IT IS NOT OKAY.

Beirut after 12.11.2015 dated ISIS bombing

From top to bottom, left to right : London National Gallery, London Eye, Toronto CN Tower, Shanghai Oriental Pearl, Berlin Brandenburg Gate, Taiwan Taipei 101, Sydney Opera House, Mexico Angel de la Independencia, San Francisco City Hall after 13.11.2015 dated ISIS bombing

“This is not Beirut” tweets referring to Minneapolis protests following the murder of George Floyd

On November 12th 2015, ISIS bombed Beirut and killed 89 people. Only a day later, on November 13th 2015, ISIS bombed Paris, killed 130 people.

I learned about both from the news. Then I learned more about the second one when half of my friends changed their social media photos to French flags and wrote JE SUIS PARIS. I learned more when people around the world gathered to light candles and to leave flowers for the victims. I learned more when Tower Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Brandenburg Gate and Empire State were lighted in the colours of the French flag.

We learned more and more about Paris tragedies in the following days and weeks and we totally forgot about Beirut. Some of us didn’t even hear about it at all. It was the Middle East anyways, it was “okay” when people were dying there?

Nowadays, some feel comfortable about comparing the US with the Middle East; Minneapolis with Beirut to underline the severity of the situation. They say “This is not Beirut, but MINNEAPOLIS!” because Beirut was the Middle East anyways, it was “okay” when Beirut was destroyed?

Why are you even surprised? It is the very same story either there or here; PEOPLE SURVIVING. People surviving because of the exact same reason… Why are you even surprised? It is just the same story.

And it is not “okay”.