On New Year's morning 1945, the German Air Force startled Sint-Denijs-Westrem with a surprise attack. More than 70 years later, bullet holes in the wall that was once part of an airplane hangar still remind us of that dark day.

Painter and calligrapher Samer Alagha was born and raised in Syria. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Damascus, taught painting and exhibited his work in Beirut, Qatar and his hometown Salameih. When the war broke out, he fled via Lebanon to Belgium, where he has lived and worked since 2015.