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07.08.2017 Feature Article

The Unheard Voice Of Terroism

The Unheard Voice Of Terroism
07.08.2017 LISTEN

“The fight against terrorism must not only be a fight with weapons but a fight of helping people, especially the youth to discover and fall in love with themselves; this we can achieve by deploying the most formidable weapon of all – our WORDS.” – Elorm Hermann

Terrorism! That’s a word that often sends shivers down the spines of many! It shakes the very foundation of even the strongest and the most powerful countries. Yes, terrorism! Anytime it is mentioned, violence, wickedness, terror, kidnapping, suicide bombing, piracy, plane hijacking and probably, 9-11 are the things that come to mind, isn’st it? What about ISIS, AL-QAEDA, TALIBAN and our very own, BOKO HARAM?

Terrorist groups and their sponsors have become one of the greatest, if not the greatest threats to security across our borders. Year after year terrorism kept spreading its callous wings, and today, it has metamorphosed into a pandemic, feeding on millions of innocent lives and gluttonously devouring as many properties as its vampiric eyes can reach. Even countries who, in the time past never considered terrorism as a threat are now putting stringent measures in place to prevent and battle terrorism should it decide to have a rendezvous with them someday. The citizenry, to be assured of their safety, now demands to know how the various political parties intend to combat this menace – the parties in effect, have no option than to present in their campaign manifestos a well spelt out plan on how they intend fighting terrorism should they be given the mandate to rule the nation.

Over the years, several millions, billions and even trillions of dollars are spent by various governments and international organisations in combating terrorisms. In 2016, a new study estimated that for the past fifteen years, the U.S alone has spent a whopping $4.79 trillion fighting war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and beyond. The report again estimated that this figure could climb as high as $7.9 trillion by 2053. This should inform us how terrifying and costly the war against terror could be.

But the question is, what is the success level of these war-on-terror missions relative to the huge sums of resources that has been pushed into it without even considering the innocent lives (children, men, women and soldiers) and properties that have been lost in the process. I must agree some incredible successes have been recorded with the weapon-for-weapon approach that has been in use over the years.

However, I have come to realise that we have been fighting terrorism partially, if not wrongly, over the years. I always say, the fight against terrorism must not only be a fight with weapons but a fight of helping people to discover themselves. Terrorists are just a bunch of insecure people who desire to prove their worth to the world and because the only thing left in them are damaged self-images, worth and insecurity, they give exactly these to the world. However, if we can help them find themselves – their self-identity and true worth, and win the battles they fight daily with themselves within, they will begin to dispense peace to the world.

Wars are mostly ignited by words and triggered by feelings of inferiority and the desire to prove to others our own superiority. If the history of terrorists can be investigated thoroughly, surely, it will be found that majority of them have at a point in their lives been victims of negative, critical and judgmental words from their friends, teachers, bosses, siblings and even parents. These critical words have long killed their self-image, self worth, confidence, and potentials resulting in their conscience and sense of humanity being callused by hate and inferiority-complex. Like a sword, these words cut through their souls and spirits and leave them to ‘bleed’ profusely to death, mostly, beyond resuscitation. Now, tell me, what death could be worse than a man walking the surface of the earth without a soul and spirit and with damaged self-image, low self-worth and confidence. Tell me!

Mostly, during wars, the only sounds we hear are the sounds of the sirens from the ambulances as they rush victims to the nearest camps and hospitals, the wailing of wives upon receiving news of the death of their husbands during the peace keeping mission, the rattling of the machines guns or the unrelenting screams of children and mothers as they rush helter-skelter for their own lives.

Nonetheless, there remains a voice that’s never heard. It’s so loud and yet, so faint and frail, perhaps, buried inside the sounds of the machine guns. Inside that horrid looking terrorist holding the gun, is a child wandering around shouting to know whether what he has been told as a child that he is worth nothing, that he is an idiot, that he will amount to nothing and all those negative words spoken to him are really true! Yes, that loud voice that controls the terrorists to perpetrate these gruesome acts is surprisingly, never heard.

We sometimes wonder how a human being can shoot through the heart of a fellow human being. We are overwhelmed to see a woman take the life of innocent children from them without a show of empathy or remorse. Often times, we are perplexed to see men chop off the body parts of fathers in the full glare of their families. We don’t understand how a certain group of people can kidnap others and separate them from their loved one. We are often left more confused trying to figure out how a man will decide to take his own life and that of others through suicide bombing. How a certain race or religious extremists will destroy others, remains the greatest puzzle.

