Hong Kong’s tears, solidarity for Paris: French community in shock, candle-lit vigil planned
Thousands of French citizens in Hong Kong were in shock and desperate to know family and friends in Paris were safe after horrific terrorist attacks were unleashed on Friday.
“We all woke up this morning to this terrible news,” said Betty Grisoni, a Hong Kong resident for 15 years.
IN PICTURES: How Hong Kong and the world mourned for Paris
“We are not only in shock because lots of people were killed but most of us don’t know whether our family or friends are OK.
“I don’t know where my brother is and he lives near the Bataclan concert hall,” Grisoni said yesterday afternoon, referring to the theatre where almost 100 people were killed in one of the six coordinated terror attacks on Friday evening, local time, in Paris.
A candlelight vigil was held tonight at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sheung Wan, which French Consul General Eric Berti attended.
“The violence of these attacks is unprecedented in France,” he said yesterday evening, after emergency talks with the French ambassador in Beijing to discuss how consular staff would support French nationals living in Hong Kong and mainland China.
READ MORE: World stands behind France: mourners condemn the terror attacks in Paris with vigils and landmark buildings lit to resemble French flag
Berti said the French community in Hong Kong has reacted to the tragedy with a “mix of tears, anger and solidarity.”
The consulate organised a memorial event on Monday evening at 8pm at Tamar Park and all consular-supported events next week, such as the opening of the French Film Festival, will start with one minute’s silence, Berti said.
“Let us show we are not afraid and we will stand together. Once again,” the organisers wrote.
Grisoni, a spokeswoman for the event, said that the latest terror attacks had hit at the core of the French people.
“It’s scary to see the scenes because they attacked people at restaurants, at a football match and a rock concert. These attacks are targeting the heart of society,” she said.
“But that’s what the terrorists want, for us to be scared so we need to tell them that we won’t be afraid. We also need to tell ourselves not to be afraid.”
Grisoni said while the attacks had shaken the French community in Hong Kong, the expatriate network was resilient.
“The whole French community is in shock and we’ve been calling each other and using social media to support each other. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks, we organised a vigil and we want to do the same. The French community is very strong in Hong Kong.”
Alexandra Malandain-Leckie, president of Hong Kong’s overseas French association L’Union des Français de l’Étranger, was on the phone all morning to check her friends were safe.
“Everyone is quite traumatised,” she said. “The area around Bataclan is very popular and the weather is good at the moment so there would have been many people staying out for drinks on a Friday evening.
“I have lots of friends in Paris and so I made sure they were OK. There has been a lot of communication between Hong Kong and France this morning. A lot of people will be mourning and the mood will be very sad in Paris.”
Frenchwoman Xaviere Cotterau, a professional horse rider in Hong Kong, said the attacks targeting public places had rocked her.
“It’s hard to get your head around it, how men with guns could get into a concert with so many people and security. How could it happen when we know Paris has been subject to terrorist attacks in the past,” she said.
“It’s a tough day for France,” said English horse trainer Richard Gibson, who spent 15 years in France before moving to Hong Kong. He spent the morning texting family and friends in Paris to check they were safe.
An estimated 18,000 French nationals call Hong Kong home, more than double the number a decade ago.
