It sometimes is too easy to get caught up in the college/university bubble. It sometimes is too easy to get caught up in what sometimes are minor problems and annoyances in your life. Then you are harshly reminded that there are issues and problems that are significantly larger than your own.
About two days ago, the city of Paris was hit by one of the worst terrorist attacks in recent history. Approximately 130 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured. Worse, the attacks were coordinated, with several suicide bombs going off at a stadium hosting a friendy football (not soccer! ;) ) match between France and Germany, two or three shootouts occurring at numerous locations among the Paris arrondissements (rough translation is neighborhood or district), and a hostage situation at a musical performance at the Bataclan theatre. In the aftermath, while many of the terrorists have been caught, at least one is still on the loose, to the terror of people living in neighboring countries such as Belgium, where it is rumored that he is currently hiding.
I found out the news while I was busy working on an examples paper, and I found myself unable to work anymore afterwards. Instead, I was riveted to the homepage of the news broadcaster TV5 Monde, which was providing live updates on the situation. I kept refreshing it every 20 minutes or so to find out whether or not law enforcement had been able to catch all of the perpetrators of this heinous crime. I only stopped eventually because I had to sleep and could not concentrate any further.
The Charlie Hebdo attacks back in January were shocking enough as it was, but 130 people killed in such an advanced metropolitan area as Paris!? That to me is both mind-blowing and scary. At the Bataclan theatre alone, around a hundred people died as a result of the hostage situation. This was Friday night mind you: how many of those people who died do you think expected to no longer see the world again on a night like that? This degree of coordination and brutality in this attack was unlike anything I had witnessed in the past couple of years. Not to mention, England is much closer to Paris than the United States is, and with all of these stories about people leaving their home countries to fight for ISIS and then returning back home to launch terror attacks, being this close to the carnage is somewhat frightening. The UK has seen at least 100 of its citizens go to Syria to fight for ISIS, and who knows whether any of those who return plan to attack the UK in a similar fashion as in Paris?
In the still relatively short aftermath, my heart goes out to the families and friends of those who perished in that massacre. My heart also goes out to the Musim communities not only France but also around the world, whose overall image has been tarnished once more by extremeism and violence. Although the media focuses exclusively on the terrible acts committed by terrorists in the name of Allah, we should not forget that these more extreme Muslims form only one small part of all Muslims, many of whom are significantly more moderate and welcoming to people of different religious faiths. All too often now, we are quick to get suspicious of a person just because he/she is a Muslim, and while that is understandable, we should try our best to not let these knee-jerk suspicions interfere in the more logical/concrete decision-making process that we end up taking.
In light of the bloodshed, the question still lingers: how do we move on from something like this? While I have witnessed events of similar atrocity before (e.g. 9/11), it doesn't make moving on from such events any easier the second, third, or nth time around. World leaders have vowed that a stronger and more unified response to contain and defeat ISIS is necessary, but we have to see whether or not all of these countries, who are supposedly against ISIS, can find a unified and cohesive plan to do so. In the meantime, for the everyday civilian, perhaps the best way to move on is the way in which Parisiens have done already in wake of the tragedy: continue to live their normal lives. As has been pointed out several times, ISIS, like any terrorist organization, wants to strike to fear among people it is target. However, if you do not let fear take control of you, then the attacks have failed in that respect. The 130 lives were then not lost completely in vain.
In closing, Paris in 2015, like New York in 2001 or London in 2005, will be able to move on from this traumatic experience. Even though this is the second devastating terrorist attack this year, I am confident that the city and its citizens will be strong enough to move forward together. I hope that in the future, we will be able to find a way to peacefully reconcile differences without letting them escalate as they have now (e.g. religion) so as to avoid such inexplicable and unnecessary violence that has shocked Paris and ravaged the Middle East.
Pray for Paris. Vive la France.