Don’t Stop Travelling, It Won’t Help The Fight By Shawronna

September 10, 2001. A young engineer checked out of the Marriott World Trade Center, New York, one day earlier than he had planned due to an urgent need at home. He was supposed to have been in a meeting a client in the WTC on September 11. If he had been there the number of victims on 9/11 in the WTC would have been 2754. Since that day the young man has lived his life as if every day could be his last, and is now a very successful professional.

July 7, 2008. A bomb ripped through the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. 58 people died, and many people working for the Indian government lost their good friends. An Indian Foreign Service officer lost one of his best friends that day, but when he was posted in Afghanistan soon after the bombing he did not hesitate to go. When asked why he would take the risk when Kabul was so unsafe, he said “by not going I’m making it more unsafe, I’m giving into fear.”

Friday the 13, 2015. Terrorists attacked sites throughout Paris, killing 130 people and injuring many more. In the days after the attack, many people cancelled their travel plans to Paris. However a couple from Singapore did not change their plans to visit Paris in December. They told their family and friends, “If we don’t go we’re giving into terrorism. I think everyone should consider that before they cancel plans because of this.”

These people have an important message for all of us. The terrorists attack planes, and concert halls, and embassies, things and places that bring many people from many countries together. They want to achieve their goals by creating fear that will separate people. If we give into that fear, the Terrorists will win. With this in mind, President Hollande of France said “ We will not give into terror or hate” and talked about how citizens in Paris will be encouraged to go to concerts, sporting events, and mass gatherings as usual to show that the Terrorists could not change the normal life of Parisians. Just like it has not changed the normal lives of people in New York and Kabul.

And the data clearly shows we should not let the terrorists change our lives. The chance of dying from a terrorist attack anywhere, including abroad, is much less than dying from a car accident, something large falling on top of you, or even lightning. A US study showed that in America people were 54 times more likely to be murdered in a small town vs. being killed by a terrorist, and 2.5 times more likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning. As Helen Keller said “avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.”

With all the constant news about terrorism, it seems like the world is becoming a more violent, unsafe place. But actually violence on the whole is on a steady decline. If you look through history, we are actually in the safest period to live in, as explained by Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker who wrote about this in his new book, ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined’. He wrote: "The decline of violence may be the most significant and least appreciated development in the history of our species." The number of people killed in battle – calculated per 100,000 population – has dropped by 1,000-fold over the centuries, from more than 500 out of every 100,000 people, in 19th century to about three-tenths of a person per 100,000 today. The rate of genocide deaths per world population was 1,400 times higher in 1942 than in 2008. And, as we are taking more precautions against terrorists, the number of deaths from terrorism does not change this trend. And, planes are still the SAFEST way to travel, even after 9/11. A person is more much more likely to die driving 5 kms from his home, than to die in a plane crash thousands of miles away. This doesn’t mean that you don’t take precaution while travelling; don’t get on a plane to Damascus without thinking about the danger and chaos in Syria.

Still, there seems to always news about terrorism on TV, and things like in Paris keep happening once every few years. It is normal to wonder what we can and should do. The data and examples show that we should all do our part to take the right precautions, but not change our normal lives. For example, when travelling, security control has become more tough and a much longer process. We need to remember that this is for our own good and that we need to be patient during these processes. We should accept security checks with patience and a smile, and keep travelling all over the world, keep meeting new people, and keep getting together in concert halls to listen to our favourite bands.

We have to remember that we can live with fear but not in it. Because, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself ”

Http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/living-with-terror/html. N.p., n.d. Web.
Https://sumedhakalia.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/impact-of-terrorism-on-tourism/. N.p., n.d. Web.
Http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/22/world-less-violent-stats_n_1026723.html. N.p., n.d. Web Http://twenty-somethingtravel.com/2015/11/do-not-cancel-your-travel-plans-because-of-terrorism/. N.p., n.d. Web.