Within the past year, I cannot count the number of times I have woken up, opened up my iPhone and found out that there was another attack somewhere on the other side of the world. It’s become a terrible way to start the morning.
This past Thursday was no different. This time, militants set off explosions in the center of Jakarta, reportedly near a Starbucks and a popular shopping mall. They also opened fire at others in the surrounding area. Six people died (four of which were the attackers and two innocent civilians) and 26 people were wounded. One innocent civilian was Indonesian, the other Canadian.
Sources later learned that ISIS (the Islamic State) claimed responsibility for the attacks, following a trend that we have become all too familiar with in the past few months. This raises concern that there could be an increased presence of ISIS not only in Indonesia but in the rest of Southeast Asia.
The current suspect and organizer, Bahrun Naim, is a leader of a Southeast Asia-based military unit under ISIS, and there are claims that the police were aware of this individual. According to the latest on the attacks, 12 individuals have been arrested and are believed to be connected to the attack. There is now increased awareness of the presence of ISIS in Indonesia.
Indonesia has the largest Muslim population but a secular government. The civil war going on in Syria also comes into play, and, according to the New York Times, “has been a source of inspiration for violent Islamists in Indonesia, and hundreds have traveled to Syria to join the Islamic state over the past several years.” The spikes of radicalism in the country have been more noticeable within the past year.
With the election in our country quickly approaching, it will be interesting to see how voters take the candidates’ foreign policy plans into consideration, especially strategies concerning ISIS. We’ve seen that most all of the candidates are considering the Islamic State to be a very serious threat to our national security, but specific strategies vary across the candidates on both sides.
As a young American college student watching news every day, I have come to realize that it is normal to be worried about what is currently going on in the world. We, as a nation, have to find sensible ways to deal with the refugee crisis, radical Islamic extremism and the other problems facing our nation while respecting and communicating with our Muslim population and not instilling fear into American citizens.
It’s unfortunate that waking up to this news almost has become our new reality, but we cannot deem this acceptable. If it puts as much of a pit in my stomach as it does in yours to hear this news, we can review the policies of each candidate and vote for whoever we think has the most sensible solution to some of our world’s largest problems. College students who are old enough should make their vote count. Most importantly, we cannot let it change the way we live our lives.
While it is okay to be afraid, attacks like these are unpredictable and it is not going to stop someone like me from letting me still enjoy traveling and living my life. It shouldn’t stop you either.
