{"id":63670,"date":"2016-01-06T00:44:45","date_gmt":"2016-01-06T07:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wend.ca\/?p=63670"},"modified":"2021-12-29T19:39:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T00:39:15","slug":"je-suis-charlie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wend.ca\/?p=63670","title":{"rendered":"Je suis Charlie: 1-Year Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 7th marks the 1-year anniversary of the attack on the Charlie Hebdo<\/em><\/a> office in Paris; an attack that killed 12 people and wounded another 11. The killings spawned a worldwide movement to support freedom of speech and brought the magazine’s la\u00efcit\u00e9<\/a> political satire into the limelight; rather ironically, the attacks bolstered the floundering magazine when it was about to close its doors because of financial difficulties. <\/p>\n

In a day or two, the magazine will release a special edition marking the anniversary of the violence and feature cartoons by the five Charlie Hebdo artists who were killed in the shooting. <\/p>\n

\"sm-charliehebdo\"<\/p>\n

(Note: I read the cover as the assassin is always running away<\/em> but have been told it means the shooter is still out there<\/em>. Perhaps the two mean the same thing once you get past the literal language bit.)<\/p>\n

The first time I saw the phrase Je suis Charlie<\/em> was roughly a year ago in Los Angeles. It was a small sign attached to the back window of an Uber driven by a French woman who had just immigrated to California. Tu es Charlie?<\/em> I asked as I got into the car, not yet making the connection to the attacks in Paris. Oui. Je suis Charlie. Tu es Charlie. Je me souviens de Charlie.<\/em> Luckily, at this point I was doing daily French lessons and was able to connect the dots. A day later I saw a massive Je suis Charlie<\/em> sign covering the entire side of a building on La Brea. <\/p>\n

The U.S. and French constantly throw insults at each other; but, it was really heartwarming to see that the people of Los Angeles were very quick to support the French and denounce the attacks.<\/p>\n

While in Paris, we saw very little Je suis Charlie<\/em>. Even after a few weeks of wandering the city, it was only when we visited la Place de la R\u00e9publique that we saw our first indications of defiance, outrage, and a push to maintain freedom of speech. And, after wandering for a few more blocks, we accidentally stumbled upon the offices of Charlie Hebdo, identifiable by the big men with automatic rifles protecting the entrance. <\/p>\n

Across the street was a single small Je suis Charlie<\/em> sign a shop window. The only free speech message on the street outside of the Place de la R\u00e9publique.<\/p>\n

It’s no surprise that the Place de la R\u00e9publique has become a monument to defiance, it was built in honour of the French Revolution. After the attack on Charlie Hebdo<\/em>, 1.6 million people packed into the square to support the magazine and the right to free speech… and after the November 2015 attacks it became a place for mourning and quickly filled with tributes to the victims. <\/p>\n

On January 7th, I expect that the square to be overflowing with people. <\/p>\n