So the events of Canada this past week have left an ache in my heart. For those of you who maybe aren’t aware I’m specifically referring to the event outside of Montreal where 2 soldiers were run over, and the shooting of soldier Nathan Cirillo outside the Canadian Parliament. Last week the Canadian government raised the terrror threat level (for the first time in 4 years) after increased chatter regarding attacks on Canadian soil. It’s believed that these attacks are meant as retribution for Canada committing to assist the US in an air offensive of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.) What I find most concerning is that in both cases the perpetrators were on the governments radar. In fact both men had their passports pulled which points to a much larger issue of what should Canada do to people who are suspected of having terrorist ties, and the larger human rights issue of where/how to you strip someone of their Canadian citizenship.
Its a strange feeling to be in living in the center of Islam and have targeted attacks on Canadian forces back home conducted by radicalized individuals. Don’t get me wrong I’m not lumping all Muslims into the same category, to do this would be like assuming all Christians are like the Westboro Baptist Church (which couldn’t be further from the truth). Nonetheless, its unnerving since my life in Saudi Arabia seems quite safe. Maybe naively safe given Saudi Arabia’s close proximity to Iraq. Daily life here is lived within the walls of a mostly guarded compound. I guess this all bodes to create a false sense of security.
My thoughts are with those directly affected by these targeted attacks. During the time of writing this post I came across this article about a suspicious incident at the Canadian consulate in Istanbul. We are living in scary times.