Have the militants won?
Tahsin Farid
Last week I asked my brother whether he was going to watch the new Jason Bourne movie. Before he could reply my mother chimed in to warn him not to go to the cinemas, to be sensible and be safe. She added, in fact, it would be better if he avoided restaurants too. A good friend of mine wanted to go to see a show at Chhayanaut but no one would go with him because its a cultural thing and hence dangerous.
Those are just two examples of what appears to be the public reaction to the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery. For as long as I can remember, Dhakas restaurants have been vibrant with chatting friends or families having a day out and the shopping centres have always been filled with the cacophony of the overcrowded masses. It has become an integral part of our daily life. But now, for the first time in my lifetime, they are listless. Not because of an economic downturn but because we are afraid of being cut down for nothing more than living our normal lives.
With the horror of July 1 still fresh in our minds and the threat of imminent attacks looming over our heads, it is perfectly reasonable that we are being cautious. We have minimised the amount of time we spend in public. If we used to have lunch at a restaurant before, now we are staying in the office. Instead of going to popular hotspots with friends we are staying home. Rather than going to the cinemas or a concert or a cultural event we are watching television at home.
Its always great to spend more time with family but in this instance, the motivation is somewhat suspect. We have not chosen to stay indoors; we are hiding. It is the fear of extremists that is keeping us from living life as usual. We do not realise it yet, but in our attempt at caution, we are surrendering our way of life to the terrorists. The very purpose of their violent actions is to shock us and instill fear so as to pervert our lives. If we change our way of life out of fear then we have let them win.
Sadly, this caution has not even made us safer, but only encouraged them. Recently, terrorist organisations have threatened a number of schools. Needless to say, we fear for the lives of our children and want them to be safe. So, the schools responded by extending the summer break indefinitely. Maybe, under the current circumstances, it is idealistic and impractical to remain brave and refuse to bend to their demands and maybe it is only pragmatic to comply to be safe. But how far are we willing to bend? Next, it will be colleges, and then universities and then business. How many of our vital institutions are we willing to shut down to acquiesce the threats and whimsies of terrorists? Surely, we will not be held to ransom by these extremists.
That being said, we cannot simply ignore a tragedy of this magnitude and go on as if nothing has happened. Until now, we had remained untouched in this world strife with heinous acts of terrorism. It is only human that we are shocked and scared. Of course we must acknowledge the threat but we cannot simply stagnate either. There has to be a balance. We have to remain strong and united even in the face of repeated and continued attempts to disrupt our way of life. We must not change our routines even if they be as trivial as eating at a restaurant or watching a movie simply out of fear. Yet, we must be vigilant and circumspect; report any suspicious activity and have faith in law enforcement to protect us.
The assault on Holey Artisan Bakery was an attack on our way of life and it seems it has corrupted us with fear - the fear of living our lives normally. Yet even in these troubled times we must find the strength within ourselves to remain undaunted and refuse to let extremists touch our way of life.
That is the only way we can defend ourselves against such threats. That is the only way we can truly triumph over them.
The writer is a medical student at Weill Cornell Medicine
