Reclecting Reflection

Today we’ll take a break from my life. I want to talk not about the attacks but about the social reactions to it.

For me it all started when my friend who lives in Paris said that something went down in the capital and that there were 18 people dead in 3 attacks. Later she said she was exhausted and she was going to sleep, that was with 30 dead. I was running a show so I didn’t really had the chance to look up what was happening. I did it on my way home and I was horrified. I was in the underground checking on twitter when I could. Things just were getting worst but what was strange to me was the lack of conversations about it around me. No one was talking about it and whoever was on their phone weren’t checking the news. It felt so strange and surreal.

Throughout the next day reactions were clear. People started changing their profile pictures to the French flag, France declared war, ISIS was claiming responsibility over the attacks… But still, no one on the streets said anything about it, neither did any of the 15 actors in the theatre… Someone ask how I was living things here and I responded with all honesty that it was weird the silence about it in the streets. The Catalans in London on facebook were having debates about it, sharing articles and comments, someone mention there was a candlelight vigil that night, but I felt silence around me for the most part.

I honestly felt fear in the morning, something that I haven’t ever felt, fearing that the next victim could be someone I know. When I was younger my mum mention when talking about Palestine, Afghanistan etc that the war one day would come to us, we live too close, the governments are too involved. And for the first time I understand what she meant. And I am scared. But hear me out, I understand that more security won’t do any good, it would be more annoying than anything, I do not want that kind of response form the countries. I will not hate Muslims and I am not even going to get into the absurdity of doing that. I am scared because these people are ghosts and there is no solution against that. I am scared because it could be anyone anywhere, like the girl who played dead said on her scary tale.

And during all of this, I found out about the attempt in Beirut. Have you heard about it? Why isn’t your flag with the Lebanon flag? I am stuck with the fight to make people hear about Beirut more than the fear of ghosts or the weirdness of the silence. Would you guess where I found an even number of posts about France, Beirut and cats? Imgur, that’s right, through that I found out that a man tackled the bomber dying but saving a lot of lives. Through that I found that he had a daughter that is alive. Why don’t we talk about Beirut??? I get angry at the media for focusing and dramatizing Paris so much. At 1pm they still show pictures of the night, what about the morning after? And you, have you heard about Beirut? Why doesn’t your profile say so?