Our thoughts are with Paris and its people

Last night, I sat on my sofa staring blankly at the screen, watching the horrors in Paris unfold, struggling to process the scale of this brutal, remorseless mission. As the first reports came in of shootings at a restaurant, I shuddered and remembered Charlie Hebdo, praying it wouldn't be as bad. But very quickly those reports of shootings became reports of bombings, hostage situations and mass murder. On Friday 13th, the French capital was subjected to a harrowing attack, carried out swiftly and by multiple perpetrators.

Firstly, we would like to send our love and solidarity to the people of Paris. I woke late this morning feeling emotionally drained, having watched news reports until the early hours. I can't imagine what it must be like for those people in the city who woke up today having lost loved ones, or not knowing if those closest to them would pull through. The harrowing testimony of survivors who escaped the Bataclan – where rock band Eagles Of Death Metal were performing – invite only the worst mental images; young people at a concert on a Friday night, executed arbitrarily in the name of propaganda.

What happened is a tragedy, with the organisation responsible most likely to be the terror group Isis. When I checked Twitter this morning, I was immediately concerned to see #muslims trending behind #parisattacks. If a consequence of these murders is an increased hatred of Muslims and a reinforced bigotry, then it will only prove to have been a bigger success for the people who orchestrated and carried out the attack. Division is exactly what they want. Solidarity across religions and races is what's needed right now, with answers as to why this happened probably what we won't get.

Following the events of Friday night, a fire broke out in the Calais jungle, with speculation rife that it was a reaction to the attacks (although volunteer network Calais Action has said the damage was caused by a "small fire that got out of hand", according to BuzzFeed). Poland, meanwhile, has said that it will no longer relocate migrants as agreed under EU law. This senseless demonisation and 'othering' of people (many migrants are actually escaping groups like Isis) only plays into the hands of the perpetrators.

We're writing this to show whatever support we can in the aftermath of a tragedy that feels incomprehensible, a tragedy that took place in a world that feels increasingly harder to understand – fatal bombs also hit Beirut and Baghdad this week. This is a letter showing our love to the people of Paris and all those affected by senseless, brutal violence across the world – our thoughts are with you.