On the evening of Friday 13th over 100 people were brutally murdered at the hands of attacks across Paris, which has since been claimed by ISIS. Since then, world leaders have spoken out against the attacks and in support of Parisians reeling from the shootings, and two suicide bombs.
But the stories that truly captured out imaginations were about the loved ones of those who died, sharing their views of what should be done since Paris.
Open letters and videos have shown the solidarity of people from across the world against terrorism.
Possibly one of the most moving messages however, was captured by the BBC.
Antoine Leiris wrote an open letter to the attackers explaining exactly how he felt. And it wasn’t angry, but a heartfelt reminder of who he had lost.
Antoine’s wife, Helene was in the Bataclan on the night of the attack, the worst hit of all the locations, where a hostage situation ensued and resulted in over 80 people being killed.
‘On Friday Night, you stole away the life of an exceptional being,’ wrote Leiris, talking of his wife who he has loved for 12 years.
The post has been shared thousands of times and since Leiris has read it for the BBC and it’s been translated so that even more people are paying attention. Incredibly, the father of 17-month old Melvil, his son, argued that despite all of the horror his wife was put though, ‘you [the attackers] will not have my hatred.’
Leiris went on to criticize the name in which the attacks were made, arguing that ‘I do not know who you are, and I don’t want to know- you are dead souls. If the God for whom you kill so blindly made us in his image, each bullet in my wife’s body would have been a wound in His heart.’
In a demonstration of resilience, Antoine asked ‘You want me to be afraid? To cast a mistrustful eye on my fellow citizens? To sacrifice my freedom for security? You lost. Same player. Same game.’ Reflecting the attitudes that have been shown by many Parisians who wished to take to the streets in demonstration against the attacks.
Leiris heartbreakingly recounted: ‘I saw her this morning, finally after nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as she was when she left on Friday evening. As beautiful as when I fell madly in love with her more than 12 years ago. Of course I’m devastated with grief- I will give you that tiny victory. But this will be a short-term victory. I know that she will join us every day. And that we will find each other again. In the paradise of free souls.’
Antoine clearly reminded everyone how important it will be to move on from these attacks, finishing his letter with; ‘In any case, I have no more time to waste on you. I need to get back to Melvil, who is waking up from his afternoon nap. He’s just 17 months old. He’ll eat his snack like every day and then we’re going to play like every day. And every day of his life this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom. Because you don’t have his hatred either.’
*Words by Milly Putt *