It’s easy to cave into the fear and that fear doesn’t leave you, particularly when the country is still in mourning. A sudden beeping horn makes you jump. Fireworks don’t scream ‘celebrations’ anymore. Shopping centres have security personnel checking your bags. The area surrounding the Eiffel Tower not only has police officers but men in army gear with guns no child should see on a daily basis. It’s their new normal. And as you’re eating in the restaurants that overlook the busy Parisian streets, you’re laughing with friends and it suddenly hits you. Just like that it could all be over. You see yourself in the victims. They were laughing once too.
But what you have to remember is that you just play into the hands of terrorists if you boycott fun. The tourism industry is vital to many countries. Egypt is one example of a thriving country whose tourism was worth around £8 billion prior to the Arab Spring and we saw it drop to £4.5 billion last year. To stop travelling – no, living – is to let them win.
It’s often said that the best revenge is happiness, and that’s what we should be doing. If we were to accept the fear, we would be locking ourselves in our own homes because the threat is just as real on your doorstep as it is across the sea.
So this trip wasn’t just for us. It was for those who didn’t make it home. Not just in France but Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, and Belgium. And for the people in Iraq and Bangladesh who were at home but still got targeted not too long ago.
14 July was supposed to be a celebration of freedom in France but it will now also be the anniversary of the cost of it. Here’s to those that didn’t mark another decade. And here’s to the city of light continuing to shine, even in the face of tragedy.
