Rocio Safont

Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

November 1st, 2017

Is Terrorism Getting Worse?

So, is Terrorism getting worse? That is the question. Some people think that we

used to be safe in the past, but this is wrong. This is not happening now, we have

faced terrorism for many years and now it is said that we are more prepared for the

next possible attack. A lie. How are you prepared to throw a bomb in your town? To

shoot for no reason at a large number of people on the street or at a concert? How do

you prepare yourself so that one day a madman may start running over whoever is in

his way?

Are we really better prepared now than before? Or is it just an illusion? It is true that

today the police forces are much more concerned about the people who enter and

leave each country, but even so it is very difficult to stop a terrorist attack. In

addition, many of the attacks are caused by people from the same country who are

either Islamists or have converted to Islam, so it is still more difficult to stop this.

Terrorism is getting worse. Nice, France, Germany, Spain, USA it does not matter

where they attack, they just do it and get what they want. Fear.

They want us to be afraid to live, which is unacceptable. We do not have to live like

that just because a group of people want to make us feel weak and helpless.
 But, are there something we can do to stop terrorism?

Another good question. People think that there is nothing we can do to end terrorism.

Is that true? We are always praying that our home is not the next place to attack but

this must change. Governments must start thinking about solutions and strategies to

stop terrorist attacks. They are the first to face this problem and find a quick solution.

The police has increased over time but must be quick and ready, able to predict where

the next attempt will be to avoid it. Also the media must stop creating so much fear in

the world, focusing only on the problems, the deaths and the broken that is the world

after a terrorist attack only gets the terrorists out stronger and with more desire than

ever to make another one.

We must also abandon the myth of lone wolves, what people think are people

who work alone without the help of anyone. This is a myth, these people are directly

connected with the Islamist groups that carry out the terrorist attacks that we all

know; Nice, Paris, Germany, Barcelona, Las Vegas ... and these attacks are

increasing more and more with less time difference between them, which worries

everyone.

More and more countries are affected by terrorism, especially lately in Europe. Many

are people who flee their country out of fear and many are people who can not enter

other countries out of fear. Fear is paralyzing the world. Paralyzing relations between

other countries and their communication, when it should be the other way around. All

the countries affected by terrorism should be brought together to try to find a

solution, an alternative to all the problems caused by terrorism in the world.

People need to be together at this moment. They are difficult times and the more

united the world, the more difficult it will be for them to make another attack.

"I was shopping in a mall, in Plaza de Catalunya, when I saw many people running

and screaming, everything was very chaotic. This is how Alba explains, one of the

witnesses in the terrorist attack that killed 13 people and 50 injured in Las Ramblas,

Barcelona.

"I was going to the Plaza de Catalunya, from the Plaza de Urquinaona, when I saw

that there was a lot of noise and when I got closer I saw that there were many people,

ambulances, police It did not seem like a normal accident said Merc Duch,

another witnesses in the attack, "The police directed us out of the center, upwards,

then I was involved in a stampede of frightened people and some fell to the ground",

continues.

These people had the luck or the misfortune to be in the moment in which a van

driven by a terrorist began to run over people through the streets of Barcelona.

After this I wonder: Why? What leads them to perform an act like that? They do

not stop to think about the harm done to those affected as well as to their own

families. After this, Barcelona and Spain as a whole came together to remember the

victims of the attack and to unite against the terrorism that is causing so much

damage, especially in Europe. They came together to tell terrorism that they are not

afraid of it, that it is enough, that they will not always live with fear of them and their

attacks. So they proclaimed it with their "No Tenim Por" campaign which in English

means "We Are Not Afraid"

With this they wanted to make the world see that after the storm the calm arrives and

that the bad moments also come out. Living with fear is not living. We must live to

the maximum because we only have one.

Are we really know what we are facing? Can we physically assume how they are but

nowadays you can not trust anyone. More and more cases in which the people of the

country are responsible for the attack. This is caused by the indoctrination that is

instilled in them from the terrorist headquarters. This indoctrination begins from very

small, inculcating the values and educating them for the moment to kill for their

God.

