Before the trial of the Nice attack, a Vaudoise testifies: “I have only one question, why?” – rts.ch
Before the trial of the Nice attack, a Vaudoise testifies: “I have only one question, why?” – rts.ch
Six years ago, the Nice attack mourned France, as well as the families of the many victims from all countries who died in this jihadist attack. Vaudoise Inès Gyger, who lost her daughter and granddaughter there, says she is ready for the trial which begins on Monday. His testimony.
The trial of the Nice attack, a crazy truck attack that left 86 dead and 400 injured on July 14, 2016, opens Monday in Paris. Highly anticipated, this river trial should last until December 16, and marks the epilogue of one of the worst jihadist attacks that France has known.
This French National Day evening, many tourists were present on the famous Promenade des Anglais. Three Swiss were among the victims of the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. On Monday, however, the special Assize Court of Paris will not judge the main perpetrator of the attack, shot dead on the spot by the police, but eight people suspected of having helped him.
“I’ve been ready since July 14, 2016”
Civil parties in Switzerland will travel to Paris to testify at this trial. This is the case of Inès Gyger. This Brazilian from the North of Vaud lost her daughter and her granddaughter in the attack. Cristina was 31 years old, Kayla, 6 years old. They lived in Yverdon-les-Bains and were on vacation in Nice with the dad and the two little sisters, who survived.
>> Read also: “Half of my heart remained in Nice”, testifies the mother of a victim of the attack
Inès Gyger is still waiting for the date of her convocation. She received the RTS in her apartment, surrounded by family photos. Resilient, she has learned to live with pain that is still sharp, and she has been waiting for this trial for a long time.
“I have been ready since July 14, 2016. I have only one question: why? These people, these children, did nothing. They were there to celebrate, with the family. They are not coming back, but we would like an answer. Maybe with this, the loved ones will be able to mourn. There were not only 86 deaths, we can triple the damage, physically and psychologically. Maybe after that , failing to resume a normal life, they will be able to move forward”, she hopes.
That the main perpetrator of the attack is not at the bar of the accused matters little to him. “I have already forgiven this person: he is dead, and he was not in a normal state. A normal person does not do such terrible things.”
The process of psychic repair is punctuated by court proceedings, even if these, due to the needs of the investigation, often take a long time.
“The victims can wait for a form of reconstruction, which gives them some answers, at least on the chronology and perhaps on the intentions of the author”, explains in La Matinale Marie Anne Gury, psychologist, specialist in victimology and legal expert at the Court of Lyon.
Judicial temporality and psychic temporality are not the same, but they are interdependent, notes the expert. “The first has an impact on the second, and the process of psychic repair will be punctuated by judicial times, even if these, due to the needs of the investigation, often take a long time.”
>> The full interview with Marie Anne Gury in La Matinale:
When attending the trial, Inès Gyger said she drew strength from her hope for a better world: “I wouldn’t want there to be other Kayla and other Cristina around the world.”
In flashes, Inès Gyger remembers this terrible evening. At the time of the attack, she was finishing her rounds as caregiver to a patient. This is where she discovers the live images on the TV on. “I saw a stroller, which looked like my daughter’s. Cristina didn’t call, so I called France, but it didn’t answer,” she says.
“Lord, give me strength”
Then begins a night of anguish until the phone call from the honorary consul of Switzerland in Nice, who announces the death of Kayla, and informs him that they have no news of Cristina.
The next day, Inès Gyger goes to Nice. She will look for her daughter Cristina in all the hospitals in the city, to finally learn of her death. After the tragedy, it was faith that allowed him to hold on. “I think a lot about them,” she explains, showing family photos, witnesses of “beautiful moments”. “My favorite book is the Bible, I read it every morning,” she continues. “There’s a verse that says ‘Help yourself and heaven will help you’. Every day in the morning I say to myself, ‘Lord, give me strength.'”
>> Also listen to the lighting of La Matinale on a center for the psychological follow-up of children, set up after the attack in Nice:
Radio subject: Martine Clerc
Adaptation website: Katharina Kubicek
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