Saturday 14 November 2015

The victims of ISIS*: The Paris Attacks in an International Context (*so-called)

The events in Paris... I shudder to think of those poor, ordinary, innocent people going about their daily business, enjoying their Friday night not knowing the brutality that was about to ensue.

What I know some friends are pointing out, however, is that this display of aggressive action by so-called-ISIS is a daily occurrence for those living in Syria and other parts of the Middle East. For these people, the sound and threat of bombs, gunfire and general violence is normality not anomaly. Indeed, they have endured five years of this.

In a bid to prevent the inevitable right-wing attempt to use the attacks to fuel anti-immigration / anti-refugee policies and also the media's exclusive focus on Paris I'd like to encourage as many of my friends to share articles highlighting the shared story of ALL victims of ISIS, whether from Europe, the Middle East or beyond. And where possible donate money or materials (even if you can only spare a small amount!) to the UN Refugee Agency or other charities. (Does anyone have any thoughts on which agency might be the most effective to support?)

This is not to demote the French experience. We should continue to mourn the loss of life there yesterday but stress the solidarity between these victims and those of the Middle East. How is the Syrian trying to break across borders in order to get away from ISIS violence in his homeland any different from the Parisian escaping through windows at the Bataclan? By helping and sympathising with ALL innocent victims across the world, not just those closest to home, we have the best strategy for undermining so-called-ISIS.

Donations:

http://donate.unhcr.org/international/syria

An example of the equally worthy headlines being neglected by the BBC and media for focus on France:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/dozens-dead-isil-claims-attacks-iraqi-shias-151113165046854.html

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