As a French citizen, I want to speak for all French students here at the high school when I say that the events of Friday, Nov. 13 were shocking and painfully paralyzing.

Friday had been a normal day. In fact, I had to perform at the Orchestra concert which took place Friday night.

Right before the concert started, I received a text from my sister saying, “There’s a terrorist attack in Paris,” so I googled it and saw the number of deaths increasing every few minutes. The death toll stood at more than 100 by the time I had to go up on stage.

As I gripped my violin and played, I held my tears back while thinking about the victims, their families and my family and friends from whom I still had not heard.

When I got home, my family was watching French news. As soon as I entered my house I heard the news saying, “Several terrorist attacks occurred in Paris. Terrorists attacked a soccer stadium and the Bataclan concert hall, exploding bombs and firing on random civilians.”

The death toll was 129 people, with more than 350 people wounded. My flow of tears was unstoppable. I texted all of my friends and called my family to make sure they were all safe.

I was so relieved to hear that they were safe, as the majority of my family members and many of my friends live near the area where the attacks occurred. My French friends who live in Brookline and Boston then called me one by one, asking if all was fine and sharing this moment of terror and shock with me.

We met during the weekend and shared our grief with one another. It is simply heartbreaking to think that several hundred innocent people who simply wanted to enjoy some music, a soccer game or a dinner with friends, were robbed of their lives and futures. The witnesses will remain scarred for life, and the families and friends of the victims will be filled with sorrow forever.

The worst part for me, as well as for most French people I spoke to in America, was that we were so far away from our people, who were bleeding inside and out and mourning the many lives lost. There was nothing I could do.

I wish I were there to be together with my people, united and mourning in unison during this historic moment of terror. It was the first attack of this type France has ever experienced.

Our President, François Hollande, made an announcement, saying that France would not let terrorism forbid the French people from living, that we will not let terrorists force us to live in fear and that he was declaring a war against terrorism.

Over the weekend, thousands of French people went outside to sing “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, and took pictures of themselves drinking with friends with captions such as, “Terrorists will not take our joy of living and our freedoms away from us.” Drinking a glass of beer with friends became a political act.

I know that all of my friends dressed in black on Monday, Nov. 16, and so did I, despite the fact that I am so far away from France. Such a tragic event makes you realize how important your country is to you, and how much you love your people.

Some negative responses emerged in the few hours that followed the incident. Numerous people complained about the fact that other countries suffer from such attacks very often, and that Lebanon suffered from a terrorist act around the same time, yet was not spoken of as much.

It is true that all losses around the world are equally important, and we should speak about other countries too. What is also true is that it is completely disrespectful to make such statements in a time of mourning. We are not competing over who suffers the most around the globe.

One of the reasons why the French massacre is so important is because these were the first major attacks of this type on French soil, and France hasn’t suffered so many losses in a domestic attack since World War II. These attacks also prove that no country is safe from terrorism, not even powerful Western nations. This weekend, France was attacked. Next weekend, it could be England, Italy, Spain or the United States.

This event was a wake up call for Western nations who underestimated the strength of ISIS, the terrorist organization who claimed responsibility for these attacks. I really think that too many people are forgetting the fact that so many people were killed and many more are injured. Too many people are trying to make political statements about the way media is operating, claiming that we shouldn’t care so much about France. Even now, however, families and friends are still mourning the deaths of their loved ones.

The French community in Boston gathered on Sunday to commemorate the victims. It is terrifying to think that terrorists are able to attack your country. I always believed that France was safe. If anything were to happen, I would return home and be safe, because France had never suffered major terrorist attacks.

To learn that hundreds of French people were directly affected is terrifying. My heart is bleeding. My heart will never stop aching because of this incident.

Writing this article is my way of representing my people’s grief, and the pain my country went through. It feels like the least I can do. Even writing this brings tears to my eyes. Never would I have imagined that France would be the victim of such atrocities.

In January 2015, a first shocking terrorist attack took place against the magazine Charlie Hebdo, which killed 16 people. Almost a year later, an even more damaging and violent attack has taken place.

The pain is gripping us all. We mourn for the France that once was safe from terrorism, the France that symbolizes freedom and hope and the France that always makes us proud.

And at a moment like this, we are happy to see that although the Eiffel Tower shut down, although France is living a moment of darkness, the rest of the world including the United States are lighting up the colors of the French flag as support.

My France, my people, will forever remain strong and united. We will fight and we will continue to smile and hope. The city of light, the country of philosophy, art and human rights, will remain strong.

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