Still in Paris, thinking about all my dear places, Italy, Bristol, London, Nairobi...
Thinking of all the places torn in war daily for months, years, decades: Beirut, Baghdad, Syria.
What have we done to the world?
We're in shock in Paris, but the state of the world is much more worrying than one city's security.
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Yesterday evening, from 7pm, I was in a theatre in the south of Paris, to see and listen to a wonderful text, to a play by Bernard Marie Koltes about the consequences of the Algerian war, a proper French civil war, on a French family.
Here is an extract from the text:
It was a mild autumnal evening. People are usually out at concerts, shows, plays and much more cultural activities in Paris on a Friday night, or simply gathered in between friends for a drink.
It is already difficult in France to discuss traumatic events, which occurred 60, 70 years ago, so today's debates are sometimes very shallow and full of emotions, anger and fear, on most media.
It seems more important than even to think, remain calm and recognise our own mistakes: in Syria, in Libya, in Iraq, but long before those failed responses to terrible conflicts, to our actions throughout the past century in Europe, the Western world and far beyond.
It is a time to remain silent, call fr peace and think about complex issues...
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I'm very thankful to my friends and acquaintances from around the world sending thoughts and comforting messages. We're numerous in this together.
My best thoughts for people in Beirut, in Iraq, in Syria, in Centrafrique, in Northern Nigeria... in every place torn apart.
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