By Lauren Pankin
The Tower
Grosse Pointe South HS
1st Place
Division 1, News Writing
News Story
Following a double suicide bombing in southern Beirut that killed at least 43 people on Nov. 12 and a series of attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people on Nov.13, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder halted the Syrian refugee effort in Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 15, according to a statement released by the governor’s office.
Both terrorist attacks were perpetrated bythe Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to “The New York Times.” ISIL’s forces are concentrated in Iraq and Syria, and the violence of civil war and extremist terrorism has prompted the migration of an estimated 9 million refugees, according to syrianrefugees.eu.
For French teacher Amanda Moon, news of theParisian attack elicited shock, surprise and sadness, she said. With family, friends and students in France, Moon said she is grateful no one she personally knows was involved in the terrorist attacks, although she remains concerned for their welfare, especially in the case of her “adoptive,” half-Muslim family living south of Paris.
“I think about them and how acts like this reflects on them–they are such good peo-ple,” Moon said. “I’m sad for them, too, because what does this mean for their population and for their refugees that are coming from Syria that are in real danger and need to flee?”
Moon said she is concerned that Europe, a destination of hope for refugees, will in-creasingly refuse Syrians.
“What do you do now? Do you suspect everybody?” Moon said. “That’s just so unfair to these people who are fleeing that same violence that we just witnessed from where they are coming from.”
A former French student of Moon’s, Caroline Forster ’14, attends the Superior Institute of Communications & Publicity(ISCOM) in Paris.
“My experience this past weekend was pretty unreal,” Forster said via e-mail. “I was out to dinner with family when we got the first alerts and calls. In the beginning, we assumed it was a small attack in a northern neighborhood and decided to finish our dinner. By dessert, we were receiving more updates and realized the seriousness of the events.”
Because the shootings and bombs were in northern districts, called arrondissements, Forster was geographically removed from the terrorist attacks, she said. Upon arriving safely home to her Western neighborhood of Levallois, she marked herself safe on her Facebook page, and spent the majority of Friday night and early Saturday morning watching the news.
Going into the city for class on Monday made Forster nervous, she said.
“Arriving at school, in the center of the city, we had a moment of silence for the lives that were taken,” Forster said.“ This instant was extremely moving and emotional; my eyes were wet with tears as I realized how lucky I was to be surrounded by classmates and friends during this difficult time.”
Forster’s daily activities will be greatly impacted by the terrorist attacks, she said. While the city is in a state of emergency, Forster plans to avoid large public areas like the metro, shopping centers and tourist areas like the Place de la Republique, Eiffel Tower and Montmartre. Within Forster’s class, students are constantly updating each other onFacebook to be sure that they all get home safely from school.
“I am not frightened because I am aware that the city is doing everything it can to protect us, there is nothing more that I can do for that,” Forster said. “I know that I must not be scared because that is exactly what these terrorists want- for us to be terrorized. But I am ready to stand with my city and protect our values and culture.”
Rumored or hoaxed bomb alerts have occurred frequently since the attacks, Forster said.
“Getting these updates definitely enables the fight or flight action that does make the hair on my arms stand straight up, and I know thatI must make a conscious decision to bring myself to a safe location.” Forster said. “Although I am doing my best, and I love living in Paris, it is a time like this that I wish I could come home to Grosse Pointe fora day to be surrounded by familiar faces and memories.”
Grappling with the second terrorist attack in Beirut, Carol Handilah ’16 said her family’s decision to move to America was catalyzed by escalating violence in Lebanon thirty years ago.
Fleeing war, the parents of Carol Handilah ’16 immigrated from Lebanon with other family members in the 1980s. An aunt, who lives in Canada, was friends with a woman who died in the Nov. 12 Beirut bombings.
“For them (my parents), news of violence in Beirut is something that happens regularly, it’s not something that is new,” Handilah said.
Before the 1980s, Beirut was dramatically different because few restrictions were imposed and there was little violence, Handilah said. Now, her family has grown accustomed to almost daily reports of terrorist attacks in their home city.
“It’s truly tragic,” Handilah said. “My family is praying for the safe
ty of everyone in Beirut.” Following both terrorist attacks, at a G20 summit on Nov. 16 inAntalya, Turkey, President Barack Obama said, “ISIS is the face of evil. Our goal is to … destroy this barbaric organization.” Although American politicians are united in the goal to end ISIL’s terrorism, they are divided on how to achieve this result, AP Government teacher Michael Rennell said. “Obama thinks what they’re doing is working, and it will take along time, but the policy itself is working,” Rennell said. “For right now, I think they’re going to stick with drone strikes and try to takeout the political leaders of ISIS, but we’ll see what the future holds.” With the 2016 presidential campaign in full swing, both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have been outspoken about their views on America’s role in the struggle against ISIL, Rennell said. “I take a look at the election and say, ‘since 1950, there have been two issues that have been the top two issues for every single election, and that’s the economy and foreign policy,’” Rennell said . “This is probably one of the most definitive parts of the foreign policy because there’s definitely a decided difference between Republicans and Democrats.” Rennell said a clear example of the difference between the parties was the Democrats’ insistence that the terrorists were extremist Jihadists, while the Republicans claimed the perpetrators were Islamic terrorists. “This brutal and barbaric group (ISIL) is perverting the name of a great world religion,” candidate Martin O’Malley said during the Nov.14 Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Meanwhile, Republican candidate Marco Rubio tweeted on Nov.13 that America should assist the French government in finding those responsible and bringing them to justice.“The #ParisAttacks are a wake up call. This is a clash of civilizations. Either they win or we win,” Rubio tweeted on Nov. 14. While the Republicans are much more about striking out, theDemocrats generally agree with Obama’s policy, Rennell said. How-ever, politicians may ultimately have little say in the involvement ofAmerican troops. “If France happens to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter, then some NATO troops may be involved, and we’re a big part of NATO troops,” Rennell said. “Who knows where the escalation will be. Only time can tell.” Following criticism from “The New York Times” on Nov. 15 that the Beirut bombings received less public sympathy and attention than the Paris attacks, Moon said she discussed this controversy with her students. “Many other attacks have gone unnoticed and undiscussed, and that that’s a serious problem,” Moon said. “Maybe what comes out of this in some sort of a, dare I say positive, is that we are forced to see more how this situation touches people from around the world, and not just in Paris.”