September 11, 2001 served as a catalyst for what we now call the War on Terror. While terrorism was not something new, the attack on the Twin Towers in New York made it abundantly clear how vulnerable we truly were. It also highlighted how complacent Western society had become. The years that followed were troubling times, exacerbated by further bombings: from the ones in Bali on October 12, 2002 and the one on July 7th 2005 in London and now to the more recent one in Sri Lanka. What differentiated September 11, though, to many other acts of terrorism in say, Northern Ireland, was that this was fronted by individuals that could be clearly delineated from the white man. More specifically, these individuals were primarily from the Middle East and were of the Muslim faith.

When before it was the Asian Invasion, the immigration narrative turned towards Muslims. Suspicion was rife during those early days as society began to focus on safety and security. This was particularly evident in airports. From additional screenings to restrictions on what could now be taken aboard flights.

Surveillance was something that was now considered an acceptable means of combating the threat of another attack. CCTV cameras became much more prevalent in public areas. Initiatives to report unattended baggage began to saturate public transport. Even now, governments have been trying to introduce new systems such as facial recognition to aid intelligence organisations in identifying potential plots before they can harm the population.

After reading about what happened about what happened in Christchurch, I initially wanted to talk about right-wing extremists and how much of society has turned a blind eye to their rhetoric. Even someone from an ethnic background that is not part of the predominant Caucasion population such as myself, was able to allow many of the comments to roll off my back. I might be annoyed that they would ask me where I was really from but after years of consuming television shows and films, I felt thoroughly ingrained into that culture – with a few caveats that came with being of my East Asian heritage.

That all changed with the Easter bombings and the articles I then read about the event. After also watching a video from the Emmy-award winning Sam Riegel and wife Quyen Tran about how they survived the attack on the World Trade Centre, what I managed to glean was the sheer horror and panic that encompassed these events and how they can impact people all these years afterwards. Whether that might be from losing a loved one or counting their lucky stars that they managed to survive.

Most important of all, though, I was impressed by the resilience so many have shown. The very thought of being covered in blood and dirt, not even knowing if its your own or the person that had been standing just beside you chills me to the core. And for people that have gone through such a harrowing experience but still keep on living and pushing on and refusing to back down is something admirable.

So often we focus on the brutality of the attack and those that had planned it. For many years, the mass media turned their lens towards the perpetrators of every single major crime rather than focusing on the victims and elements of heroism that were displayed in such a crisis. Consider the Australian nurse that struggled to save others even when she put her own life in danger during the events of the London Bridge and Borough Markets attack.Or the first respondents that bravely went into the collapsing Towers to save the lives of everyday office workers.

Another article I stumbled upon from a Year 11 student also provided a unique perspective on how we view terrorism in our current day and age. The way religion has been wielded in the most recent terror attacks have also stifled the voices of many. For many people, it is not a clear cut battle between them and us. To lose ourselves in such a debate would invalidate everything that encompasses a person’s identity.

I may not like the policies set in place by the One Nation Party but it doesn’t mean I should personally attack the likes of Pauline Hanson. Perhaps there is a valid reason, at least for her, for why she might believe what she does. Her values are her own as mine are. We come from different backgrounds, have witnessed different things. She might make callous remarks and verbally attack people that share my ethnicity, but fighting hate with more hate only serves to make the world blind.

There are times where it might feel futile to simply stand back and watch as good people are murdered without retaliating in kind. I can understand that seething burning itch to do something. Who hasn’t, in one small way or another? But, I hope one day, each and everyone one of us will be able to see past the blinkers of prejudice we’ve been wearing.

That is also not to say that we become ignorant or pretend that everyone will be law-abiding citizens. A degree in criminology pinpoints the first steps of radicalisation comes from ostracised groups. Individuals who live on the fringes of society that may be different or are horribly bullied. In order to combat this, we, as a society, need to be empathetic. We need to embrace the other in ways we have not done before. In a children’s program, in which, I saw a snippet of on Facebook: rather than being scared of the dark and acting like a terrified creature with our back to the wall, the solution could just be switching on the light. We can, and should, educate ourselves on different cultures and figure out ways to live in harmony with each other. And all of that starts with turning towards one neighbours and reaching out a helping hand.