My thoughts for the past few days have been in Paris, Beirut, and everywhere around the world that has felt the fear and impact of terrorism.
I wish strength to the people in those cities and to all people everywhere who are impacted by the tragedies. I lived in the New York area during 9/11, and in the Boston area during the Marathon bombings. Many years ago, when living in England, I might have flown home for the holidays on the plane that blew up over Lockerbie, had I not decided to travel elsewhere during my winter break. I was not as close to the events as some, but close enough to feel a very immediate chill.
My thoughts are also with those of the Muslim faith who are as outraged at these events as I and so many around the world are. Muslims were victims of these tragedies as well, and also must carry the fear of being unjustly targeted because of the acts of others who profess the same faith. Many have taken to social media to insist #NotInMyName.
There are no easy answers to untangling the many strands of injustice, fear, and hatred that form the toxic knot of terrorism. I hope those who perpetrated these deeds are brought to justice—but even more, I hope that governments and other leaders around the world, urged on by us, their citizens, make a concerted effort to address the underlying problems. And may we each do what we can, in our real-life interactions and in social media, to show that we are not cowed by terrorism, that we will not allow people to get away with it, but also that we understand there is a difference between those who perpetrate these acts and those with whom they simply happen to share a faith or an ethnicity.
Wishing peace for all of us.