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./.
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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All comments [ 17 ]


Voice of people 21/11/15 21:32

Now, there were bombings in Lebanon, Paris, Syria, Iraq and everywhere today. I am saying the world is in trouble. Terrorism is at large.

Me Too! 21/11/15 21:33

Love breeds love. Hate breeds hate... My heart and my love goes to Paris and everywhere in state of emergency right now. Heartbreaking day.

Vietnam Love 21/11/15 21:35

My heart goes out to everyone involved directly and indirectly.

Socialist Society 21/11/15 21:38

Poor Ruby Rose, she has to live in country that's full of democracy and freedom of speech like that.

For A Peace World 21/11/15 21:39

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.

yobro yobro 21/11/15 21:41

People nowadays just like to twist words and try to make them look better. What is wrong with praying for the world.

Red Star 21/11/15 21:45

The West has simply come to see much of the region as a dangerous place where violence is a way of life.

LawrenceSamuels 21/11/15 21:47

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.

LawrenceSamuels 21/11/15 21:50

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.

John Smith 21/11/15 21:52

Their death was but an irrelevant fleck along the international news cycle, something that happens in those parts of the world.

Gentle Moon 21/11/15 21:54

What a disturbing world!

erica black 21/11/15 23:01

after what have happened, we just feel the value of the peace and stability

Funny Day 21/11/15 23:13

at present the IS is the most dangerous threat to the whole world

Unknown 21/11/15 23:15

Western values are being shaking by terrorisms

Unknown 21/11/15 23:20

now the West countries are not a promised-land as many people thought

Unknown 21/11/15 23:24

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

Unknown 21/11/15 23:29

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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