Combat in Terrorism

Why do we battle against humanity? Why is the world cruel enough to do this kind of thing? Terrorism should stop because it forces freedoms to be taken away from every country, killing innocent people and promotes hate and discrimination. We are victims of injustice and violence. We fight for equal rights. According to the Miriam Webster dictionary, the meaning of terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

Terrorism is an endless battle. It cannot stop until we continue to fight for freedom and being equally treated. Statistics say that there a more than a million of people are dying all over the world because of terrorism. The wish of terrorism is to take away that feeling of freedom and joy. It still continues to inflict pain and suffering on people’s lives in which almost no week goes by without an act of terrorism taking place somewhere in the world. It is a worldwide problem. Freedom is the right of our every individual and our freedom is taken away from us whenever terrorism strikes. There are cases where young men are taken away from their family and are forced to enlist in the army to train for the war on terrorism which stops them from living their lives freely and spending the rest of their lives trying to fight against terrorists so that their families and their country will get the freedom they deserve.

           It took the lives of many innocent people. For terrorism in general, killing innocent people is a means by which to instill fear and convince the population to change their government’s policies. It’s a asymmetric warfare. They don’t have any hope of winning an actual battle. So they subjugate people by causing them to feel intense fear, or terror. They because of many reasons, the most common one is that they believe their god or deity demands it. Just like the current terrorism that is occurring in Marawi City, Mindanao in the Philippines the terrorists kill those who are Christians. But if a Christian turns away from his or her Christianity and profess his or her faith same as the religion of the terrorist, the terrorist will spare the life of the individual.

           Terrorism promotes hate and discrimination. It sends a bad image and reputation to the society about the Muslims. Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims are not new, but manifestations of these phenomena appear to have been on the rise in recent years. Muslims might experience verbal harassment or be the targets of hate speech, violent attacks or religious profiling.  The “war on terror” tensions about national personality and the troubles in adapting to the expanding assorted variety in numerous social orders have prompted a development in hatred against Muslims and Islam that has in some cases been fuelled by narrow minded dialect in media and political talk. As a result, many Muslims experience a range of discrimination, including verbal harassment, hate speech, violent attacks and religious profiling. Many are also confronted with a lack of equal opportunities in employment, housing, health care and education, and face restrictions on the public expression of their religion. Therefore, we can try to stop this. I just want you to listen, understand and take action to lessen this type of crisis.

           War appears to be contradictory to Christianity since the Fifth Commandment states, “Thou shalt not kill.” Every individual has an obligation to protect his life, and in this way has a privilege to honest to goodness self-preservation.  We should have respect for human life. The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere. The commandment, “You shall not kill,” adds to it the proscription of anger, hatred, and vengeance. Going further, Christ asks his us to turn the other cheek, to love their enemies. As Christians or even in different religion, what is your stand? Do you really want this? Or do you want to stop this? It’s up to your actions. The future of the youth is in your hands.

    Have you ever felt so disgusted in yourself? Have you ever screamed for help? Have you ever felt that you’re tied up, and not able to speak out what you feel? I may not have encountered personally the sufferings of these women, child, and any other people who experienced nothing but these endless pain of sexual harassment, but surely I can hear their screams, feel their fear, and see their innocence.

    Based on my gathered facts, over 8,000 women and children are being raped for the last years. Who would have thought that we will get a massive number of rape victims by the end of the year. Imagine all of those women and children being sexualized by our own countrymen. Yet, we are still unsure if that is the exact number of people who are being sexualized. These immoral acts, can be caused by the lack of education, morals, and respect.

    I remember the day of our church’s conference, a lady standing in front of a big crowd sharing her faith and how she get through her own experience of sexual harassment. I remember clapping my hands and cheering my heart out on how brave she was to share her experience. She was sexualized by her own father. Her other sisters had the exact misery. The lost of hope, and faith is all over her. She was so scared to scream for help thinking that her own father will murder her and will do the exact thing to her siblings. Since she can’t do anything about it, she wrote letters thinking that these letters will help her cast out from her miserable life that feels like death. Without any hesitation, she placed all of these letters in their own roof. The thought of reading the letters by a stranger did not pop in her head. And that day came, the authority read her letter. Luckily she was saved by a foundation and they introduced God to her.

    I myself encountered this kind of violence. It may not be as bad as her experience but it is still an act of harassment. Just walking through the streets with decent clothes, you’ll hear all kinds of hiss from different people. Or the so called “cat-calling”, and I am certain to say this that every girl that I know also had this kind of experience. Catcalling is not compliment it is an act of violence. We should not feel obligated to satisfy their needs whether, physically, emotionally, or what ever pleasures they need for us.

   But on the other side, I am glad to tell you that we are slowly rising up from this controversy. One city in our country, particularly Quezon City, approved the law of “Anti-Catcalling Ordinance”. I hope that we can keep passing this kind of law. Not just for our country, but for the whole world. Because, everyone deserves to be respected just as we want to be respected by the others here is a passage that I want to share to you. In the letters of Paul to Thessalonians saying: ”6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:6-9

    We believe that our own church is not about just knowing God, sharing His words, and not just singing all the songs with our hearts. It’s more of encouragement, hope, and knowing their hearts personally. It’s not just reading the bible It’s more of studying it and implying it to our own lives. And if ever I’d encounter someone with the same grief, I will not hesitate to invite that person to our church, and I’ll talk to her personally about this matter. Cause this is a serious issue. We should not just let this “slip” away. We will get to know this person more, invite her to our services, give her a bible, and we will invite her to study it. First of, inviting them to our church can improve their, confidence through fellowship. Second, attending Sunday services and mid-week devotional services, can revive themselves to repent and pray again. Lastly, giving the bible and studying it can be the start of their new lives and the growth of their spiritual state.

    No. I am not. I am not just a girl. I am not just someone who wears dresses, make-up and do all these “girly things” and yes, I can do what you and all these men around can. No. I am not just a sex object. I am not just a past time. My mouth is not only meant to scream “yes, please, fast”. My breasts aren’t only for your dreams. My clunge aren’t for your pleasures, and my whole body is mine. And this is my choice. I stand for the ones who cannot get up, I speak for the ones who are silent. Yes it is me. A female that stands for Sexual Harassment.