Forest of the Departed
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The Forest of the Departed (Spanish: Bosque de los Ausentes) is a memorial monument located at the park of El Retiro in Madrid that commemorates the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings and the special forces agent who died when seven suicide bombers blew themselves up on 3 April 2004.
The monument is made up of 192 olive trees or cypresses, one for each person killed, and is surrounded by a chanelled stream, since water is a symbol of life. It is located on an accessible hill near the Atocha railway station, one of the sites of the atrocity.
[edit] Inauguration
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Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain presided over the inaugural ceremony, which took place on 11 March 2005. They had the honour of being the first ones to place flowers at the monument. Their bouquet of white flowers bore the message: "In memory of all the victims of terrorism".
Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias, the President of the Government of Spain (i.e. the Prime Minister) José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and political representatives of all the parties took part in the inauguration, as well as some chiefs of state and world leaders like the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the King of Morocco Mohammed VI, the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, the President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade, the President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, the Prime Minister of Poland Marek Belka, the President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio, the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the foreign policy chief of the European Union Javier Solana, the President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell and the ambassadors of the sixteen countries that lost some of its citizens in the attacks.
No speeches were delivered during the ceremony, per the request of the relatives of the victims. However, a 17-year-old cellist performed "El Cant dels Ocells", in Catalan , ("The Birds' Song") by Pau Casals.
