Is supporting Paris enough?
A few days after the terror attacks in Paris, people worldwide are still shaken, angry, and scared. France has received an overflow of support from the international community. Landmarks in Sydney, Dubai, London, Tel Aviv, Lisbon, and many other cities have been lit up with the colors of the French flag. Facebook has provided a profile overlay of the flag, too. Parisian taxi drivers turned off their meters so that their passengers could get home safely, free of charge. These acts of support are lovely, and should not be denigrated. The politics of identity are in play here. We empathize for our fellow humans, and want to help in any way we can. But empathy for Parisians is automatic, it’s easy. And the world needs more.
While our empathy can stretch across the Atlantic, it suddenly wears thin once the discussion leaves the Western world. In early April of this year, 147 people were killed, and 79 were injured in an attack by al-Shabaab, an Al Qaeda affiliate targeting Christians. And I don’t know about you, but I didn’t hear a word about it. It made the news, but it didn’t garner international support, social media trends, or an outbreak of discussions about ISIS policy. Why? Because the shooting occurred in Kenya, not Europe.
I can’t say for sure why we react so much more strongly to an attack in Paris. It could be that Kenya is about twice the distance from us. Racism could play a factor, as could cultural differences. Or perhaps it is because we already think of Africa as a dangerous place, but assume that the developed world is invincible and safe, so an attack on Paris forces us to confront our own vulnerability. But whatever it is, we need to be careful about this lack of compassion — not only for moral reasons, but because indifference may also have political ramifications.
After the attacks, many European politicians have adopted an anti-refugee stance. About 500,000 refugees have flowed out of Syria, more than half of them women and children. French politician Marine le Pen called for, “immediate halt of all intake of migrants in France.” In Belgium, Filip Dewinter said, “Closing our borders is the only answer to infiltration by immigrants and the Islamic State of Iraq and ISIL.” And yet Isis is responsible for more Muslim deaths than Western deaths, and most Muslims fear ISIS, condemn the attacks, and advocate peace. ISIS is clearly a radical extremist group, as the Westboro Baptist Church is to Christianity, and xenophobia can only increase anti-western sentiment. There is a connection between our lack of compassionate reaction to Kenya and the outbreak of hate towards refugees and peaceful Muslims.
Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This attitude is inherently a constructivist approach. ISIS’s power comes from hate, not land, weapons, or money. To weaken and destroy them, we must change the way that we are perceived. As long as we see the world as “Islam vs. the West” (as Huntington did), we will be engaged in this battle. I’m not advocating becoming buddies with the terrorists — just suggesting that this issue is incredibly complicated, and that our empathy matters now more than ever. Perhaps if we had supported Kenya in April, they might, due to principles of reciprocity, be supporting us now.
Every college student knows that it’s easier to live with someone you like than with an enemy, especially in a small space. Well, the world is getting smaller. Since the attack in Paris, a multitude of conversations have emerged sand this is only one, but it’s important. Whatever your policy stance, it should not be based in blind rage, but in reason and compassion. Support Paris. Support Kenya. Support innocent people everywhere.
References:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/world/iyw-paris-attacks/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32169080