Breakfast Babble: ED’s own little space on the inter-webs where we gather to discuss ideas and get pumped up for the day. We judge things too. Sometimes. Always. Whatever, call it catharsis and join in people.
Terrorism is an unnecessary evil haunting the mankind today. Keeping aside the relevant issue of growth of ISIS which results in senseless and radical killing, a subtle yet disturbing trend has emerged. The world seems to empathize more with terror attacks in the developed countries than with the more devastating ones in the terror-prone countries.
Istanbul. Dhaka. Baghdad. London. Paris. Manchester.
These are the prominent places around the globe that were the unfortunate victims of terrorism at the hands of the ISIS.
To most people, only the Paris attacks or the London or Manchester attacks sounds familiar in spite of the fact, more people were killed and injured in attacks at Baghdad or Istanbul.
Western Lives Are More Precious Than Our Lives
I do not mean to belittle or disparage the huge wave of emotion and anger that the Paris or the London attacks created but I am forced to fathom why countless other such deadly attacks in places like Baghdad or Dhaka or Africa did not invoke such overpowering rage.
While leaders around the world condemned the attacks through hashtags like #PrayforParis, #PrayforLondon which were trending on every social media website, no one seemed to bat an eyelid for the thousands of pitiless victims in the Middle East.
There is something extremely disturbing and disconcerting about it. A subtle form of Racism.
Facebook gave us a chance to show sympathy with the victims in the French capital by encouraging people to update their profile picture to the colors of the French flag. This is not even an option available when there is violence in Syria, Pakistan, or Bangladesh.
Also read: Darjeeling Is Killing Itself With Unjustified Demands
Weren’t human lives supposed to be equal?
The Reason People Overlook The Attacks In Poor Countries
Yes, I do agree that the frequency of deaths through terror attacks in countries like Syria or Pakistan is sadly high and it seemed to have desensitized the general public of other countries against mass destruction in these volatile parts.
If I ask you to picture France you will immediately think of love, Eiffel Tower, beauty, boutique cafés and couples romancing with each other. But If I ask you to picture Iraq, a picture of a war zone with black masked men holding guns and terrorizing people will come to your mind.
So, whenever an attack takes place in high profile tourist destinations, we feel agitated but we remain aloof when a similar attack takes place in a poor country.
High Time To Change Our Attitude
The need of the hour is that we look at human beings as just humans, with no labels of nationality, religion or socioeconomic status attached with it. If humans are suffering in any nook and corner of the world, we need to be there.
It doesn’t matter if the victim is a Pakistani or Iraqi or French or American. We need every ounce of humanity and strength we can muster if we wish to defeat the powerful forces like ISIS because the reality is that, this is unfortunately just the beginning of a horrific period.
Image Credits- Google Images
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