But if only we will listen deeper, we will hear. We will hear the unheard voices of these perpetrators, the terrorists. We will hear them telling us how everybody once told them there is nothing good in them and that they can never accomplish anything worthwhile. And now as they are old, they want to prove everybody wrong by becoming famous. Terrorism gives them their voice; they find their ‘dead’ confidence back behind their guns. Yes, their name must remain in the history books. Their faces must trend on the screens of the great media houses. Who cares if it’s for all the wrong reasons? Once their missions are accomplished by terrorizing the world, they become as famous as anyone else, only, posthumously!

If we listen further, we will hear them say their consciences have long been taken away by the harsh words and sometimes actions of the people they once loved. We will hear them, the perpetrators of these gruesome acts, telling us the number of times several critical, negative and judgmental words are shot into their lives and now, their souls and spirits have long departed from them. And without a conscience, a soul and a spirit, man becomes one thing – a BLOODY MONSTER!

What is my point? My point is terrorism must be handled with great wit and combating it the way we are doing is tantamount to taking one step forward and ten backwards. Why is it that upon all the wars being raged on terrorists and other extremists, they keep increasing and getting stronger and wiser? Shouldn’t they go into extinction by now? Should I be here writing on terrorism and must you be reading it at this time after all the resources that have been pushed into fighting it?

It is far better to prevent something than to deal with it, and that includes terrorism. The reason in addition to what is being done, we consider and develop other creative ways of dealing with this menace. How?

Ok! I believe the fight against terrorism must as well be a fight with the mind. The targeted membership of these terrorist groups now is the youths. And while we continue to be reactive they are proactive. With recent happenings, it is believed that they go in search of the youths on various campuses, groups and communities. How do they do it? They simply reach out to their minds! They use the most common but powerful weapon in the world that we have refused to use – WORDS. They misconstrue the happenings in the world with lies and present it in a way that appeals to the fantasies of their targets.

Their words fill the void society has created in the identity and the expectations of these youths and throw a spotlight on the fantasies they often desire, making them prone to be lured.

This being said, moving forward, governments and other civic societies must aside the ‘weapon-for-weapon’ approaches, invest heavily in youth empowerment – helping them build their self-worth. We must quickly help repair their broken self-identities and damaged self-beliefs and confidence before any terrorist group finds them and take advantage of them.

Structures must be put in place to help the youth discover and deploy their potentials appropriately. We must teach them what it means to be patriotic. We must nurture them to become adults who will hold in high esteem, integrity and competence above everything else. Once they come into the full realization of who they are and what they can do, they become more enlightened to make wiser decisions and choices. This will not only help in starving the terrorist groups and raising patriots who will stand to defend their countries but will ensure none of them grows to become the brain behind the next Boko Haram, ISIS, etc. In the interim, it might seem like an addition cost to the war on terror, but soon enough, we will begin to reap the fruits thereof.

You and I must also complement the efforts of governments and other civic groups in fighting terrorism and its menace. But of course, this fight should not be a battle with guns, grenades and bombs. It starts by forming stronger family units where children can easily discuss anything with their parents or siblings; it grows stronger by intentionally controlling what comes out of our mouths to others especially children. Our words can arouse the demon in them or the angel in them; they can ignite fire in them or put it out; they can break or restore them. Let your words be life because the next terrorist in the making is just a word away from you.

You see, we can’t give what we don’t have; so is it with the terrorists. The war without is simply the reflection and the extension of the war within. If you fight yourself within, you will fight others without. However, if you love yourself, you extend this love to your neighbours and friends even if they don’t deserve it, because the only fountain you have within you is the fountain of love and peace and that’s exactly what you will ultimately dispense to others.

If attention is not focused on the youth, terrorism is not only a natural sequence, but just one of those many other ills awaiting them. Let’s intentionally empower and equip them so that when they grow the only thing they can shoot will be their STARS and not a gun!

There is a Hero in you; unleash it!
The writer is Elorm Hermann, an entrepreneur, public speaker and the author of the mind-boggling masterpiece, Unleashing the Hero in You (kindle version available at https://goo.gl/74IBy9 ). Reach him at [email protected]

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