessunderablankett. Kay Burley can use that if she wants.

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:00 PM

    Brussels was on high alert because of an expected attack, yet 3 guys can walk freely into an airport loaded with bombs!! Security forces have something to answer to here.

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    Mute Jack Alexander
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:04 PM

    True.

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    Mute Dermot Byrne
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 4:58 PM

    Don’t be ridiculous, I live in Belgium and use Zanvantem regularly. There are thousands of people walking into the departures hall every hour with big bags how are you supposed to identify what is in each bag. If you move security further out to entrance or somewhere else there will be queues there to target. It’s an impossible job for the security services, I believe they stop a lot of incidences that we never even get to hear about but they can’t it right 100% of the time.

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    Mute Al Ca
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 5:26 PM

    I always enter the Airport with my luggage…….is there another way?

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    Mute Noel Falkhall
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:20 PM

    I wouldn’t be sittin’ under a window, drink or no drink.

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    Mute Colm Garvey
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:22 PM

    A pair of auld boys on the sauce all day

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    Mute Fran Heavey
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:49 PM

    Wouldve been a better photo without the blanket

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    Mute jerry curtin
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:48 PM

    A big bag of the white stuff. Grief my eye

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    Mute IrishGravyTrain
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 2:49 PM

    #sadnessintheireyes.

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    Mute Jim Woodcock
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 5:58 PM

    Ah jaysus was afraid of this… right it was me and a munter I met down the local. Don’t know why the author says it was in Belgium as well, was only in the market bar in Dublin. I knew she was bad but to describe her as a man? Ah come on. The blanket came in handy tho for an aul danger tug.

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    Mute mike murphy
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:33 PM

    Maybe Angela Merkel thought they were at work

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    Mute Brian
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 8:01 PM

    It’s doent take long for so called artists and photographers to start loading these kinds of pictures on social media. Can people just let others grieve and Mourn without trying to further their own reputation

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    Mute John Brendan Mullen
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 3:01 PM

    Maybe they are defying the attackers by continuing with their daily routine despite the fear. I would guess the blanket is intended to give themselves a false sense of security against possible flying glass in case of another explosion

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    Mute Apu Mohammed
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    Mar 23rd 2016, 5:22 PM

    1, 2, 3….

    Peep !

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