Justice
‘People Next Door Have Been Attacked’
A Muslim woman who lives in America witnessed the Paris terrorist attacks from a nearby restaurant. She reflects on those harrowing hours, and the Islamophobia that’s followed.
Fatima and I have been friends for around 20 years. We met in second grade and grew up together in New Delhi. Now, even though we live in different cities in America, we talk almost every day.
When the news broke about the Paris attacks, I received a text from her that read: “safe.” After some initial confusion, I remembered that she was in Paris for a work-related conference. A few messages and a quick phone call later, I found out she wasn’t quite safe—at least not then. She was texting from inside a restaurant just a minute’s walk away from La Belle Equipe, the bistro in the 11th arrondissement where 19 people were gunned down.