Paris...

And again, Paris was attacked. This time, the death toll is outstanding.

The reactions varied. The international media is showing alot of compassion. Worldwide sites are being let with the colors of the French flag. People around the world have given different reactions: from seeing the international media as biased, and trying their best to justify the attacks, to the other extreme of considering the casualties of France as the only casualties that deserve compassion and give a blind eye to all of the death and suffering in other areas around the world (famine casualties are deaths, as well, and they are dying because of the negligence of the whole world!)...

And as usual, I watch for some time in silence. I peek through my little facebook window (my account that has ONLY my close family and close friends) to watch what people say about this.

And my analysis for what is happening led me to a conclusion: we, in the middle east, feed on hatred. In a way that makes any sympathy with what might be marked as "other" to be considered as treachery! 

Take out bias from what happened in Paris, take out any indications to religions or origins, and try to describe it: several people have attacked and killed a group of people that they do not know, the choice being made on the basis of the victims being present in that specific place when the attackers decided to shoot. Most probably, the attackers has never met any of the victims in their lives and they do not know a bit about them.

Is there any way in which this can be justified? NO!

Now when we put the origins of the people and their religions back in, the image darkens even more.

Reactions in the middle east varied between:

- Showing exaggerated sympathy as a way of marketing one's self to the "west", most probably to Embassies of Western countries, these are the people who are potential refugees or immigrants, or have some sort of interest in mind, like obtaining work or study visas

- Underestimating what happened under the pretext that these casualties are not more precious than the innocent victims being killed every day in Syria and Iraq and Palestine (because, you know, before you sympathize with any terrorist attack around the world you need to swear and pledge allegiance to Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Myanmar... etc)

- Trying to bring back to the scene what the French colonialism has committed in North Africa as a way to deter people from showing any sympathy with the attacks and marking sympathizers are people with less loyalty to their ARAB Muslim identity.

What, people?

Isn't human blood precious enough? Aren't human souls of any worth? Or we should pass our compassion through our identity filters and just feel sympathy with whoever we mark as (us) and refrain from doing so for any one we see as (other)?

We have a tendency to concentrate on the ideology of (identity). We have a strong feeling of being (us). We are extremely indulged in producing labels to categorize people: Muslims, Christians, Jews... Sunni, Shea... Hanafi, Shafe'i, Maleki, Hanbali... Jordanian, Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian... Arab, African, Circassian, Chechen... Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern... Islamist, Marxist, Liberal... And in order for one to open up for another, they should be identical in AAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL of these layers... any slightest difference in any of these layers can be a time bomb that might explode at any time!

What is happening in our countries is a direct result of the hatred that we are keen to feed and raise inside us. I know... external parties who have interests in our region have a role in the chaos flaming around the middle east, this is not some thing that I can deny. But if some one is standing on the edge of a cliff and is preparing himself to commit suicide, and another one comes and just gives him the tiny push off the cliff, do not we still consider the person responsible for his own death to a far extent?

Also, we have created an unbelievable case of confusion for the whole world. In the beginning of the civil war in Syria, for example, no one interfered (at least on the official level). The Arab masses condemned the silence of the international community and asked them to stop the war in Syria. When the international community made a move, the Arab masses justified the attacks on France by the fact that it interfered in Syria.

COME ON, PEOPLE!

WHAT EXACTLY DO WE WANT?

Do we want to be left alone until we settle our own internal affairs (and most probably, finish each other, eventually)?

Or we want the international community (AKA the infidel West) to interfere and solve our problems for us (and most probably so that we can retaliate by waging attacks against their civilians)?

Or we want the international community (again, AKA the infidel West) to counsel each and every one of us on what we want in order to satisfy every single Arab and grant us peace on our social media timelines?

PLEASE!

Let us get rid of all of that segregates us. We are all humans. Let the governments deal with governments, and let us, people, deal with people. Napoleon Bonaparte is long dead. And the people in France today are NOT the colonial powers that have once invaded North Africa. These are human beings like us, who want to work and make a living, and be able to go home at the end of the day and take care of their families.

I am qouting Debbie Qalballah here, as she has put it in words in exactly the way it has to be put:

"And that’s the reason I wrote this. Never stop being a hero. In a world that benefits from our hatred, never fall into hate. Refuse to be polarised. Never think of another human as the “Other”. Realise patriotism cannot hidden behind if your government acts unjustly. Stand up for truth. Demand justice for all people. Commit yourself to democracy. Put reason above fear. Realise that ordinary people everywhere are frightened and that we have more in common than we don’t. Remember who the real enemy is: it is greed. Never stop being an ordinary, everyday, marvelous, run-of-the-mill, salt-of-the-earth, trail-blazing, superstar of a hero. It will take every single one us standing up for justice everywhere that will make the change."