It was crazy: Singaporeans in Paris on the aftermath of terror attacks
Person are being evacuated after a shooting, outside the Bataclan theatre in Paris on Nov 14, 2015. Photo: AP
SINGAPORE — Ms Anja Ho, a Singaporean student residing in western Australia, reached out to her sister working in Paris once she got news that a wave of terror attacks had hit the French capital early this morning (Nov 14).
She managed to get through to her via video-call and found her sister hiding in her place of work, a bar in the 12th arrondissement, less than 400 metres from one of the attacks. “At the time, the metro was down and cabs were unavailable, so the only option she had was to leave the bar and to go to a safe place either by walking or by cycling. But because of how close the bar was to the attack area, it was too dangerous on the road,” said Ms Ho, who is in her 20s.
It was a full hour later before her sister, who is also in her 20s, reported that she was home safe, but had taken what she called the “most expensive cab ride ever”. She told Ms Ho that many of the roads were closed and the “military was everywhere”.
“She’s never heard so many sirens in her life and it was seriously scary (for her) because these are all places that she hangs out and lives and works,” Ms Ho said. She said her sister frequents Le Petit Cambodge, one of two restaurants set upon by gunmen.
Another Singaporean who is in Paris for a work trip told Channel NewsAsia she was in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area when the attacks happened. “There was suddenly an influx of notifications from all kinds of sources - WhatsApp, Facebook, news and the restaurant’s radio. And then everyone was on hideout mode,” said the 25-year-old, who declined to be named.
Her account is as follows:
ArrayFormer Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong who is also in Paris, shared on Facebook that he and his colleagues took refuge in a bar which was closed for the night, but agreed to take let them stay amid the lockdown.
“I first found out about what was happening, when a friend and co-worker got a call from her Airbnb host, saying that there’s been a shooting incident on the street where her listing is and telling her that the street is closed. The host talked about the shooter having a sub-machine gun. The host was stuck in a nearby bar which was locked down,” the lawyer said.
“Until you live through something like this, you don’t know what it’s like. It changes how you think about terrorism and security and what the price of freedom really should be. It changes your appreciation for the safety and security of Singapore that you so take for granted. It changes how you think of your loved ones and what’s important to you,” he added.
NUS STUDENTS SAFE
The National University of Singapore (NUS) said in a statement that 14 of its students in Paris for academic-related activities are safe and that university staff are in contact with them.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of the attacks in Paris. The safety and well-being of our students are our topmost priority. We are monitoring the situation closely and university staff will provide the necessary assistance and advice to our students accordingly,” NUS said.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is contacting all registered Singaporeans in Paris to ascertain their safety. No Singaporean casualties have been reported. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
