BATACLAN TERROR, THREE YEARS ON It was our first date...but love survived trauma that followed
A BRITISH couple who survived the Bataclan Paris terror attack while on their first date say it will be difficult to celebrate their third anniversary together today.
Hanna Corbett and Jack Konda, then 21, were at the Eagles of Death Metal gig when three gunmen killed 90 people on November 13, 2015.
As the world remembers the attack, they say the horror of that night will be forever in their minds.
The former university pals still struggle to celebrate as their anniversary evokes the trauma of that night.
Hanna, from Harpenden, Herts, and Jack, of Richmond, south-west London, are planning a low-key meal, but Jack points out: “I think the Bataclan anniversary always overshadows ours.
“I was having nightmares for quite a long time. Once they stopped after a few months, it felt like a relief to no longer be so consumed by it.
“I remember thinking as I pulled Hanna on to the floor [during the attack], ‘We could either both die or I could fall on top of Hanna and maybe one person might survive’.”
Learning support worker Hanna says sudden noises and crowds still make her anxious – and the couple aim to be near exits at concerts.
She said family and friends had no idea that they were at the gig when news of the attack broke. She said: “I think the Bataclan has become other people’s ideas of our relationship. You can tell family members are just itching to ask about it. It’s hard to get your head around because you feel sad but you’re also really lucky to have survived so you should feel happy.
“God, I remember [the terror] so clearly. I was very much thinking ‘I’ve spent my life in a library, I haven’t really achieved anything, I’ve done nothing with my life’.
“It literally switched me on. People were dying around me and they’d done nothing to deserve that and I somehow lived. That’s like a real reason to live.”
The Bataclan gunmen opened fire just as Jack and Hanna were about go to the bar. Hanna said: “The bar was right at the back near where the gunmen came in, so what would have happened if we did? Things could have been so different.”