Its hard to shut it off…its a constant stream… your mind can shut off your body can shut off your senses can shut off but the stream goes on…you wake up and the phone is jumping around buzzing like a mosquito…I only woke up early on this particular day because it buzzed about 200 times whereas normally its 30 odd emails and notifications to start the day. I look at the screen…hmm strange nothing out of the ordinary…I look at twitter.. #Parisattack screams the timeline…I look at whatsapp and the one particular group which I know will be right in the thick of it has 382 messages and I open it up..then it really hits me.. GV (global voices) citizen journalists around the world throwing pics comments and cries of help from paris.. paris is burning.. what the heck is happening i hear explosions oh no is it another attack.. oh god please stay safe…60 dead 100 dead 152 dead…then the nuance starts to come in. Why is the media going bonkers? Why is Lebanon not trending they were attacked this week as well? What can be done about this gross wild barbaric cult of ISIS.. how much can we suffer…how much can we take?
Many people in that group have seen terror experienced it, still the pain from our parisian friends is very much present in their comments…I feel it in Claire’s muteness I feel it when Elise says she feels sick…its cold and its clawing at the pit of my stomach.. my mind whirls to my friends coffin…sabeen flashes in my minds eye…my mouth is dry in its horror all over again..and then it goes nuts on social media. People from all over the world are expressing their grief..national monuments are turning the colours of the french flag followed by FB giving everyone the option to turn their DP as well and soon the stream is a beautiful french flag…fluttering in the wind of unity..but the dark underlying belly of the whole thing is ripe with evil.. and then the first pin goes in..and the second one and the third one till it explodes open and our dark insides hang out..
“They found a syrian passport at the scene of the suicide bombingâ€
“The attackers yelled Allah hu akbar why do they need to announce their religion all the timeâ€
“France is at war, the eiffel towers lights have gone off is this the start of the endâ€
Its at this moment that we must pause and realise we are playing right into their hands once AGAIN. Is this not what they want? For us to turn against all the europeans suddenly looking wild eyed and scared…who gives a shit they don’t when Lebanon is attacked do they? For them to look at every muslim with suspicion..He is one of them…look.. run run.. for more autocratic and dictatorial regimes and laws forcing entire populations to grow more and more isolated from society till they have no choice but to go to“The Caliphateâ€
What we fail to realise as a world community is when exactly do we hurt terrorism whether its home grown or ISIS or the Taliban. Germany hit it very very bad when they took in all those syrian refugees which the brother islamic countries turned away. Europe too joined in the punches when they started opening their borders and helping families across and into safety.. and on the 13th of Nov Paris bore the brunt of it.
That is what really hurts the Terrorists because they are used to fighting our tanks and guns and hiding till we get tired and then emerging to attack once more..our love for each other hurts them.. because it is our hate that feeds the machines of their war, of their propaganda mills to recruit new souls into their fold, of their financiers minds who are bent on destruction and supporting it.
Our love hits at the very core of their ideology because their ideology is made up of hate…so the next time you see a french dp.. don’t judge them for not supporting Lebanon but appreciate their solidarity…the next time you hear their cries of anguish don’t laugh but remember how they reached out to us in Pakistan post APS peshawar. The next time it seems far away remember wherever you are in the world is where it can happen next..and the next time someone starts spewing hate answer them with love and watch them crumble.
They cannot kill us as long as we can love..they cannot kill love.