Paris, My Dream! | Borislavkiprin.com

I fell in love with Paris in the early ’90s, when fresh out of the first year at my city’s Lycée français I had my first visit to the French capital. Paris was, still is and will be everything I dream about a city to live in.

There is this particular thing about Paris existing in very few other places on earth that I admire so much. One walks on the streets there and sees people with a variety of DNA, geographical, and religious backgrounds. There is a representative of every single corner of this planet. These people go by their lives respecting one another, often smiling at each other and not even a bit being bothered by the obvious differences in clothing fashion, skin pigmentation, or sometimes exploratory hairstyle. And this happens in the midst of splendid architecture, incomparable cultural heritage, and plain joie de vivre.

For me, Paris was always and is the future. My future. The one I wish the generations after mine to have – regardless of our differences, to love unconditionally empathetic and tolerant with each other.

Not every act of terror makes the news. Actually, very few do. In many cases, we chose ourselves to close our eyes at what is happening far away from Europe, in others, it is chosen for us. I couldn’t offer a sensible explanation, neither I would defend the choices everyone makes. I find myself utterly speechless when thinking of how many innocent lives perished in last week, month, year, decade, or century…

I see no colors out of the grayscale parameter. I need some time. But I sure hope that everyone, who lost a loved one because of terrorism last Friday, week, month, year or decade, finds it in him– or herself to remember every single moment of joy they felt standing next to the ones who were taken away from them.

I am not a Parisian. Not yet, at least. I am not Lebanese, Syrian, Afghani, or Russian. But I feel for you and I feel that void, angst, and silent anger you do. I hope we can find a way out of this hole, called “terror”, and leave it forever behind us.