What the terrorists tried to kill in Paris was the celebration of life. They struck at the places in Eastern Paris where the “deviant” youth assembled.
Youngsters in Paris gather in cafes, make merry, kiss each other and talk among themselves. They rediscover the world.
The Little Cambodia Cafe run by a Cambodian family, Le Carillon run by an Arab family, La Cosa Nostra run by an Italian family...they all provide cheap beer and an atmosphere of camaraderie and intellectual thought.
Bataclan is one of the most modern and active concert halls of Paris. It takes a 45-minute walk to reach Bataclan through the Rue de Charonne. For the youth of Paris, however, that is a smooth walk on Fridays and Saturdays with their classical touch.
The terrorists had no doubt about their target: the capital of the deviants.
Those “deviants” had education and freedom, if no money.
I can’t help remember Hoda, the Arab who came to La Belle Equipe to celebrate her 35th birthday with a feast. She was beautiful and smart.
The African youngster named Hyazinth who worked at a bar. I have always seen the football maniac in Paris Saint-Germain team’s jersey.
Many such good people had come to feast at La Belle Equipe that night. They were the face of contemporary Paris. This was the reason for the terrorists to target these calm and free people.
The French youth is the children of French Revolution and its values. We had done away with religion. We tease even god. Not one god, but all of them. Not all people may be able to digest this. But is that reason enough to pronounce death for us, who envisioned a life that that banished slavery and religious shackles? We, who let women walk the beautiful streets? We, who did not judge others because we believe that sexuality was a personal choice?
The terrorists who claimed to be detached from life trained their guns on our freedom and our love of life. Precisely for that reason, we would rise again.
(Marie Darrieussecq is a prominent writer in contemporary French literature. She writes for Charlie Hebdo, the weekly that became world-famous after an attack on it in January. She has visited Kerala and some of her works have been translated into Malayalam)
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