Letter from France
The writer is a Columbus native and occasional contributor to The Dispatch. The following is an email sent to his Lee High classmates, who recently celebrated a class reunion here.
Bonjour everyone,
Since several of you have inquired of my safety over e-mail or Facebook, I just want to report in from France.
I have been living in France since 1983, assisting a small evangelical French denomination plant churches in the Paris region. We live in the suburbs, about 15 miles southwest of Paris. That is why I have missed our class reunions over the years. I WILL make the next one.
Bobbie and I and my friends here are all safe. One of my colleagues was at the stadium where three suicide bombers blew themselves up during the soccer match. The whole town was on lock-down afterwards, but she made it back home safely, although seriously scared. Bobbie and I were at home watching it all on television. At this time, there have been 129 deaths, several missing and hundreds wounded, with around 80 in critical condition.
After the radical Islamic terrorist attacks in Paris, the country is very shaken up. The eight terrorists attacked places where people were enjoying themselves, a sports stadium, two restaurants, and a concert hall. People having fun is contrary to the values of the supposed Islamic State.
Instead of being able to enjoy peace in their hearts, there is a strong feeling of generalized insecurity as the French try to go about living normally, taking a crowded bus or subway, drinking coffee at a sidewalk cafe, attending a sports event, etc.
Another severely stressing element of the attacks is that five of the eight terrorists were French citizens. Although seven of these eight young men had French or Belgian nationality, they refused the tolerant European values of their mother countries. Instead they desire to impose the legalistic, radical Islamic doctrines on the rest of the world. The danger is within, and that is terrifying!
One other troubling aspect of the attack is that one of the terrorists was a Syrian who came into France on the huge wave of refugees, the vast majority of whom were legitimately fleeing the war and chaos in the Middle East.
These terrorist attacks are aiming at instilling fear to the point of influencing French military action against ISIS. At this point, the French response has been to intensify the bombings. No one here is optimistic that the end of these attacks is near.
Bill Boggess
Montigny le Bretonneux, France
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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