Opinion: Terrorism takes its toll worldwide

Opinion: Terrorism takes its toll worldwide

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is not just a Western problem, it is the problem of the global community.

Terrorist attacks on Western countries have always caught the world’s attention, underplaying atrocities in other parts of the world.

It is an established ideology that terrorism matters only in the Western parts of the world when bombing and violence is considered to be routine in non-western countries like Iraq, Syria and Africa.

The media and the citizens of the world are used to believing that it is a “normal act” in these countries, that “there is no end” and that “it is happening anyway” despite the lost lives of so many children, women and men from terrorism.

Victims of terrorism seeking refuge in Syria, Beirut and Israel did not seem worthy of sympathy or recognition.

There were no world-wide demonstrations of solidarity, mourning, support or compassion for those who lost their lives.

It became a belief of many people that the countries with the most terrorism attacks have the terrorist themselves amongst its citizens. Terrorists can be citizens from any part of the world.

Terrorism consumed public awareness when Al Qaeda attacked the United States. Specifically several major landmarks, the New York World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and an attempted attack on the White House on Sept. 11, 2001.

These were tragic events that the entire world will not forget and this day changed perspective of the world.

However, it was not until that day that people took acts of terrorism seriously despite the fact that it has been happening in the Middle Eastern countries since the early 1980s. 

The recent terrorist bombings and shootings in Mogadishu, Somalia on Nov.1, 2015 that killed 12 hotel guests, according to the 2015 list of terrorist attacks,was not considered to be a big danger to the world. Similar to the attack in Baghdad on Nov. 13 that killed 19 and leaving 33 wounded according to the 2015 List of Terrorism Incidents.

The recent devastating ISIS attacks on Paris, one of the most famous cities of the world and the capital of France, have focused the entire world’s attention. The domestic attacks consisted of mass shootings, suicide bombings and hostage taking, took the lives of 130 people and injured 368 according to NBC News.

The world mourned this incident with France with messages of solidarity through social media by displaying French flags, expressing horror and television coverage for weeks.

According to the Institute of Economics and Peace terrorist attacks have killed 32,658 people in 2014 alone.

The Islamic state and Nigeria’s Boko Haram have caused 51 percent of terrorism death but receive little attention from the world.

The recent year’s terrorist attacks concentrated on Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria according to the Institute Economics and Peace.

The Global Terrorism Index shows that 78 percent of all deaths and 57 percent of all attacks occurred in these five countries.

These countries, ranked based on number of attacks, death, injuries and property damages, are still receiving little or no attention nor response. 

Terrorism acts that began in developing and third world countries that did not phenomenally matter have turned into a global threat, especially to major Western countries.

There are countless terrorist acts every day in the Middle East and developing and third world countries that are left out in ignorance.

These are not just attacks on Paris terrorism is an attack on all of humanity.

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