Following the devastating Paris terrorist attacks, an open letter penned by a man named Antoine Leiris who lost his wife, Helene, in the gruesome massacre at Bataclan Concert Hall has been making the rounds online.
In this heartbreaking and powerful way, he manages to pay tribute to his beloved wife and mother of his 17-month-old son, who he describes as an “exceptional being”, and give hope to many who lost loved ones on that horrific night.
There is loss and sadness, but in entitling it “You Will Not Have My Hatred” he communicates his strength.
You can read the letter (translated into English) in its entirety below:
Friday night, you took an exceptional life — the love of my life, the mother of my son — but you will not have my hatred I don’t know who you are and I don’t want to know, you are dead souls. If this God, for whom you kill blindly, made us in his image, every bullet in the body of my wife would have been one more wound in His heart.
So, no, I will not grant you the gift of my hatred. You’re asking for it, but responding to hatred with anger is falling victim to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to view my countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You lost.
I saw her this morning. Finally, after nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as when she left on Friday night, just as beautiful as when I fell hopelessly in love over 12 years ago. Of course I am devastated by this pain, I give you this little victory, but the pain will be short-lived. I know that she will be with us every day and that we will find ourselves again in this paradise of free love to which you have no access.
We are just two, my son and me, but we are stronger than all the armies in the world. I don’t have any more time to devote to you, I have to join Melvil who is waking up from his nap. He is barely 17-months-old. He will eat his meals as usual, and then we are going to play as usual, and for his whole life this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. Because no, you will not have his hatred either.
Listen to Antoine’s poignant words in the video below.
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“I won’t give you the gift of hating you” – Antoine Leiris’ powerful tribute to his wife, who died in the Bataclan during the #ParisAttacks bbc.in/1NbYE0q
Posted by BBC News on Wednesday, 18 November 2015
