The individual stories of the victims of the Paris attacks, the names and faces behind the numbers, have been filtering through all week, and this latest story is touching hearts and minds around the world.
Antoine Leiris, who lost his beloved wife Helene in the tragedy, has become a viral sensation after sending out a powerful message to her killers this week.
Helene was shot and killed during the Bataclan shootout, and while a distraught Antoine is now mourning the loss of his wife and the mother of his child, he has insisted that he will not give in to hate and terror.
Addressing ISIS in a now viral open Facebook letter, which he went on to read out on BBC News, Antoine said: “On Friday night, you stole away the life of an exceptional being; the love of my life, the mother of my son, but you will not have my hatred.”
“I will not give you the gift of hating you. You have obviously sought it, but responding to it with anger would be to give in to the same ignorance that has made you what you are,” he added.
It goes without saying that Antoine’s poignant and moving piece has been praised around the world. You can listen to the letter in full in the video below.
