3B
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 / The Statement
Terrorist attack kills scores in Nice, France, Hollande
says.
That’s the notification that popped up on my phone
after midnight on July 15 as I lay in my bed, in Grenoble,
just 300 kilometers away.
A shooter opened fire and killed more than 80 people
while driving his van into a crowd. The victims — who
were watching the Bastille Day fireworks — were cele-
brating the anniversary of the start of the French Revo-
lution. They were celebrating their country and their
patriotism. They were laughing, rejoicing and living life
before it was so unfairly taken away from them, far too
soon.
After reading the breaking news story, I lay in bed, no
longer tired despite the eventful day I’d had. I had been
enjoying the day, watching the fireworks and engaging to
the fullest in the national holiday. Not once did I ponder
what I’d do if someone opened fire in the crowds I was in.
My mind was racing; where would I have run? Would I
have hidden or tried to escape? Would I have been able to
help others around me, had they been hurt?
For the first time I was in France, I felt truly afraid.
People had mentioned to me before I left that the coun-
try wasn’t very safe, and they asked me if I was scared
to go there. “Are your parents cool with you going?” and
“Aren’t you a little concerned about your safety?” were
questions I got more often than “Are you excited to go?”
France has been the target of numerous killings in the
name of the Islamic State over the last year; however,
none have occurred in Grenoble. When people asked
me about it, I usually shrugged the idea off, noting that
I was equally likely, if not more, to be shot in the United
States. But now that it had happened somewhat close to
me and I was so far away from my home and family, I felt
scared for the world. I felt sad that these senseless mur-
ders and killings were continuing to happen, becoming
more of a norm than a shock. I felt immense grief for the
families who had lost parents, children and friends on a
day of celebration and unity. And lastly, I felt both guilt
and relief simultaneously, for being safe in my warm bed
while others around me suffered and mourned.
As I lay awake thinking the day over, I thought of all
the fear this would instill in people. Every day, we cancel
trips, avoid crowds, watch over our shoulders and gen-
erate distrust for others out of fear they might hurt us.
We anxiously look around airports and busy train sta-
tions wondering if this is the day someone will blow it all
up. Though it might not be a constant and daily train of
thought, at some point each of us is faced with the reality
that there are people in this world who want to hurt us
and terrorize us.
I thought back to the first day of the program in
Grenoble: The program hosted an orientation for us to
acclimate to the city. One of the biggest topics was how
we would address an attack in the city, where we would
go, to whom we should reach out. It suddenly seemed
very real.
In the United States, I feel a sense of comfort and
detachment, as if these sad realities are far away from
home and the things that I hear about on the news
from time to time. But being in France, in a place where
extremist attacks are becoming too often an occurrence,
the gravity of the situation became so much more real.
Despite the sudden feeling of uneasiness, we were told
to remain calm. The program would go on and none of
us would be going home. We were told that Nice was far
from Grenoble and to reassure parents and friends that
we were not hurt.
After the tragedy in Nice, the city felt a lot more on
edge. My host mom sat me down the following week
and warned me that even in the small town of Grenoble,
there were groups of people to look out for. In class, we
talked about how the government was addressing these
issues and how the French people reacted to these types
of attacks. Overall, there was a strong sense of fear of the
unknown, fear of people that look or act differently from
ourselves.
When I got back to the United States, the Nice attacks
were often top of the list in conversation topics about my
trip. “How did that affect you? Were you scared? Did you
want to come home?” I won’t deny that being so close
to something so horrific scared the crap out of me and
definitely made me much warier of my surroundings. But
never did I want to come home because of it.
I felt like this was an opportunity to experience the
world outside of my perceived safe zone in the States. I
feel that too often we isolate ourselves from the outside
world and reject anything different from our own agen-
das. We are more concerned about our own safety than
embracing life to the fullest and appreciating other ways
of life before becoming immediately suspicious.
For the rest of my time in Grenoble, I wanted to have
the best time of my life and experience the things I
came to experience. After all, I only had six weeks to get
to know a city, a culture and a language. Even if I was
scared, the chances of anything happening to me or my
peers were improbable. I was vigilant and aware of my
surroundings, but I didn’t let the senseless terror stop me
from experiencing my life.
All Around the World: Overcoming the Fear of Terror
B Y I S O B E L F U T T E R
“I can’t tell you how many nights I cried from
criticism and people critiquing everything about
me and my life and the choices that I made and the
mistakes that I made. After all of that, still to be
recognized as one of the best ever to play the game
is just a great moment.”
— ALLEN IVERSON, retired Philadelphia 76ers point guard, who was inducted
into the NBA Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 9.
on the record: NBA hall of fame
“When I heard that I was speaking first tonight,
I thought that someone made a mistake. The first
speaker should be the great Allen Iverson. You
know why? Because I need more practice than he
does.”
—YAO MING, 7-foot-6 retired Houston Rockets center, became the first
Chinese inductee into the NBA Hall of Fame.
“If I know my father, he’s up there arguing with
Wilt [Chamberlain] that his son is the best big man
in the game. One day when some father quizzes
his sons on the greats of the game, I hope Shaquille
O’Neal will be the answer.”
—SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, retired Los Angeles Lakers Center and 2016 Hall of
Fame inductee, on his place in NBA history.
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILIE FARRUGIA