It is difficult to take on the shoes of those who suffered, directly or indirectly, the terrorist attack in Barcelona, but it is even more difficult to take on the shoes of people who are subjected to terrorism on a daily basis, because of the distance and how little we know about it. The truth is that thousands of people in Iraq and Syria live this situation every day without being able to imagine a better future.
It is absurd to hold an entire religion accountable for the actions of a small minority, however, by seeing the comments of many people waving their flags on social media, we can see how real this nonsense is.
- Hate comments multiply every time an attack occurs.
- However.
- To understand the terrorist attack in Barcelona it is necessary to understand what terrorism is and what it feeds on.
- Just as encouraging and beneficial messages are needed in these cases.
- However it is important to be well informed and not generate hatred among those who have nothing to do with what happened.
Is terrorism such a threat that it requires allies, not enemies, to be fought?
The first problem we face is the definition of terrorism, currently each country and organization has its own definition of terrorism, although these definitions have many points in common, they also differ from other crucial points, it can be said that the definition of terrorism is political. because it serves the interests of those who define it.
One of the objectives of politics is to unify the definition of terrorism, an international concept that can be used by both law enforcement and street terrorism.
Based on these guidelines, we use the definition of Boaz Ganor, former chief of the Mossad, of the Israeli Institute of Intelligence and Special Operations, who proposes that terrorism is:?A form of violent struggle in which violence is deliberately used against civilians to achieve political ends (nationalists, socioeconomic, ideological, religious, etc. ) ?. By this definition, any attack on civilians for political purposes would be terrorism; on the other hand, attacks in which victims are members of the security forces would not be considered terrorism, but guerrillas.
As for the interests of terrorism, it is necessary to distinguish between two types of motives: on the one hand, there are the individual motivations of each person or terrorist and, on the other hand, the interests of the terrorist organization. , the most important thing is to sow fear.
A terrorist attack in Barcelona, London or Paris, which may seem totally random and impossible to avoid, aims to send a message: no one is safe, in this situation it is normal for people, both those affected and those who are not, to experience fear and even terror, but this fear can become chronic, it can become irrational.
Thus, the goal of the terrorist organization is to establish chronic terror that makes people constantly feel insecure. One of the immediate consequences is the public’s acceptance of government security measures, agreeing to pay for them by reducing rights and freedoms. of the attack is that our focus will be on some of the characteristics of terrorists, such as religion, and the fact that the rejection of those who have stolen lives extends to those who profess the same religion.
The consequence will be the pressure exerted by the people on their governments to put in place more rigid measures that restrict freedoms in favour of unnecessary security. Another consequence of this fear is that it will affect certain people. More precisely, in this case, to all people who have Islam as a religion or who are of Arab origin.
In this way, the terrorist organization will seek to legitimize its actions as noble defense of those who are discriminated against, oppressed and marginalized. We, and they, will be bigger. Hate speech will polarize society, while facilitating the work of those who recruit terrorists.
On the other hand, the interests of terrorists can be varied, each person will have different priorities, since jihadist terrorism comes from a depravity of Islam, the interests will be linked to the beliefs of that religion, however, terrorists will not be Muslims. , even if their motivations include those related to the benefits that religion brings.
Then, some of the advantages for terrorists will be: securing entry into paradise, having 72 virgin women waiting when they reach heaven, taking the opportunity to choose 70 acquaintances to go straight to heaven when they die (whatever their actions in life), and the idealization of the dead terrorist, who becomes a martyr.
However, as we have said, not all interests are religious, terrorist families often receive money they could not have obtained by other means, terrorists who participated in the attacks and were not captured will also receive greater recognition and responsibility from the organization. Finally, another common interest is often the desire for revenge against those they hold responsible for their situation.
It is a mixture of these interests and even more so what defines the individual motivations of terrorists who, as has been observed, do not need to match those of the organization.
While it is important to know the concepts, for the profane on the subject, it is more important to know what guidelines to follow. How to respond to a terrorist attack, even if there weren’t any near us, is the first thing we have to do. For starters, the key is to listen to the experts, the security forces, their directions are the first to follow.
Support through social media can benefit everyone. As we’ve seen, terrorists want hate speech, criminalize entire communities, and support racist and bigoted policies. If you do that, you’re acting in the interest of terrorists.
Likewise, sharing morbid images is another bad deed; In addition to generating irrational fear, these images can affect the sensitivity of those affected, on the contrary, sharing information on how to act, images that show unity and understanding with those affected, directly and directly. indirectly, it will be more beneficial. At the same time, repudiating wrongdoing when reporting or not displaying them is also a good practice.
If we are at the site of an attack, the recommendations of the professionals are: run, hide and warn. At first, you have to run away and seek a safe haven, trying to be a hero can be counterproductive. In a safe place, you should inform the security forces of what happened and inform your acquaintances that you are safe. Before you warn, you have to make sure you’re not in danger. Remember: run, hide and give the warning sign.
Today we are all in Barcelona, tomorrow we will be Syrians and then Afghans, no matter what nationality, color, ethnicity or religion, against terrorism we are all united. This way and only like this, we will win allies and lose enemies.