No one in Brussels, Belgium went on the subway or to the airport on March 22 expecting the worst to happen. They probably kissed their loved ones goodbye, ate their breakfast and were eager to get on with the day. No one in Belgium thought that their lives would be permanently changed as the people who were threatening their beautiful capital city fulfilled their promise.
On March 22, two bombs went off at two different locations within Brussels. According to CNN, one blast took place at the Maelbeek metro station which took the lives of 20 people and wounded 130 others. The other bombing took place at the airport killing 10, and approximately 100 people were wounded. A few hours after the attack, ISIS took responsibility and posted celebratory messages all over their social media accounts promising that "what will be coming is worse."
No matter how many prayers and apologies are poured out from people all over the world, nothing will be able to heal those who have suffered. Thousands of miles away from our homes in the United States, a young child is anxiously awaiting for the return of his or her mother or father. His or her guardian will be standing over them wondering how to deliver the news in the most gentle way possible.
As scary as this sounds, no amount of police, military or government officials can protect us from terrorism. After all, terrorism does not have a face, religion or ethnicity. Terrorism is a twisted ideal held by certain individuals who live for nothing more than to instill fear in others. So how do we stop it? Believe it or not the solution might not be as hard as some may think.
According to an article on people.missouristate.edu, male and female youth join gangs or cults for two main reasons: companionship and love. Terrorist organizations have the same type of hierarchy as gangs or cults and similar rules. According to CNN, the people that ISIS are targeting to join their organization currently are young men between the ages of 16 and 25 who are poor and uneducated. Why is ISIS targeting these people specifically you might ask? They are vulnerable and lacking acceptance in their communities both in the Middle East and especially abroad.
By targeting a specific ethnicity or religion and blaming them for the actions of a select few, we are pushing them into the arms of people in groups like ISIS. ISIS is promising them acceptance while certain groups of young women and men are afraid to go to school because they are being bullied so badly. We all have the power to stop this endless cycle: by loving each other and educating ourselves.
Rather than pushing others away who are different than us, we must embrace their differences. In fact, there is no way for us to make ourselves more culturally aware than to sit down and have conversations with others who come from different places around the world. Before you point fingers at a certain religion, educate yourself on their principal values.
ISIS is fueled by hate and intolerance. No military weapon can fight that. Acceptance and tolerance is taught at home. When explaining to younger children what happened in Brussels, make sure to reiterate that hate is what caused this and we must fight it with acceptance. Explain to them the importance of being kind and just how far an action of hate can push someone to go.
The Dalai Lama XIV once said “There is a saying in Tibetan, 'Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.' No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.” During this time specifically, we need to love our brothers and sisters all over the world and remain hopeful. There is always a light at the end of a tunnel.
