Story and photo by Saki Kambe
Former Peninsula Pirate Basketball star from Congo, Christian Manzanza, who is also a survivor of the 2016 Brussels Bombing, in Brussels,Belgium, came back to Peninsula College gym with another former Pirates star, Dion Serras from Australia, on Jan. 23, Native American Night.
Manzanza was riding on the Maalbeek Metro train on the way to his work, when ISIS targeted it on March 22, 2016.
He was not directly hit by the explosion but got severely burned by the shrapnel and flames that raced throughout the enclosed train car.
“Whoo… It’s still kind, kind of… kind of… uh touchy a little bit… and I could talk about this for hours…”, Manzanza said about the terrorist attack.
As for the aftermath of the attack and the recovery, he said. “I’ve recovered pretty well, but my back is still hurting, I lost 20 percent of the hearing on the left ear and 20 on the right ear. And, I can’t still be exposed too much to the sun, so physically that’s how I’m doing.”
In regards to the mental part, “Mental care has been a tough road, but getting better, and I had a lot of support from my family, friends, even the school gave me some support; it’s slowly getting there. Hopefully, I’ll be able to sort of turn a page at the end of 2019,” Manzanza said.
The college welcomed Manzanza on 2009 as an international student. He led the Pirates as one of the two captains of the basketball team with 28 block shots during the 2009-10 season.
In an interview in 2016, Dean of Athletics, Rick Ross described Manzanza as a pretty positive guy. His teammates and teachers really enjoyed having him here. He was a very hard working basketball player.
“I’m moving from Australia to New York, so I stopped in Seattle for a week and thought of coming out and see all friends and catch a game,” Serras said. Manzanza said, “I was living with a host family, and my host dad died last August, so I thought it would be a great occasion actually to visit the family.”
Upon returning to the to the gym, Manzanza commented,“good memories, Feels like I’m going to put our shoes on and our gear on, and teach school to a little bit to those guys.” “It’s hard to watch without wanting to play,” added Dion as they both chuckled.
“The school is getting bigger; it’s expanding, but hopefully the school will have more programs for students here at the college,” Manzanza said. Both wished nothing but the best for the Pirates.
Dion is ready for the new chapter of his life in New York, and Manzanza is now working as an accountant in Brussels, Belgium.