On Monday night hundreds of students gathered at the Guild of Students to mourn the loss of those killed in the terror attacks in Paris on Friday. The vigil was led by the University of Birmingham Francophile Society and whilst the main focus was on the 129 killed in Paris, tribute was also paid to those killed by terrorists in Beirut and Bagdad.
The vigil began with students lighting candles and placing notes in remembrance of the victims. The president of the Francophile society, Louis Serrand, then came forward to make a commemorative speech. Serrand highlighted the terrible loss that his home country had suffered, describing the difficulty of being abroad in this time of turmoil. Despite highlighting the loss to France, Serrand stated that although the Parisian attacks have been more acutely felt in Europe, terrorist attacks frequently occur all over the world. Serrand emphasised that “…we need to keep in our minds what happens every day in other countries.”
In the second part of his speech Serrand made it plain that he does not think that violent retaliation is the solution to terrorism. He stressed his discomfort at President Hollande’s decision to drop twenty bombs on Syria.
Serrand also payed tribute to the University of Birmingham student, Daniel Garvey, who passed away on the weekend in a plane crash.
Serrand’s speech ended in a minute’s silence to reflect on terrorisms effects all over the world. Following this, the national anthems of Lebanon, Iraq and France where played. The vigil ended with the charity collections for Croix-Rouge Française and Oxfam. Serrand said that “These two seemed natural, as the French Red Cross are helping those affected by the attacks in Paris, and Oxfam help many children who have been directly affected by the refugee crisis.”
The vigil at the university, covered by both the BBC and ITV, is just one of many tributes held all over the UK, highlighting the level of shock initiated by these devastating attacks.
