It is no coincidence that the world's poorest nations are also among the most dangerous ones. Continuing attacks empower poverty and create an unsafe environment. As a resident in Turkey, even though the situation was incomparably better than most of the nations, I remember being afraid using public transport, staying away from one of the most beautiful places in Istanbul due to feeling threatened by terror attacks, and not feeling safe anywhere outside home or the campus in 2016 when the number of terror attacks increased in Turkey. Luckily, the situation is not that bad anymore in the country but there are many countries in the world where people do not feel safe even when they are at home. Terrorist organization cause conflict anywhere in the world hence terrorism is a global issue and it must be fought at source. In the past couple of years, the number of terror attacks in the world grew drastically. Terrorism affects a country's economy, tourism and living condition causing a decrease in nations GDP per capita which exacerbates poverty.
According to many resources, countries that have a higher number of deaths due to preventable causes and shorter life expectancy and extreme poverty are affected by terrorism the most. These countries include Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Somalia, Yemen, Burundi, Ethiopia, and many others. People who want to visit those countries are usually warned by their governments.
Poverty causes a lack of access to an adequate education, and kids often are only able to go to religious schools to get an education. However, those schools are targeted by radical extremist groups looking forward to recruiting those kids. Unemployment – or fear of unemployment- comes along with the lack of an adequate education, leading to extremist thoughts in people's minds, an invitation to engage in crimes like terrorism. People have the feeling of desperation that they are not able to have meaningful life choices, stripping people of their dignity, meaningful chances and choices.
Poverty-stricken people mostly are born and grow up in marginalized and poor regions that are overlooked by the state, and gives teachers a sense of marginalization and engagement in terrorist activities. The sense of marginalization people living in poverty often have comes from their status, hopelessness, and mistrust in their government because of their lack of action and justified corruption. Thus, they are more likely to become a part of a radical group in need of being heard or being considered.
Long story short, poverty is a global challenge that affects even the richest people, and that is exactly why we should take an action. According to poverties.org, higher crime rates, increased substance abuse and higher susceptibility to diseases directly correlate with poverty. Thus poverty must be fought at the global level to address other global issues which are interconnected with each other.
