After this weekend’s horrific acts of violence in Paris, someone I know, who lives in Paris, shared the following touching words, and with his approval, I am sharing them with you.

 ‘After 9/11 in New York, the bombings in Madrid, London, Paris in February, Tunisia and the recent Russian flight, I thought that we had reached a maximum of horror and human stupidity. Unfortunately however, the horror seems to be unlimited. We are shocked, but I am also relieved that none of my family has been impacted by these recent events in Paris.

I am concerned about the future. Being Muslim, I fear that there will be further collateral damage after these events, for my generation and for our children. We are second generation immigrants to France and we have done our best to integrate into this country; a country, I call my own and my home. But, the country may look at us differently going forward, if not already.

Sometimes people ask me why I work so hard and the answer is very simple; The company I work for has been able to do what our country’s politicians and religious leaders have never been able to do; succeed at creating an organization where culturally diverse people can work together as one, following one vision, sharing different points of view and recognizing these differences as strengths and not weaknesses; I am proud to be part of my company’s diverse community.’

My thoughts are with the families of those people who have died so tragically in Paris as well as with those people, who continue to be affected.