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Paris attacks, forgotten victims and Western hypocrisy
Paris attacks, forgotten victims and Western hypocrisy
21/11/15
In
the late hours of Friday the 13th, 2015, a half a dozen locations in Paris have suffered a
series of coordinated attacks by the Islamic State (IS), as recently disclosed
in a statement by these radical extremists. Reports are that 129 people have
been killed, with over 300 who have been injured. Eight “terrorists” have also
been allegedly killed in action, most of which were suicide bombers.
It’s
an absolute tragedy that so many innocent people were lost in Paris over the weekend. Whilst we celebrate
their lives, we should also pay respect to the thousands of our fellow man
killed every day in war- and ideological-torn nations all over the globe,
particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
Friday
marked a day of mourning in Lebanon
following an attack by ISIS suicide bombers who killed at least
43 people and wounded more than 28 in Southern
Beirut. A statement reportedly made by ISIS
credited the attack to 'soldiers of the caliphate.' That day, Iraq suffered
two attacks which the terror group also took credit for. In one, a suicide
bomber struck a memorial service in Baghdad
that killed at least 21 people and wounded 46. A roadside bomb also struck
the Iraqi capital that day killing at least five people and wounding 15,
according to police officials."
But
for some in Beirut, that solidarity was mixed with anguish over the fact that
just one of the stricken cities — Paris — received a global outpouring of
sympathy akin to the one lavished on the United States after the 9/11 attacks.
A large number of political figures and
international bodies across the globe denounced the fatal Paris attacks.
United Nations Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon condemned the “despicable terrorist attacks” raids, and the
15-member United Nations Security Council also denounced the "barbaric and
cowardly terrorist attacks."
Russian President Vladimir Putin
offered condolences and support to his counterpart Francois Hollande and the
people of France.
At a press conference at the White
House, US President Barack Obama said his administration is ready to “provide
whatever assistance that the government and the people of France need,"
and pledged to "bring these terrorists to justice and go after any terrorist
networks" involved. He also described the series of deadly incidents
across Paris as
an "attack on all of humanity”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
she is "deeply shaken by the news and pictures that are reaching us from Paris."
British
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "shocked" by the attacks in Paris, vowing to assist
the neighboring country.
Monuments
around the world lit up in the colors of the French flag; presidential
speeches touted the need to defend “shared values;” Facebook offered users a
one-click option to overlay their profile pictures with the French tricolor, a
service not offered for the Lebanese flag. On Friday the social media giant
even activated Safety Check,
a feature usually reserved for natural disasters that lets people alert loved
ones that they are unhurt; they had not activated it the day before for Beirut.
“When
my people died, no country bothered to light up its landmarks in the colors of
their flag,” Elie Fares, a Lebanese doctor, wrote on his
blog. “When my people died, they did not send the world into
mourning. Their death was but an irrelevant fleck along the international news
cycle, something that happens in those parts of the world.”
The
implication, numerous Lebanese commentators complained, was that Arab lives
mattered less. Either that, or that their country — relatively calm despite the
war next door — was perceived as a place where carnage is the norm, an
undifferentiated corner of a basket-case region.
“Imagine
if what happened in Paris last night would
happen there on a daily basis for five years,” said Nour Kabbach, who fled the
heavy bombardment of her home city of Aleppo, Syria, several years ago and now works in
humanitarian aid in Beirut.
“Now
imagine all that happening without global sympathy for innocent lost lives,
with no special media updates by the minute, and without the support of every
world leader condemning the violence,” she wrote on Facebook. Finally, she
said, ask yourself what it would be like to have to explain to your child why an
attack in “another pretty city like yours” got worldwide attention and your own
did not.
That might just be
the problem: The West has simply come to see much of the region
as a dangerous place where violence is a way of life.
"In
the U.S., it can become easy
to dismiss stories about bombings, and terrorist attacks coming
out of the Middle East as something
of every-day occurrence," Simon concludes. "More eyebrows are
raised when such attacks come to the West, which is supposed to house
world powers, as opposed to a troubled state dealing
with radical forces trying to topple the government and willingly
engaging in frequent acts of violence to prove it can’t protect
all its people."
On his site "Hummus
for Though," Lebanese blogger Joey Ayoub wrote that the
discrepancy is personal. "I come from a privileged Francophone
community in Lebanon.
This has meant that I’ve always seen France as my second
home," Ayoub wrote. "It… seems clear to me that to the
world, my people’s deaths in Beirut do not
matter as much as my other people’s deaths in Paris.
Meanwhile,
Ruby Rose, a famous Australian celebrity, faced a Twitter backlash on Saturday as she urged fans
to 'pray for the entire world' following bombings in Lebanon
and Syria amid the Paris terror attacks. It’s so ironic that
she was later lambasted by fans, with followers accusing the beauty of
detracting from the Parisian tragedy.
What’s
happening with Western values of press freedom, democracy and human rights.
Ruby can say what she think is right and moral, or just that she wants to. Is
it right?
Now, we can see the opposite of Western values, they
just for their benefits. Pray for the entire world. Let's be honest.. Pray
for humanity. What is happening in the world./.
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All comments [ 17 ]
Now, there were bombings in Lebanon, Paris, Syria, Iraq and everywhere today. I am saying the world is in trouble. Terrorism is at large.
Love breeds love. Hate breeds hate... My heart and my love goes to Paris and everywhere in state of emergency right now. Heartbreaking day.
My heart goes out to everyone involved directly and indirectly.
Poor Ruby Rose, she has to live in country that's full of democracy and freedom of speech like that.
While American mainstream media is providing wall-to-wall coverage of the Paris attacks, the alternative news outlet The Spectacle is wondering why bombings in Iraq and Lebanon went virtually unnoticed by the American public.
People nowadays just like to twist words and try to make them look better. What is wrong with praying for the world.
The West has simply come to see much of the region as a dangerous place where violence is a way of life.
The bombings in Lebanon drew no tweet from Malcolm Turnbull, no social media statement from Barack Obama, no live media blogs from Western media, no wall-to-wall media coverage.
The suffering caused by the Islamic State, and other groups who wish to instill fear on the masses, is one shared by the world at large.
Their death was but an irrelevant fleck along the international news cycle, something that happens in those parts of the world.
What a disturbing world!
after what have happened, we just feel the value of the peace and stability
at present the IS is the most dangerous threat to the whole world
Western values are being shaking by terrorisms
now the West countries are not a promised-land as many people thought
with what I have seen for the past time, I wonder where is our world going to?. It's time for the whole world to do it's best for the better world before too late
that's right, I'm really worrid about our future when terrorisms and wars that have killed hundreds, even thousands of innocent victims
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