'Fear will not change Paris:' says Parisian woman living in Newfoundland
Nathalie Pender relieved to learn family members in Paris are safe
A Parisian woman living in Corner Brook says that while she is in shock, she knows the people of Paris will not let Friday night's attacks define their city.
"You cannot let this type of attack change your life in the sense that you will give too much power to the people who do it," said Nathalie Pender.
"I had this conversation with my husband last night, because he shrugged and said, 'Paris will never be the same, maybe.' And I said, not a chance. Paris will always be Paris. Fear will not change Paris."
She is married to Corner Brook mayor Charles Pender, and has lived in Newfoundland and Labrador since 1993.
Pender heard news of the tragic attacks on her home city while at a restaurant Friday evening.
"Somebody at the table told me, 'oh something happened in Pairs,' and my first reaction was 'not again,' after what happened last January," she said. referring to the shootings at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
"As the news unfolded, I was in shock. It's unspeakable. There's no explanation for this kind of terror that people have to live through."
Family members safe but shaken, says Pender
Many members of Pender's family, including her parents, live just a few kilometers from where the attacks in Paris occurred. Pender says her nieces and nephews frequently go out to eat in the targeted area.
You are walking, doing stuff normally, and all of the sudden, bang Your world is upside down and it's difficult to make sense of it.- Nathalie Pender
When she came home from dinner, Pender was relieved to find that her father had called to say the family was safe.
"My mother was shaken. It's not the first time Paris is going through this terrible fate. But they're doing well, all things considered," said Pender.
"But until you know everybody you love is safe, it's really hard. And after that it's still hard because it's other people, and there's no way to put your head around it. You are walking, doing stuff normally, and all of the sudden, bang — your world is upside down and it's difficult to make sense of it."
However, Pender said that her family will not let this attack change their lives.
She said her mother was planning to go to the hairdressers on Saturday afternoon, and that the attacks won't stop her.
"They will go on with their daily life. You do what has to be done. You keep moving, you keep surviving," said Pender.
Paris is no stranger to struggle and tragedy, after the Charlie Hebdo shootings that killed 11 people, and injured 11 more.
Even as a teenager, Pender says she remembers there being frequent bombings on the Paris subway.
The people of Paris pulled together then, said Pender, and they will continue to stay strong now.
"Paris has been through a lot, generation after generation," she said.
"I think the French people, like they did in January, will again get together and show a united front in defence of their country and what they believe in."