We Must Stand United

I never know what to say when people cry, when people are grieving, or when people are broken hearted. I don't know what to say now when I think about the state of the world in the last few days and weeks and months, but I feel that I've got to say something. At times like these, words are all we have, so I'm going to use them the best I can.

When I first read on Twitter last night about the attacks in Paris I was stunned. No, I thought, not again. At that point the news stations were reporting 18 deaths, and I just felt more and more despair as that number rose. This wasn't something I could just turn off the television and forget about. I felt, and still do feel, so useless. By keeping the news on and following the story, I felt like I was doing something: standing with the people. Solidarity is something that's been spoken about a lot in the last 24 hours and I think that's what is was.



Of course, Paris isn't the only place that has been a target for terrorism. Beirut, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt. Tragedies occur all around the world all of the time and that is something that's so difficult to comprehend. I know how awful this sounds, but for a lot of people (myself included at times) it's easy to distance yourself from these kinds of atrocities when they're happening far away. I feel terrible for having to admit that, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. When the same thing is occurring in a place you're familiar with however, such as last night, it suddenly seems a lot more real. I think the Western world has been woken up by last night's attacks and I hate the fact that it's taken this long and this many lives for us to sit up and listen, but at least we have now. I have, at least.

I wish there was more that I could do other than showing my support. What does "showing support" mean, anyway? This afternoon I changed my Facebook profile picture to include the French tricolour filter because it felt like the right thing to do and I am going to keep it that way, but now I'm questioning the message it projects. There's been a lot of talk online about the filter, with people saying that it's just a trend, that is achieves nothing and that it's ultimately selective mourning. I agree. Some people will just do it because everyone else is and to rake it more photo likes, putting a colourful filter won't stop ISIS or other forms of hatred, and in many ways it does value French lives over other victims of terrorism. Let's not forget though, that the French flag is a symbol of French revolution and all that it stood for: libertalité, égalité, fraternité- liberty, equality, brotherhood. And at a time like this, what better a message is there to see spread across your news feed?

I know that what I'm about to say has been said before but it's an incredibly important point to remember so I'm going to say it again: not all Muslims are terrorists. Islam does not teach hate or condone this kind of violence. The Muslim community is just as threatened by terrorism as we are, if not more. Let us not believe all we read or spread messages of hate ourselves. We must stand united now and we must stay united always. We must use all that we have at our disposal to spread messages of peace and solidarity. Photographs. Prayers. Words. We must not be silent.