Halifax mourns those lost in the Paris attacks

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A day after attacks killed at least 120 and wounded hundreds in Paris, Halifax came together to mourn those who died.

At the Grand Parade, where poppies and wreaths still cover the ground from a Remembrance Day ceremony a few days earlier, more than 100 people joined in solidarity with the victims of the Paris attacks.

They formed a line quietly, waiting their turn to write their names and condolences in a book that will be sent to Paris.

Haligonians speak out

Alizé Barth, the organizer of the event, said she was impressed with the turnout.

“We had so many people who came tonight, from the mayor, the elected MLAs,” she said. “We had quite a good presence of dignitaries and the chief of police was here, but most importantly it was the number of people that came.”

Mayor Mike Savage said he didn’t come as a representative of the city. Rather, he came as a member of the community.

“I hope it’s a little bit helpful for them to know that their grief is shared,” he said.  “We are citizens of an increasingly small world and what happens time zones away does affect us here in a way that, perhaps, it didn’t before.”

A family is personally affected

Adam Alexandrowicz came to the vigil with his wife, Christine, and his daughter, Emilie. Christine’s niece and nephew were at France’s national soccer stadium, Stade de France, when the attacks happened.

They’re safe and sound but Alexandrowicz said it is only a matter of time before this happens again.

“It seems like things like this repeats itself,” he said. “We hear about it, but we just don’t pay attention to it.”

Alexandrowicz said leaders need to have a more diplomatic solution to terrorism.

“Perhaps an increase in tolerance and less ignorance might help,” he said. “This doesn’t happen overnight. These people are programmed to hate.”

The world unites 

Mario Noury is a French citizen living in Halifax. He said that the people of France would be touched by what happened in Halifax on Saturday night.

“[Attacks] happened in London, in Madrid, in Canada not too long ago,” he said. “So I say it’s not just Paris. It’s more global than that. And so for everyone here tonight, it’s a way to show that it’s universal. That we don’t want it. That we’ll fight against it.”