We know what they do and the damage they cause, but do we really know the reason

that drives them to act? Is that their God? Is their God who forces them to kill, to

sacrifice the lives of people and of themselves? What kind of God would do that? Or

do they do it for political reasons? Are the disagreements and injustices that they see

towards them what moves them to carry out these attacks against civilians?

I'm still looking for the exact reason for this, I guess we can never know for sure.

Social media is the way that Isis has used to be able to transmit to the whole world

what they do and what they are capable of doing to achieve what they propose.

Many Islamists use videos murdering people to become very popular and increase

fear in the world. The truth is that they get it, those videos went around the world and

made life stop at times because we could see what they were capable of doing.

Radio, television, social networks are the center of our eyes day after day and by

seizing it, they take over a bit of us.

It is good to communicate what it is going on in the world, but giving it much

importance and showing the world the fear that exists only manages to encourage and

motivate them more to carry out the next attack.

Are all terrorist Muslims? It is clear that no. Why do we treat everyone equally?

We think that because they are Muslims they should throw a bomb in our country, or

start running over the whole world, or shoot for no reason.

Nowadays Muslims have many problems because of it. They can not migrate to

better places because the countries forbid them to go to their country. Only for being

who they are. It is unfair. We can not treat everyone equally. Not all lose their heads

and carry out attacks. Many are the first to try to flee from them, to go against what

they are forced to do or to think. Many only seek new opportunities but we are the

ones who deny them the right way. It is wrong to think so. Nowadays, the main

attacks have been caused by people belonging to the same country, who have been

converted to Islam or already lived there and after indoctrination decide to attack

their own country.

It is time to arm yourself with courage and tell the terrorists that we are no longer

afraid of you. They may continue to be scary but with each attack we become

stronger and in the end we will definitely end up with them. We will end fear, pain,

frustration and we will be strengthened after all.

It is time for change, to stop blaming other people and to start putting solutions. It is

time to change the things that are not going well and avoid excuses and bad
management. It is time to stop arguing about what happened and what was not done

to avoid it. Now it's time to come together and think for a better future.

The future is in our hands and it is now or never. There is no time to lose. Yesterday

was late.

What are you waiting for?

Works Cited

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Nathaniel Barr, The Myth of Lone-Wolf Terrorism,

Foreign Affairs, July 26, 2016.

Michael German, Counter Terror Smarter, U.S. News and World Report, October

26, 2016.

Thomas Homer-Dixon, The Rise of Complex Terrorism, Foreign Policy,

November 16, 2009.

Sam Meredith Spain terror attacks 'totally different' to other deadly incidents in

Europe, CNBC, Europe News, August 18, 2017

Tony Ayala, La Barcelona ms solidaria vuelve a aflorar tras el atentado en la

Rambla La Vanguardia, August 18, 2017.

Omar Alhatour, Musulmans Are Not Terrorists: A Factual Look at Terrorism and

Islam, Huffpost.

Snia Calv, Catalunyaplural.cat, eldiario.es, August 17, 2017.

Rocio,
I know that English is not your first language and this assignment in general might be a little
complicated for you. Ive been there myself. I know for a fact that writing in Spanish and then
translating it all to English is not the best choice, because some sentences wont make sense at
all. Be careful and proofread.

Im sure you have good ideas, and the topic you chose is complex enough. I also like that youre
using questions to engage the reader.

On the other hand, I suggest you think about your main point, or your purpose with this paper, and
then build your arguments from there. It is definitely easier to read and understand a work that has
certain logical order. Outlines are an awesome tool to accomplish this. Also, make sure you use
your sources as support to back up your claims, because as professor Malcolm explained, nothing
is common knowledge. I say that because I didnt see any of your sources throughout the essay,
and we should try to avoid everything that is opinion-based.

I believe you could do more research to extend your work. For example, what types of terrorism
are there? How does the government plan to address terrorism? How exactly could we be
prepared? What are the characteristics of terrorist attacks? Why do they happen? Etc

Finally, formatting is also important. Remember: Times New Roman, 12-point type; 1-inch margins;
double spaced with paragraphs indented 0.5 without additional spacing between paragraphs.
Make sure you use Purdue Owl to see if youre citing your sources correctly.

If you need help with something let me know and Ill try to explain!

Valentina Rojas