One year ago today, 7 French and Nigerien humanitarians and their guide Kadri were cowardly murdered in Kouré, Niger, a country where they were helping the most destitute, the most fragile, the most in danger.
This day will remain forever engraved in our hearts, in the hearts of all their humanitarian friends and above all in the hearts of their families.
On this day, the ACTED and IMPACT teams organise in more than 40 countries where we intervene, a day dedicated to them and to all those who lost their lives in the service of their humanitarian commitment. That is, nearly 2,000 people over the past 15 years.
In Paris, on August 9, 2021 at 3pm, ACTED, IMPACT and the families of the victims organised a tribute in their memory at place Jacques Rueff, on the Champ de Mars.
Antonin, Boubacar, Charline, Léo, Myriam, Nadifa and Stella are not only names, they are faces, the faces of young women and men who paid with their lives for their humanitarian commitment.
Antonin, Boubacar, Charline, Léo, Myriam, Nadifa and Stella had in common their profound humanity and their commitment to the most destitute populations, whatever their background, their beliefs or their faith. This humanity, which did not come from nowhere, led them to Niger to bring assistance, hope and a future to those who had nothing. On the way, they met murderers whose madness will never excuse anything.
Their absence will forever leave a terrible void for us, their parents, their families, their loved ones. For all of us, their faces, their voices and their actions will remain engraved in our minds and in our hearts.
Antonin, Boubacar, Charline, Léo, Myriam, Nadifa and Stella, you were murdered because you were helping others. Your names shine now like beacons in the night in which some would like to see those we help sink.
We refuse to prove them right.
On this day, with this tribute, in your memory and in your name, we promise to keep on carrying the torch of your commitment so that it continues to enlighten our actions.
We do not forget, we will never forget you, and those you helped and that we help will never forget you.
ACTED, IMPACT and the families