Justice

Isobel Bowdery Gives Incredible Firsthand Account of Paris Concert Attack

November 15th 2015

A post from Isobel Bowdery, a graduate of the University of Cape Town, is going viral. She survived the brutal attack Friday night on Paris' Bataclan Theater during a Eagles of Death Metal concert.

 

The post, which includes a photo of the bloody vest she wore that night, has received more than one million likes and 590,000 shares. In the update, Bowdery reveals that she initially thought the attacks were part of the event, but once people started dying before her eyes, she realized the horror that was happening.

Bowdery pretended to be dead to protect herself from the attackers, who reportedly killed at least 80 people at the show alone. The series of attacks in Paris reportedly killed 127 people altogether, and the self-proclaimed Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.

RELATED: Why a Charlie Hebdo Cartoonist Won't Pray for Paris

 

"Dozens of people were shot right infront of me. Pools of blood filled the floor," she wrote. "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."

Bowdery added that she felt lucky to live through the horrible incident since so many innocent individuals weren't so lucky.

"The people who had been there for the exact same reasons as I - to have a fun night were innocent," she wrote. "This world is cruel. And acts like this are suppose to highlight the depravity of humans and the images of those men [circling] us like vultures will haunt me for the rest of my life. The way they [meticulously] shot people around the standing area i was in the centre of without any consideration for human life. It didn't feel real. I expected any moment for someone to say it was just a nightmare."

ALSO: Why France Is So Often Targeted By Terrorists

Despite the trauma of the night, she wrapped up the post by honoring those who helped her during this awful time:

"[B]eing 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. to never let this happen again."

ALSO: HOW PARISIANS ARE REACTING TO FRIDAY'S ATTACKS

Bowdery's post racked up many comments of support and love from fellow users:

Isobel Bowdery Facebook commentsIsobel Bowdery Facebook comments - facebook.com