On Friday Nov. 20, 2015, exactly a week after the attacks took place in Paris, the North Central College campus stopped for reflection. On Friday at 4:45 p.m., all were invited to attend a Candlelight Vigil for Peace held by the Office of Ministry and Service on the lawn of Old Main to remember and honor all victims of violence and war around the world.
It’s been seven days since the news first broke that terrorists had staged several attacks in and around Paris. At least 129 people lost their lives during the bombings and attacks, and in the moment, people around the world watched in horror with a sense of helplessness.
“I spent the whole night in front of the news on Friday night, witnessing firsthand those awful attacks without being able to do anything,” said Manon Lebatteux, a student who went to North Central for a term and who lives in Lyon, France. “No one could understand what was happening.”
“They’re shaken, they’re shaken,” said Dr. Mara Berkland, professor of Communication, about her colleagues she works with in France. “The city has pretty much been on lockdown. … it’s just a very different city now from the one you would encounter in November.”
There are a number of reasons to mourn. Before Paris was attacked, 40 people in Beirut lost their lives because of two suicide bombers and at least 18 were killed in a funeral bombing in Bagdad. It seems impossible that the world could be hurting in so many places with attacks happening so frequently.
But now that some time has passed since the attacks, a few people in France are beginning to heal. For some, it’s beginning to look more hopeful, as difficult as the last week has been.
“Now, a couple days later, I feel totally different,” said Lebatteux. “Seeing my France being so supported all around the world, seeing the French people gathering together and fighting against this terror, (even if most of the cities couldn’t gather its population because of the state of emergency we are in right now) it makes me see that we were stronger than what I thought as a country and as a population.”
Many are still stunned at the news. Most don’t know how to react or feel, and even though people are trying to continue with their daily lives, that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
But while it’s difficult to put any emotions into words, says Berkland, we can still stand with those who are mourning.
“There’s not really much that can be said, it’s just beyond tragic,” said Berkland. “But they are not alone in their grief, that we are grieving with them.”
