Illustration by Ed Appleby
Open your eyes to the world
By Davie Wong, Sports Reporter
After the tragedy on November 13, countries all around the world showed their support for France in different ways. Canada was a part of this as famous Canadian locations were bathed in the colours of the French flag as a symbol of support.
On a more personal level, people showed their support for the Parisians affected by supporting the trending #PrayforParis campaign. Facebook users also had the option of layering the French flag over top of their regular profile picture to show their support. It should be noted that none of the support of the social media actually helped the French people. But I suppose it was nice for those affected to see that the world was behind them.
What many people overlook are the tragedies that happened on the days before and the days following the Paris attacks. While much of the western world was captivated by the horrific images that arose shortly after the incidents, the Middle East was rocked by their own calamities.
Bombings in Beirut, Lebanon killed more than 20 people, yet no one spoke of it. Bombing is a daily occurrence in Baghdad, Afghanistan, yet the media hardly covers it. There are uncountable deaths in Syria, yet we only recognize the picture of a dead boy washed up on shore.
Why are there no flags of Middle Eastern countries as profile picture filters? Why is there no hashtag trending to honour the hundreds of dead people every week because of terrorist attacks and civil war? These people are much closer to ISIS than most of the world. While we mourn the death of Parisians slain in the name of ISIS, we often forget that the people of the Middle East live in deadly conditions where massive numbers of people die daily. Yet I see little or no media coverage of it.
In retaliation to the terrorist attacks, France proceeded to bomb the Syrian headquarters of ISIS in Al-Raqqa. They previously avoided the area due to a high level of civilian population. The number of casualties has yet to be determined but it is estimated that the number of dead civilians outnumber terrorists. Where are the prayers for the innocent victims amongst the guilty?
Where is the same level compassion that we showed for the Parisians? Does their race and religion define them so much as to not make them human? Are children not children because of what they worship? Innocent civilians die by the masses halfway across the world. Are they any less important than those victims or are they any less human? If not, then why do we pray for one city when the whole world needs it?
I’m not saying that we as a collective should not grieve for the loss of our fellow humans; I’m saying that they are not the only ones we should be grieving for. Open your eyes and recognize that suffering is occurring all over the world. If one city deserves an abundance of attention, then all the cities should deserve an equal amount.
A human is a human is a human. No race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or anything else can change that fact. If you are to pray for our wellbeing, pray for the well being of our race across this world. Not just one city.
