The recent events in Manchester and Marawi are heartbreaking.
It is true that we cannot fully sympathize with others when we do not experience ourselves and, during the attack on Manchester, Filipinos barely felt the fear and pain. Yes, there are many who offered support through prayers on social media posts, but it usually ends with that.
However, when the attack on Marawi took place, it shattered our very core. We are scared to death and it made us think hard about what the future might be for the Philippines.
As we were accustomed to bombings happening worldwide, we barely recognized the threat looming in our country. Unfortunately, the countless bombings across several areas of the Philippines several years ago were forgotten as easily as it came. But now, with the rise of ISIS flags and the increase in terror attacks in the Philippines, we are left thinking: Will it ever end?
The entire world has suffered from terror attacks over several months in a row now and the Philippines is one of its recent casualties. Personally speaking, which I think many people will agree with, terrorism will not end anytime soon. Why? Because it is not just an act of simply killing, it is done to promote certain ideologies and, most importantly, business.
The ideologies behind the groups who cause terror attacks are too strong to break. Any of these terror groups, from Al-Qaeda to ISIS, have a strong belief system that is already instilled in each of their minds. This belief system cannot be shaken easily and they believe in it so much they are willing to die for it.
As with religious groups, each and every one of us, terrorist or not, have our own life beliefs and ideologies that we strongly believe in, so, can we really blame these terror groups for what they consider as true?
On the other hand, we all know there is no war if there are no people who supply guns, ammunition, and war weapons to these terrorists. We all know that these terrorists won’t be able to move freely if they do not have enough funds.
We all know very few would join their cause if they did not offer great things and we all know terrorism is mostly, if not all, a product of business.
Truth be told, terrorism can be attributed to greediness for wealth and money as there is a lot of money made in selling weapons. They could not care less as to how these weapons are being used and are not concerned if civilians end up dying in the streets or if soldiers are wounded and injured from fights. They do not care whether terror groups are victorious or whether governments can regain control because, at the end of the day, what is important for these people are not the lives lost but how heavy their pockets become.
There is also the issue of how governments tackle terror attacks and how citizens respond. Governments have different forms of dealing with terrorism, which may or may not end the atrocity. In line with the recent events in Marawi, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the island of Mindanao would be under Martial Law for 60 days.
There are those who believe the call is very much needed, and there are still those who condemn the announcement.
Many have labelled me as “anti-Duterte” because I always find negative things to say about his decisions. But what I have always made clear, I am not against the president but rather on decisions he has made for the country.
This time, I must say that I am with the president’s call for declaring Martial Law. It is what our country needs as of the moment. For the first time since he was elected, I was able to find common ground with him.
Martial Law is needed now. It may not end terrorism on a global scale, but it will help contain the problems in Marawi – big time.
I commend the president for acting as a leader in times like this. Cutting short an official visit to Russia in order to be with his countrymen is helpful in dealing with the pain and fear felt by the Filipinos.
How citizens respond to the actions of the president will also affect the outcome. If bashing continues, instead of pledging support, it won’t help in fighting the terrorists. Conversely, it will just add more fuel to the fire and encourage terror group to do more harm as they see we are divided.
All of us may be different, but we can do one thing to help fight terrorism: pray.
Not just offering a single prayer once we heard the news, but to pray constantly. Daily. For some who are skeptical about the power of prayer, try it. God may not put an abrupt end to terrorism through praying, but it can surely help. As war weapons continue to emerge, the best weapon we can utilize is our prayers. We may be of different religions and races, but we all have the same desire in our hearts, and that is to save lives and put an end to this horror.
It will surely end in God’s perfect time./WDJ