Expat Observations: Terrorism

Peace for Paris by Jean Jullien

I was very sad to wake up to the news this morning of the terror attacks in Paris, which have killed over 120 people and injured hundreds of others, the majority of whom were attending an Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan. This attack is in addition to the suicide bombings in Beirut a day earlier that killed 43 people and injured hundreds more.

The world's leaders have condemned the Paris attacks, and people around the globe are standing in solidarity with the people of France. Many historic buildings are being lit up in the blue, white and red colors of the French flag to honor the victims. It was lovely to see the true humanity of people in the way they helped their fellow citizens and offered people shelter in their homes using the #PorteOuverte hashtag. It reminded me of the aftermath of the Martin Place siege in Sydney and the #illridewithyou hashtag where people offered to ride public transport with Muslims who may have been fearful to ride alone due to anti-Islamic sentiment.

Thankfully Malcolm Turnbull is Australia's Prime Minister, so we didn't have to hear the phrase "death cult" today and witness a bunch of fearmongering and posturing by our conservative government. As we continue to experience terrorism it does make me wonder what kind of world would we all be living in if Al Gore had won the presidential election in 2000 instead of George W. Bush? My thoughts go out to all those affected by these terror attacks.