Irish student's plea for tolerance after Paris attacks

An Irish student who was present at the Stade de France as explosions detonated nearby last Friday night has said the experience gave her a "tiny insight" into the "utter terror and fear" that refugees have to live with on a daily basis.

In a letter to irishtimes.com, Áine Earley, a student at Trinity College Dublin, wrote that those behind last Friday's attacks should be held accountable for their crimes but emphasised that the atrocity is not the fault of "an entire people".

Ms Earley, who is in Paris as part of the Erasmus programme, was watching France play Germany in an international football friendly at France's national stadium when the explosions went off. In her letter, she described the moment those in the stadium realised what was happening.

"The brief panic we experienced at the stadium gave me a tiny insight into the utter terror and fear that so many refugees have had to live with on a daily basis. I cannot bear to imagine what this must be like.

"This horrific experience should bring us closer to these people who are fleeing from such awful circumstances," she wrote.

"This atrocity is the fault of individuals, and they must be held accountable. But it is not the fault of an entire people."

In a call for understanding and respect, Ms Earley emphasised the importance of unity in the face of provocation designed by the perpetrators to fuel "irrational hatred".

"In this time of tragedy, we need now more than ever to be united in our support for each other and in the fight against terrorism. But this is not just the job of world leaders. It begins with each and every one of us showing tolerance, understanding and respect. Please, let us be courageous and compassionate in our response.

"Friday night’s atrocities were designed to create fear. We cannot allow them to succeed by allowing ourselves to be fuelled with irrational hatred. May we only be strengthened in our efforts to oppose such horrors and unite with persecuted people the world over, in search of a way that we can all come to live in peace, respectful of each other’s differences.