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Isobel Bowdery: South African Woman Survives Paris Massacre by Playing Dead, Facebook Post Goes Viral

Isobel Bowdery is a 22-year-old South African woman who was at the Eagles of Death concert in Paris on Friday night when gunmen entered and began executing countless people. Bowdery played dead inside...
Isobel Bowdery: South African Woman Survives Paris Massacre by Playing Dead, Facebook Post Goes Viral
Written by Kimberly Ripley
  • Isobel Bowdery is a 22-year-old South African woman who was at the Eagles of Death concert in Paris on Friday night when gunmen entered and began executing countless people.

    Bowdery played dead inside the concert hall. She has since shared her account of surviving the Paris attacks on her Facebook page. That post has since gone viral.

    “Dozens of people were shot right infront of me. Pools of blood filled the floor. Cries of grown men who held their girlfriends dead bodies pierced the small music venue. Futures demolished, families heartbroken. in an instant. Shocked and alone, I pretended to be dead for over an hour, lying among people who could see their loved ones motionless.. Holding my breath, trying to not move, not cry–not giving those men the fear they longed to see. I was incredibly lucky to survive. But so many didn’t. The people who had been there for the exact same reasons as I–to have a fun friday night were innocent. This world is cruel. And acts like this are suppose to highlight the depravity of humans and the images of those men circuling us like vultures will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Isobel Bowdery wrote in her post.

    As of earlier on Sunday, Isobel Bowdery’s Facebook post about surviving the Paris massacre has been shared more than 600,000 times. Mark Zuckerberg was among those who shared it.

    Isobel Bowdery explains in her post how she laid perfectly still, trying not to cry so the gunman would mistake her for dead. She also writes about the love and compassion she felt from many following the horrific ordeal.

    Knowing full well she is among the lucky ones at that concert in Paris, can you even imagine the state of mind Isobel Bowdery is in right now?

    Like all of those who lost loved ones or survived Friday’s massacre in Paris, she will no doubt be haunted by these senseless killings for the rest of her life.

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