Thanks Paris
I have to apologize that I have not posted in quite some days. Since the attacks in Paris on November 13, it has been emotionally overwhelming absorbing all the information coming in and the reality of what happened and what is to come.
It did not feel right at the time to continue posting regular content without taking some time out to pause and reflect on what is going on. To take it all in, to mourn, and to grieve with our city.
For the past four years I have lived in the 11th arrondissement on the edge of the 10th. Le Petit Cambodge is one of my regular haunts. It is five minutes from my apartment, I love the food and everyone who works there. I have been to shows at the Bataclan and go by it every morning when I walk my daughter to her halte-garderie. For me it feels so surreal that angry hateful men would come to my neighborhood and kill innocent people enjoying their Friday evening out.
Earlier this year angry hateful men killed journalists across the street from my daughter’s halte-garderie and I thought surely this cannot happen again. But here we are. Twice in the same year in the same neighborhood.
I was not in Paris on the day of the attacks because I am on a book tour in the States, but my husband was. Soon I will return to my neighborhood and to Paris my home. How do I feel?
To be perfectly honest I feel no anger, I feel no hate, and I am not afraid. I am proud to be an expat living in Paris in the 11th.
As Mayor Anne Hildago said in her speech this past week, “We will not do them the honour of fear but they will find us on our guard. We will not do them the honour of anger, but they will find us implacable. We do not do them the honour of doubt, but they will find us committed to the democratic dialogue they hate.
I can tell you on behalf of all Parisians, while thinking of those I have met since Friday: we will remain standing and will remain ourselves, we will continue to show the whole world our collective Parisian identity, attached as we are, as is all humanity, to liberté, egalité and fraternité, attached to our singularity in the world as much as our openness to the world—and attached, finally, to our art of living passionately in peace.”
I know that many others are focusing on how fellow Parisians feel about the attacks and that is important. But I think to show that we want to “remain standing and remain ourselves” today we celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and friends in America.
Instead of anger, fear, and hate, we want to give thanks and share our gratitude. Even if you are not an expat American, I encourage you to focus on the things and people in your life that you are thankful for.
From me and the contributors here at MANNA we say Happy Thanksgiving.
Image via Paris in Four Months.
We asked several contributors what they are grateful for today and we would love to hear from you too in the comments.
I’m grateful for my husband, who’s been my best friend for 20 years. Family and friends who always want the best for me. Patients who show me every day the power of the body at work, its innate intelligence and its capacity to turn stress and strain into health. And of course my dog who makes me feel like a super star every time I come home.
– Hayley Enright
First and foremost, I’m grateful to be here. Here in Paris, here amongst friends and family, here where I am still able to feel and experience things. I’m grateful for every day I’m able to drop my daughter off at school, and I’m just as grateful when I pick her up. I’m grateful for the love that surrounds me every day and the people who are responsible for me feeling loved. For my good health and the ability to do what I’m passionate about. It’s very difficult to limit what I’m grateful to a few measly sentences when honestly, I’m grateful for it all.
-Marjorie Preval
I am grateful for the opportunity to be a wife, a mother, and to live in Paris, a city that I dreamed about since I was young. I am grateful for my family back home and that I get the opportunity to see them a few times a year. Mostly I am so thankful for good health and to have friends in my life that inspire and encourage me every day.
-Ajiri Aki
