WASHINGTON — In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris last week, a French father who lost his wife says he’ll fight terror with love.
Helen Muyal-Leiris, 35, was killed in the attacks, and earlier this week her husband, Antoine, declared that he and their 17-month-old son would not live in fear or hatred, the English newspaper The Telegraph reports.
The note on Facebook, which is written in French, is titled “You will not have my hatred,” The Telegraph reports.
“I don’t know who you are and I don’t want to know, you are dead souls,” the note says. “So no, I will not give you the satisfaction of hating you. You want it, but to respond to hatred with anger would be to give in to the same ignorance that made you what you are.
“You would like me to be scared, for me to look at my fellow citizens with a suspicious eye, for me to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You have lost.”
The note concluded with a recounting of seeing his wife’s body, and telling the terrorists, “I grant you this small victory, but it will be short-lived.
“I know she will be with us every day and we will find each other in heaven with free souls which you will never have.
“Us two, my son and I, we will be stronger than every army in the world. I cannot waste any more time on you as I must go back to [my son] who has just woken from his sleep.
“He is only 17 months old, he is going to eat his snack just like every other day, then we are going to play like every other day and all his life this little boy will be happy and free.
“Because you will never have his hatred either.”
