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Je suis charlie

ju suisI’m sat in the Starbucks opposite Finsbury park station, with my headphone travelling from my ears down to my iPad engrossed by what’s unfolding in Paris, two sieges, a growing death toll. 14:48 GMT and headlines appear to signal that Paris can’t contain what now seems like a war on it’s citizens.

This article isn’t going to be filled with facts, nor do I plan to give you a breakdown of how the barbarity unfolded. I’m just sharing my thoughts as a Londoner who’s captivated by what’s unfolding across the water.

A city renowned for love and one I’ve always lucked out when it comes to being a tourist amongst the Parisians. It no longer holds the same appeal.

The details are still emerging from Dammartin-en-Goele and the hostage situation in the Kosher supermarket, with news now naming Amedy Coulibaly as the suspect responsible for the shooting of an innocent police woman in Montrouge, with unconfirmed reports now of five people dead in the supermarket.

This is not an act of martyrdom, a martyr dies for their faith, this is an assault on society an attempted destruction. The acts of cowardice have sparked debates around religion and immigration, the best revenge is success and as a unit, we need to look past the confusion and pick up the pieces.

“Forgive them for they know not what they do”

That resonates, they’re blind to what they’re actually doing. We as humans are imperfect, we spend a lifetime trying to find ourselves but in every way, that’s an impossible task, so there are the odd few in this world who consequently lose the core of what it means to be a human, adopting anger and hate over love. You can kill the bad with good, you can’t kill the bad with the bad. Kill them with kindness.

Religion plays no part in this piece, because Islam played no role in these events. These were decisions made by individuals who are forcefully trying to represent a community which holds no real support for their views.

It’s now 16:46 GMT and reports come in, the Kouachi brothers have been killed and the hostage freed. There’s also unconfirmed reports that the hostage situation at the Jewish supermarket has come to a close. This is where I close this short piece.

I norradean amorro am indeed Charlie, as is everyone who stands for the idea of free speech. It seems as though there are darker incidents on the horizon however one thing I hope the world remembers, judge each on their own merit and actions. If they throw hate and harm, throw love and compassion.

Reporter: Norradean Amorro