This weekend’s attack in Paris has reminded me of the
feelings of devastation I had when my city came under attack. During the 7/7
bombings in London my family were caught up in the horror across the capital. I
heard the reports of the first explosion and instinctively knew it was a bomb.
I knew my son was safely at school, having dropped him off before work, and
managed to contact my husband, who was working the other side of London when I
got to my office. However, I was unable to contact my daughter. The rising
panic was exacerbated when I finally got through to her work placement and
found she had not arrived.
It came as a welcome surprise when terror hit another
capital city that I was able to find out very quickly via Facebook that my
friends in Paris were safe. Using the #safetycheck feature they
were able to notify us that they were
safe.
Similarly, Google made it possible for people to communicate
with friends and family in France via its #hangouts app for free.
Words cannot express how it feels just hearing your
loved ones are safe. Thinking about that time I waited for news still brings on
tears. The relief when they all finally made it home - one having walked away
from the bomb site at Kings cross and out of the capital - and the other having
borrowed a bicycle to cycle 25 miles across in the city in lockdown – is
indescribable.
Searching for loved ones
Not everyone is been fortunate enough to hear good
news about their friends and family. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved
ones and to the people still searching for theirs.
As information emerges about the 129 people killed and
the many hundreds injured, there are still a number of people missing. A website has been set up to register people missing after the attacks but
the interior ministry warns that the site is frequently overloaded and may be
unavailable at times.
The hashtags #rechercheParis (searching Paris) and
#rechercheBataclan are being used to circulate the names and photos of those
missing.
I hope people will join in the minute silence for the
victims, which will be held in the UK at 11:00 GMT, to coincide with a
Europe-wide silence at midday French time.
