Terror victims are just statistics, usually associated with the crises in Afghanistan, Iraq and some parts of the Middle East; that is until it comes knocking on your door.To many, suicide bombings are a natural way of life in Kabul or Baghdad and not an exception. As the civilian body count hits the 120,000 mark in Iraq, the international armed forces there dig deep and invest more in armoured vehicles instead of searching for a remedy. Now terror has morphed into international proportions.Over the last one week, the media have been awash with the Boston Marathon bombing and the thwarted terror attack in Canada. The London Marathon saw an unprecedented deployment of security forces since the last Olympics because terror has gone hi-tech; it’s unpredictable and sophisticated.When the occasional grenades go off in Kigali, innocent Somalis and Kenyans are killed by the Al-Shabab and the Boku Haram cause havoc in Nigeria, they get limited international media attention, but when a lone gunman goes berserk in some US town, the whole country goes on lockdown and we become unwilling spectators.Terror should be treated the same, wherever it occurs. It should not be treated in isolation; whether it’s in Kimironko or a small town in Connecticut. Terror needs concerted efforts – from everyone – to fight it.Travel advisories can only be equated with the proverbial ostrich burying its head in the sand, but the danger is real and present. Condemnations alone will not scare terrorism away, but deterrence will disorganise it.
