Tag: Paris

Six students abroad in Paris during Nov. attacks

By: Brian Goldaber, Transcript Correspondent

Natalie Wynne. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
Natalie Wynne. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

For a group of half a dozen Ohio Wesleyan students, the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 were all too real. Six students spending a semester abroad in Salamanca were spending the week in Paris when the attacks occurred.

The students were stuck in Paris for two days after the attacks when France declared a state of emergency. During those two days the students would be put through something unlike anything they had ever experienced before.

“After the attacks I was in a serious state of shock. I couldn’t sleep because I kept having nightmares about my family and friends being there and dying. I couldn’t listen to music while I was walking down the street, I was paranoid,” junior Natalie Wynne said.

The itinerary for the study group was immediately canceled as the students spent most of their time in their hostel during their two days in the state of emergency. All of the students were able to contact their relatives and loved ones, but that did little to help with their anxiety.

“All of the news was in French so I couldn’t understand a single thing they were saying. It’s tough to explain what that does to a person. I’ve really never felt farther away from home,” Wynne said.

Jackie Everetts. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
Jackie Everetts. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

One junior, Jackie Everetts, was separated from the group on the night of the attack. She was able to safely find her way back to another hostel with a friend from her high school.

“Despite being separated from the group, I didn’t really feel scared. I guess it hadn’t hit me yet, everything that was going on. I just prayed for my safety and for all of those who were hurt,” Everetts said.

The attacks themselves included a series of coordinated suicide bombings and mass shootings that took place at cafes, restaurants and a music venue. The attackers killed 130 people and injured far more. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was retaliation for French airstrikes in ISIS-controlled territory.

France responded on Nov. 15 by launching its biggest aerial offensive in the country’s history. On Nov. 18, the suspected lead operative in the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in a police raid.

These attacks will linger in the minds of the Ohio Wesleyan students that were in France for the rest of their lives.

“Basically I don’t even have words to describe what happened and how I felt because it all felt like a dream to me until I left and got back to Salamanca safely,” said Wynne. “That’s when it really hit me what happened. I’ll never forget this. I guess you could call it life-changing.”

Let’s step outside the western state of mind

Beirut, Lebanon. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
Beirut, Lebanon. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

As I woke up from my weekly Friday nap on Nov. 13, I checked my phone. Expecting a few texts or a Snapchat or two, I was instead greeted with alerts about the Paris terrorist attack. That woke me up immediately.

After the deadly terrorist attacks in Beirut the day before, I didn’t know what to expect. When I heard a concert hall was attacked, my heart broke. People going to end their week with some great music were instead greeted with terror and death. The Islamic State (ISIS) has taken credit for both attacks.

It’s an unfortunate reality we live in now. We hear about these atrocities all the time, and this point, some people might not have the visceral reaction they once had. And honestly, who could blame them? When something like attacks on innocent civilians seems to occur almost everyday, we almost become numb.

My social media accounts are littered with posts about standing in solidarity with Paris. What about the attacks in Beirut? I don’t see anything about standing in solidarity with them on my social media accounts. Whenever a country experiences a terrorist attack, or any type of attack, we have to support them, even if they are not a Western country.

Admittedly, it’s hard to think outside such an American-­centric bubble. France is one of our oldest allies, so of course our support extends to them. But we need to be reminded that these brutalities carried out by ISIS happen everyday in Iraq. Other than some articles in various news outlets, how much attention do we really pay to countries like Syria and Iraq, which are going through attacks like these almost everyday?

I don’t want anyone to think I’m downplaying the Paris attacks, because I am not. They are horrific and despicable. But we need to step outside our typical Western mindset. If as much attention was being paid to the attacks in Beirut as in Paris, who knows what the response would be. Granted, the Beirut attacks didn’t kill as many people as the ones in Paris, but they were still devastating.

Maybe I’m thinking like this because I’m an international studies major and I’m currently taking a class that focuses on terrorism. Or maybe I’m thinking about this because I see news reports about ISIS beheading ethnic Afghanis, including children. Or maybe I’m thinking about this because I’m feeling completely hopeless about this world.

If we open our eyes a little bit more, we will see that we aren’t the only ones affected by these atrocious acts of terror. We can grieve with others who have experienced something like we have. Maybe we could even try working with them. If we look outside our typical Western viewpoint, who knows what we’ll find.