Terror Close to Home

Posted on | January 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment |Globe

by Mistral Louw, Class of 2009 - 26 Jan 2009

On Tuesday afternoon we cut short our English class for a forum on the Mumbai attacks and our own country’s response to the terrorism after 9/11. Mr. Oelhaf had asked several students to research different related topics and present the information that they collected.

I had been surprised when I heard about the Mumbai attacks. At first I thought that it was just another one of the terrorist attacks that occur so often in India, but it began to become more real to me when I heard that one of the attacks had taken place at the Taj Hotel. I remember going there when I was ten with my mother and sisters, to use the fancy bathrooms, peek into the rooms, and pose for photos on the red velvet lounges by the pool.

We discussed how this attack in Mumbai was related to India’s and Pakistan’s controversy over Kashmir, the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, and our own invasion of Iraq. In all these instances Muslims have been made to feel threatened by other religions and cultures.

As the forum drew to a close, students clamored to give their opinions or ask questions of each other. Before leaving we decided to hold another forum soon so that we might continue learning about the larger world.