Give peace a chance

This perhaps isn’t one of my usual posts, but after reading a post from The Expats this morning and seeing comments on twitter and in the press, I feel like I need to say something.  It is apparent, after the atrocities that the UK has seen over the last month, that we are witnessing a real shift in our world, one that is hard to comprehend and find any sense in, the news seems to fill daily with yet another attack on humanity. The sad thing is, I am also witnessing so much hate, ignorance and intolerance which is just as heartbreaking as the incidents themselves. 

What I can’t get over, is that this occurrence is almost becoming the norm, like we are almost of the brink of being desensitised to it, comments of sadness are tainted with also a touch of non surprise. We can not allow this to happen, this can NEVER be the norm, can NEVER be ok and can NEVER be allowed to become part of life.

As I sat watching the news this morning, watching the update on the latest London attack and I had tears in my eyes listening to what had unfolded, targeting worshippers leaving Ramadan prayers. I jumped onto Twitter to get more information and my sadness quickly turned to anger. Some of the media, were not even covering the story and other press publications were not classing this as a terror attack?! At what point did we deem lives, dependant on religion, any less valuable or significant to others? When did the colour or ethnicity of an attacker become how we report?!

I lived in London for 4 years and loved every second of it. What I love about it and what makes London London, is its multicultural diversity and the beautiful melting pot that allows Londoners, visitors and residents to experience anything and everything all in one place. In fact the whole of the UK has happily grown as a diverse country of many backgrounds and cultures and has always been an accepting community. So why is it now ignorance, intolerance and fear is fuelling so much hatred towards each other?

Obviously living in the Middle East I also get a unique perspective, as I see what the Islamic community is all about, how they have a deep faith and that these perpetrators have not done this under any kind reference to true beliefs. Of course living out here, also makes me aware of comments from back home and I have heard total BS, even from people I know and respect saything things like

How can you live in a country with those people?

See its those people around you that cause this

It cuts me to the core, that people can generalise and scape goat an entire community, with zero understanding that this is NOT THEM and not Islam. How quickly they forget that it was Muslim taxi drivers that helped in Manchester, local mosques who opened their doors to victims to shelter. I shouldn’t have to respond, I shouldn’t have to say that locals and Muslim friends react with as much apporance as the rest of the world. I shouldn’t have to educate people. I can’t even begin to imagine what Muslims around the UK and the world have to put up with in response to comments like this.

Even Hubby was so incensed, he sent an email into the breakfast show, as he  watched CNN coverage this morning. They classed the whole of the Middle East as war zone of attacks and that we need to stop the UK becoming that way. We have lived in Kuwait for 3 years and I have never felt safer, we have had one terror attack in that time, the first in Kuwait for 20 something years, and it wasnt even covered by the western media, was this because white westerns weren’t attacked?!

I don’t mean to rant, but I am so sad and angry by what I saw this morning and what I read in the wake of Manchester and London. I only wish that love and acceptance enters back into our hearts and we dont let fear and hate over come us. The comments need to stop, communities need to stand together, not against each other.