Viewing the Ottawa Shooting from Abroad
As most of you know, yesterday (October 22nd), at least one armed assailant killed a Canadian soldier, Cpl Nathan Cirillo, standing guard at our National War Museum. The assailant(s) went on to fired shots inside our Parliament building, before being killed by the Parliament Sergeant at Arms, the man who’s job is to protect parliament. On Monday, another Canadian soldier was run down in cold blood by a man with ties to (the terrorist organization which calls itself) ISIS.
This act of terror has shaken the way we as Canadians see our country. We like to see ourselves as welcoming to other cultures, other ideas, other ways of life. A country of peace, of diversity, of pluralism. This is what makes these terror attacks so much more shocking; that someone who was born and raised in Canada would attack the very institutions upon which our nation stands.
As a Canadian living abroad, this shakes the way I see Canada, and by extension the way I explain Canada to others. Whenever people ask me where I’m from, I say with a big smile, “I’m from Canada!” It gives me so much pride to say that I am from, what I believe is, the greatest country on earth. Not only the greatest, but a country of opportunity and of peace. I mean coming to Morocco, my family was more worried about me getting hurt/injured/killed/etc. than if I were not abroad. The idea of terrorism happening in Canada never crossed their mind.
This says it all (Thanks Taylor for sending this to me)
What this attack has done is shattered my idea of a perfect safe Canada. The idea that, as Jian Ghomeshi articulated, “our openness was somehow big enough to accept everyone” (listen to the full audio essay here: http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2014/10/23/q-essay-ottawa-shooting/). In Canada we are used to this idea of openness; seeing politicians as regular people hanging out at public events, being able to take selfies at parliament, etc. In light of this attack, odds are that there will be some changes to this openness.
These attacks do not change the way I explain Canada to others. I am still as proud as ever to be Canadian. I will never say Canada is an unsafe country. It is not a country prone to terrorist attacks, or attacks of any kind. We are, and will continue to be, a country which upholds the ideals of democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law. We will continue to uphold these ideals even in spite of a terror attack as brazen as the ones this week.
The coolest thing about this tragedy is it united Canadians from all backgrounds. Our Canadian spirit really showed by the number of people reaching out to Ottawa with wishes, prayers, and support for those affected. Even here in Morocco, yesterday was spent with the other Canadians from Ottawa talking about what happened and making sure friends and family were all okay. In the face of attacks, we will not lose our spirit of brotherhood; “true patriot love in all thy son’s command”
We Canadians are so blessed to be citizens of the greatest country in the world. With this in mind, it is on us to make sure that the discourse remains positive and united. We ought not divide amongst ourselves and start pointing fingers at others over race, religion, creed, or belief system, regardless of what motivated the terrorists to commit these atrocities. We will not let this attack shake our national values of peace, order and good governance.
I want to end this post with a quote from my friend Sadiq Valliani who said “As Canadians, we are often shielded from the terror experienced in other parts of the world. Yet, when terror looks us in the eye, we will not cower, we will not surrender, and we will not be intimidated. We will rise to the challenge, whatever it may be.”
For the time being, we pray for the deceased Cpl Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer patrice Vincent. We also will remain strong in the face of this adversity.
Vigilamus pro te. We stand on guard for thee
(Bruce Mackinnon, the Chronical Herald)