In a powerful statement posted on Facebook, Antoine Leiris, a journalist at France Bleu, declared to ISIS that he would not give in to hate from the murder of his wife, because that would be "giving in to the same ignorance that made you what you are."
His wife, Hélène Muyal-Leiris, was one of the dozens of victims at the Bataclan theater in Paris on November 13th.
Antoine has been "devastated with grief," but he assures the killers he and his 17-month-old son will rise above them with their happiness and freedom.
Here is Antoine's entire translated post:
On Friday night you stole the life of an exceptional being, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but you won't have my hatred.
I don't know who you are and I don't want to know - you are dead souls. If this God for which you kill indiscriminately made us in his own image, every bullet in the body of my wife will have been a wound in his heart.
So no, I don't give you the gift of hating you. You are asking for it but responding to hatred with anger would be giving in to the same ignorance that made you what you are.
You want me to be afraid, to view my fellow countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my freedom for security. You have lost.
I saw her this morning. Finally, after many nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as when she left on Friday night, just as beautiful as when I fell hopelessly in love over 12 years ago.
Of course I'm devastated with grief, I admit this small victory, but it will be short-lived. I know she will accompany us every day and that we will find ourselves in this paradise of free souls to which you'll never have access.
We are two, my son and I, but we are stronger than all the armies of the world.
I don't have any more time to devote to you, I have to join Melvil who is waking up from his nap. He is barely 17-months-old. He will eat his meals as usual, and then we are going to play as usual, and for his whole life this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. Because no, you will not have his hatred either.
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H/T Daily Mail
Featured Image: Aman holds a candle, as thousands of people gather at the central square in Strasbourg, eastern France, on November 18, 2015, to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks of November 13. Gunmen and suicide bombers went on a killing spree in Paris on November 13, attacking a concert hall, bars, restaurants and the Stade de France. Islamic State jihadists operating out of Iraq and Syria released a statement claiming responsibility for the coordinated attacks that killed 129 people and left 352 others injured. (Photo by PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images)