Epstein Files: The Long Art of Looking Away

For those who have spent the last twenty, thirty, or even several centuries mentally in energy-saving mode: Here's a brief reminder. For everyone else, it's an ordeal. The idea that the self-proclaimed elite of this planet systematically and astonishingly routinely cover up crimes across generations is hard to stomach. So, they do what they do best: They declare it unthinkable.

Let's start with a name that reliably stirs up trouble: Marc Dutroux. He was under investigation in the late 1990s. The crime scene: Brussels, the capital of Belgium, which also happens to be the political nerve center of the EU. Coincidence, of course. Everything is always coincidence.

Dutroux abducted, abused, and murdered children and young girls. That's the part that's officially acknowledged. The rest, as so often happens, remained shrouded in mystery. Because, according to his own statements, Dutroux didn't act alone. He spoke of networks, of protection, of backing from politicians and society. "Right from the top," as he put it. This statement was recorded. And then mentally archived. Under: Please don't pursue this further.

During the investigation, 27 witnesses died under mysterious circumstances. Not two. Not five. Twenty-seven! Among them were investigators, members of the judiciary, and people directly involved in the proceedings. In any other context, this would be called systematic elimination. Here, it's called a regrettable cluster of events.

The chief prosecutor at the time, Hubert Massa, investigated Dutroux for one month. One. Month. Then, in 1999, he allegedly committed suicide. The term "allegedly" is not cynicism. It is legal politeness. His work vanished. The trail went cold. The case was amputated, not solved.

And here the real story begins. Not with Dutroux, but with the reflex that followed. The reflex to isolate everything, to diminish it, to individualize it. A monster. An isolated incident. An accident of history. Just don't recognize a pattern. Patterns are inconvenient. Patterns ask questions. Patterns demand consequences.

The cover-up is not an accident. It is a discipline, perfected over decades, centuries, and across entire systems. Investigations are allowed, but not for too long. Reports are allowed, but not too deeply. Outrage is allowed, but only briefly. Then, silence returns. The kind of silence that only arises when truth is systematically suppressed.

And while old cases are swept under the rug, new children disappear. Between 2021 and 2023 alone, over 50.000 refugee children vanished within the EU. Vanished. Not dead, not found, not identified. Simply gone. In one of the most meticulously managed regions of the world. With databases, border systems, surveillance, and administration down to the last paperclip.

The question is no longer whether networks exist. The only question is how many generations it will take to declare turning a blind eye a virtue.

The truly frightening thing is not what happened.
But how reliably one has learned not to see it…