Paris victims remembered with vigil
Yellowknifers unite in solemn moment after Nov. 13 attack
Simon Whitehouse
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A small group of members of Yellowknife's French community gathered at the footsteps of city hall Monday to hold a vigil for Friday's killings in Paris, France.
Last week the Western world was shocked as members of the international terrorist group ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) took responsibility for killing 127 members of the public in a series of explosions and shootings throughout the Parisian entertainment district.
The killings took place at a soccer stadium during a match between France and Germany, a number of restaurants and bars and at the Bataclan concert hall, where the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing a sold-out show.
About 20 people showed up at noon to take part in a candle lighting and moment of silence organized by Carole Monnet.
Monnet, a French translator for the GNWT, has been in the city for a year and comes from the small town of Niort in western France.
"The first reaction was to contact all the people I knew because I have close family living in the area," she said. "One of them was young and a student. She answered me really quickly but she said she could hear the sirens and shots from her place. She was pretty upset."
Monnet said a moment of silence was held in France at noon Monday but because of the time difference it would have meant holding an event at 8 p.m. in Yellowknife.
"When it is noon in France it is night time for us, but I thought it would be nice to share this hour but with a different time difference. I wanted to be with them with a moment of silence."
Others who attended the vigil said the incident was emotional in different ways.
Paco Greau, executive director with L'Association franco-culturelle de Yellowknife said she wanted to remain optimistic for the future. She said it is important to remember, "life is very fragile" and it is important to live without being afraid and focus on being happy.
"I am glad it wasn't our organization who organized the event but someone like an individual who did it," she said. "For me it is the same as a memory day where you don't forget and you give a moment to people who lost their lives, their family and friends and just to be in union."
Maxence Jaillet, a reporter with the French newspaper also attended the event and said he has friends and family in Paris.
"I do have some friends that live there and some of my relatives that live there, so I felt a lot of sadness actually," he said of when he heard the news of the killings.
He said it was important to host an event like this so feelings could be expressed and shared with people who could provide support.
"I like how the organizer managed to put that together and (was) able to step forward and express the need for a better future and peace," he said.
"I guess it is not just for Paris or for the French but for the world I guess. I felt that today."
City council also held a moment of silence at the municipal services committee at noon Monday.
