On Dahab..

It was interesting to see the range of reactions here on nomadlife in response to the bombings that occurred earlier this week in Dahab, Egypt. From helplessness, to fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, confusion, etc. What I didn't read was any sort of posting trying to explain why the persons did what they did. Obviously you can say, "there can be no excuse for such horrible actions", however as anyone knows, things don't just happen in a vaccum (there were reasons/causes behind 9-11, there are reasons/causes behind Palestinian suicide bombers, etc).

I've never been to Dahab, but from what I've been told it's a magical place, a paradise on the Red Sea. So why would someone want to destroy such a thing? Perhaps for that very reason. I think part of our responsibility as "globally mindful citizens" is to do more than just give a mere reaction--focusing on emotions that can be found in any major press in the world seems almost like paying lip-service, see: "Mid-East Outraged over Bombings", a tired statement if I've ever heard one. Instead, we should search for a deeper, more analytical approach to the root of the problem.

I was watching "Paradise Now" last night, and it really got to the crucial point in all this. At what point does your life suck so bad that you are willing to blow yourself up? Injustice. Abject Poverty. Ridicule. No job. No money. And, if you were put in that position, would you do the same thing? Of course it's easy to say no, sitting in the comforts of our bloated Western lifestyles, but the question becomes much more grey when you actually put yourself in their shoes. Day in and day out.

It's true the killing of innocents should never be justified, but to stop this behavior it's important to look beyond questions like "when will this stop?", and perhaps start asking, "Well, how did this begin?". Does anyone know what was running through the minds of the people before they strapped explosives to themselves (or planted the bombs, if they weren't suicide bombers)? Can we really know?

As with all tragedies of this nature, it is my hope that this generation will be the one that comes up with the solutions to these complex problems. The first step, however, is acknowleding the complexities.