“IT IS only the Evil One that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: Be ye not afraid of them, but fear Me, if ye have Faith.” - Surah Al-Imran, 175
*****
This may be hard, when you refuse to give in to fear even it threatens your life, because you might need to defend yourself to the point of exacting it with the same degree of violence these threats can do. But to react with such only leads to further demise, chaos, and breeds more complications than solutions.
But we need not to give in to terror. With what is happening now in the country aligned to the sporadic events in other parts of the world, it is undeniable that it can create an atmosphere of helplessness; however, instead of succumbing to paranoia, one needs to stand firm.
In light with what has happened in Marawi City two weeks ago, the sense of panic can still be etched in some people’s mind, this, despite heightened alerts and police and military visibility. For example, people in Cagayan de Oro, especially near Macabalan and Puntod started fearing that their community is a direct casualty once there were terror attacks, the fear and rumors started when rerouting in the nearby access roads were made by the local government unit.
But this is what I learned so far based on conversations with the Cagayan de Oro City's chief information officer Maricel Rivera:
* There are regular security briefings made by different agencies.
* In security briefings, areas potential to terror attacks were identified, so it's normal that they plan and strategize security measures in a worse-case scenario.
* These security plans and actions, including areas of high risks, are supposed to be confidential, and should there be reasons to disclose to public, the information dissemination should be handled carefully so it won’t cause panic to the public.
So, when you heard hearsays and rumors through text messages and your friendly neighbors, always take it with doubt, as the information might have gone to exaggerated lengths; unless you get information from a designated official.
Unfortunately, some radio stations tend to exaggerate too, causing panic instead of just information, so listen with caution.
Vigilance is one way to dispense terror and reduce its power, but in order to be vigilant, once must be aware of the right information and the ability to process what is correct and what is false. Information is crucial in these times, as truth is often vague and almost non-existent.
Terrorism, in this modern form, has grown because of extreme ignorance despite the education and information available to everyone. It started in an ideology and set of beliefs whose facts and tenets were tainted with misinformation, and twisted schools of thoughts. It breeds hatred, and it only becomes worse if we can do nothing about it.
However, fighting terror in a warfare is only shallow means, it is not only temporary but also expensive and exhaustive; it is not only divisive, but also it wastes the lives of innocent people. And these are the things we need to ponder on, and that we needed an alternative approach to combat terrorism in a way that it lessens the impact of casualties.
(nefluczon@gmail.com)
