Sting reopens Bataclan with ‘Inshallah’

Singer remembered dead, prayed for better tomorrow

PARIS: Rock star Sting headlined a concert in Paris’ Bataclan on Saturday, to mark its reopening a year after three militants gunned down 90 revellers in the concert hall.

Sting, who fronted the hit pop band The Police before a long solo career, opened the emotionally charged gig with a minute’s silence, saying that he will not forget the victims. “Tonight, we have two tasks to achieve: first to remember those who lost their lives in the attack and then to celebrate life and music in this historic place,” the performer said. He also debuted his song Inshallah at the event, as a message of hope to victims, Syrian refugees and the world in general.

On November 13, 2015, the assailants burst through the music hall’s main entrance and sprayed automatic gunfire into the crowd as the Californian rock band Eagles of Death Metal played on stage. During a more than two-hour long assault, the attackers executed some victims and took others hostage. The attack ended after one militant was shot dead and the other two killed themselves by detonating explosive vests. Other gunmen and suicide bombers targeted a soccer stadium and several cafes in Paris. In all, the Islamic State militants killed 130 people.

Adrien, a survivor who also lost two friends that night, said, “It was my duty to come and remember those who died here.” As the concert hall emptied, another concert-goer said, “Tonight was beautiful. Sting set the place alight and we forgot our fears.” The musician left the stage after chanting, “Long live the Bataclan!”

The Paris attacks prompted the government to impose a state of emergency, which remains in place, following this summer’s attacks in Nice and Normandy.

Writing in an opinion column published in several European newspapers on Saturday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that the “heavy and constant threat of more terror attacks hung over France” and urged Europe to strengthen its defense. “This is all the more so as the United States becomes less and less involved in the affairs of the world. Europe can no longer shirk its responsibilities and take refuge behind its American ally,” he wrote.

Proceeds from Saturday’s Bataclan gig will go to two charities helping survivors of the Paris attacks.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2016.

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