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A South African graduate has shared what was going through her mind as she faced murderous gunmen with hundreds of concert goers at Bataclan concert hall in Paris Nov.13.
Numerous terrorist attacks were conducted in Paris on Nov. 13-14. Four gunmen systematically slaughtered at least 89 young people attending a rock concert at the Bataclan music hall.
Some 40 more people were killed in five other attacks in the Paris region, including an apparent double suicide bombing outside the national stadium where French president Hollande and German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier were watching a friendly soccer international.
129 people have died in the aftermath of a string of terror attacks in Paris, while 99 out of 352 injured are in a critical condition, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins stated during a news briefing following a string of terror attacks in France's capital.
Isobel Bowdery, 22, posted the emotionally raw status on Facebook to describe her horrific ordeal which is accompanied by a photo of the t-shirt she wore to the concert, stained with blood, The Telegraph reported.
The former Cape Town University student thanks the many strangers that helped her during the night from the man who she credits for saving her life to a couple she heard exchanging loving last words.
"You never think it will happen to you," she wrote. "It was just a Friday night at a rock show. The atmosphere was so happy and everyone was dancing and smiling. And then when the men came through the front entrance and began the shooting, we naively believed it was all part of the show."
"It wasn't just a terrorist attack, it was a massacre," Bowdery said. "Dozens of people were shot right in front of me. Pools of blood filled the floor. Cries of grown men who held their girlfriends dead bodies pierced the small music venue. Futures demolished, families heartbroken. In an instant. Shocked and alone, I pretended to be dead for over an hour, lying among people who could see their loved ones motionless."
"Holding my breath, trying to not move, not cry - not giving those men the fear they longed to see," she wrote. "It didn't feel real. I expected any moment for someone to say it was just a nightmare. But being a survivor of this horror lets me able to shed light on the heroes. To the man who reassured me and put his life on line to try and cover my brain whilst I whimpered, to the couple whose last words of love kept me believing the good in the world, to the police who succeeded in rescuing hundreds of people, to the complete strangers who picked me up from the road and consoled me during the 45 minutes."
"I truly believed the boy I loved was dead, to the injured man who I had mistaken for him and then on my recognition that he was not Amaury, held me and told me everything was going to be fine despite being all alone and scared himself, to the woman who opened her doors to the survivors, to the friend who offered me shelter and went out to buy new clothes so I wouldn't have to wear this blood stained top, to all of you who have sent caring messages of support - you make me believe this world has the potential to be better," she said.
"As I lay down in the blood of strangers and waiting for my bullet to end my mere 22 years, I envisioned every face that I have ever loved and whispered I love you," Bowdery wrote. "Over and over again, reflecting on the highlights of my life. Wishing that those I love knew just how much, wishing that they knew that no matter what happened to me, to keep believing in the good in people, to not let those men win."
"Last night, the lives of many were forever changed and it is up to us to be better people," she said. "To live lives that the innocent victims of this tragedy dreamt about but sadly will now never be able to fulfill. RIP angels. You will never be forgotten."