As I took a glimpse at today's paper in the morning, I noticed the headlines that read "A Decade of Terrorism".
The first thing that came into my mind was "Man, has it been a decade already?"
Well, it hasn't been a decade yet, but we are close. Its been so long that I've already, like many other people in this world, taken terrorism as a matter of fact in life. In fact, I personally have been so numbed to terrorism that my reaction to the recent news about how Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a US airliner was just simply "oh, another one."
I still remember the night of September 11 2001. I still remember watching the two towers go up in smoke and wondering what had happened. I did not know what the term "terrorists" meant at the mere age of 13, at secondary one. The only kind of terrorists that I knew was the kind that counter-terrorists kill in Counter-Strike.
In the blink of an eye, its already been nearly a decade. The world as we know it is still in a bitter war against terrorism. The war initiated by George W.Bush is still going on in the Middle-East and it does not look like its coming any closer to an end. I, while serving in the army, played roles in combating terrorism as well.
But will the world ever return to the peace that the pre-9/11 era experienced. I know that terrorism existed pre-9/11, but its only after 9/11 that terror really struck the hearts of every single person in this world. That the war against terror was played up, that media put so much focus on terrorism.
Was there no other way to deal with this other than to FIGHT terrorism? When 9/11 happened, Bush presented the world with just 2 grim options: we either fight, or the terrorists will destroy us. And the world, gripped in fear and terror, just simply took it for granted that there were just these 2 options and supported a war that has not yield any results even today, a war that has caused only suffering and pain to innocent people in the affected countries. Terrorism has not dropped any one bit, in fact, more revenge killings occur, more revenge bombings happen with the war in Middle-East as a primary reason. The world only gets more and more chaotic. Things just keep getting messier. It just can't be helped but to wonder if we had actually went the wrong direction in this issue.
Does anyone still bear hope that terrorism will one day be a thing that we won't have to be worried about, that we will not have to be on our toes every single day of our lives, like during the pre-9/11 era?
Even Singapore, with no incidents (or rather no revealed incidents), is kept on its toes every single day. Messages and reminders for us to "Do not leave your belongings unattended, if you see any suspicious article, please inform our staff" become such a commonplace that we treat it as just another message that comes after "Door closing." Such messages did not even exist in the pre-9/11 era and you can already start to imagine how we have accepted terrorism as an inevitable part of life.
One incident of an escaped convict with a limp on his leg got the entire nation in a frenzy. You may say we just do our best to be cautious, but really, the world has been gripped by a kind of terror ever since the two majestic towers fall into a rubble, leaving only dust in its place.
I cannot help but think. How long will this era of terrorism last? Will it ever end? Will my children be able to live in an age whereby there can truly be no wars on Earth, whereby terror does not plague the heart of every single person in the world? Or will the wars ultimately be the downfall of the entire planet, just as so many others have predicted it to be?
I want to optimistic. I want to believe that everything will turn out for the better. I want to believe.
3 comments:
terrorism has been here for centuries and for southeast asia it will continue to stay. It has far deeper problems than many can imagine. It's about the economic depravity, the vastly different social milieu here, the politics and religion interplay. All of which cannot be resolved with a single country or a single policy.
Bush, sadly, escalated and caused wrath among the Islamic community - because it was his war against the religion instead of terrorism.
JI existed even more 911, and it formulated ( among other reasons ) because many of the Muslims, as a result of America's galvanizing, were sent to the afghan war in '91. They are called the muhajeedeens,and so when the war ended, their beliefs never did. Conflating with that, many terrorists are separatists fighters who want to create a Muslim state.
That's just some of the reasons why terrorism perpetuated and will continue to persist.
But personally, i believe that its so-called sudden appearance and the rush to deal with it has to do mainly with global politics between US, China and Southeast Asia. (which i will not elaborate, if not it will become an essay)
Thanks for helping to provide more information on terrorism Ying Hui!
Yes I agree with you that terrorism existed a long long time ago with roots and causes beyond that of 9/11 or even religion. And what is happening right now is really a messy combo of religion extremism and terrorism and God knows what else they have in the bowl.
It is much more complicated than I know. There's just one thing I want to say though.
I feel that 9/11 has had an impact on the United States and the world unlike that of other acts of terrorism before. One factor for such an impact would surely be the media, another will be how the Bush administration aggravated the situation with his own agenda and war.
There should probably be no denying that in our age, there is clearly a pre-9/11 era and a post-9/11 era. Things have certainly been changed by 9/11 in terms of security and how people view terrorism.
I see 9/11 as a pivotal point in how the world deals with terrorism. Sadly though, it was a wrong turn. Not only did the situation not improve, it got worse. Perhaps it is because terrorism is something that you will never see "improve". That is a rather pessimistic, but real viewpoint.
Media’s role in helping the cause of terrorists to promote terror cannot be any larger. It is perhaps one of the main reasons why the entire world is how it is today. Post-9/11, the media has been addicted to news of terror.
More importantly, what I really want to say is that it has been so long past 9/11 with no improvement to the situation that everybody has already accepted it as a fact of life that terrorism is here to stay. People are numbed to the news of terror attacks. It has become part of life.
Although sad, it has become a fact that we as humans have destroyed peace with our own hands. Just like how we have caused species to be extinct, peace becomes extinct as well. Almost everything seem to point in the direction of an endless war.
That is a little bleak. My question is: Is there no other way out?
welcome donnnnn (:
Well, the dichotomy between pre and post 911 is fixed, but because many policy makers at the helm are often willing to see only this dichotomy, instead of the big picture i.e the roots of terrorism worldwide - social, economic and political discontent.
There are statistics that have concluded that America's efforts are only aggravating hatred against the West in countries like Indonesia. By causing further divide, it will deepen the misconception that their Islam faith is being threaten, galvanizing support against the west.
Terrorism by nature has existed, and will continue to be. What has changed is the rise in Islamic terrorism, giving terrorism a unwanted religious backdrop. Sad to say, it is widely mistaken that Islam is construed to be implicitly backwards and extreme. I'm not equating islam and terrorism, but since acts are conducted under Islam, to solve your quandary, it is important to understand Islam as well.
Because many do not wish to act on the complications that terrorism entails - states are self- interested and would rather abide by global norms, i.e a blind war against terrorism - terrorism cannot be resolved. It's tantamount to saying 'there'll be peace on harmony on earth, forever more'.
For Christians engaging on the path of terrorism studies would require greater faith and open mindedness.
Well, the fundamental step is, with open mindedness, rage against the sun/sea/sky and the dying of the light ;) we acquire knowledge and grow in intellect only for a better future, but if used prudently, it could be for the betterment of this world.
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