CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY

The unification power of a religion as a system is seen from the understanding that it allows individuals –in their mind and heart- to have threefold win of their past, present and the future. No other system can guarantee this win as effective as religion does. That is, religion allows man to be or remain in a psychological state-of-art- where he remains intoxicated, with fearlessness of his future and the freedom of past regrets and guilt.

Today religion is increasingly been torn apart and soiled by people who should uphold its wholeness and preserve its divine integrity. There have been increased irreconcilable views within one religion and between two or more religions. As such, it is because religion has lost its value in its divine rite that the world is losing its sleep to the terrorist or extremist using religion as vindication for his cowardice.

What happened in Paris that night was just a token of experience of what is happening every now and then in Syria. It was a token of pestilence the refugees are running from. It was the best reality the world could use in understanding the emergency state of Syria and every region under the same threat. It was a show of what the Jihadist or extremist groups all over the globe stood for. It was token of the reality of Boko Haram in the Northeastern Nigeria— that has internally displaced over 1.5 million people till date. It was a token how much extremists have exploited religion as system for vindication for their cowardice and despicability.

In the broader sense, it was not Paris people that died that matters, neither was it because it happened in Paris that matters. It is the death of the world’s people that matters and the ones increasingly under similar threat all over the globe. It is a tickler to the world to double their efforts in helping terrorist-ridden countries such as Syrian, Nigeria and others. It was remainder that the state of peace of a nation is tied to others. It is call for unity and collective effort to fight terrorism effectively as the world is losing more ground to the extremist. Terrorism should be perceived as fire; if the fire doesn’t get to you, the smoke will.

As such, it is not enough for some world leaders (America and European) to blame Paris attacks on immigration policies – refugees. We ought to realise that these attackers are the people the refugees are trying to flee from before pointing our accusative finger at them.

The attack against France is not just the retaliation of the ISIS group against France as a country for partaking in the fight against them, but it’s an act in disapproval of the refugees being harboured by the country. ISIS is at war with, not only the countries involved in the fight against them, but with the countries showing mercies to their prey (Syrian people/refugee).

If the borders are regained against refugees fleeing the terrorist country, the refugees would be left at the mercy of extremist group. The world would be playing into the hands of terror groups by locking out the hapless, hopeless and helpless refugees. It is the extremist that wins if the refugees are refused entry or absorbed by nations who have deemed it right to help. By shutting out refuges, we would be helping the terrorist groups to achieve part of the objectives of their strategy. We would be suffocating the only or major hope the refugees have to be out of their misery as it would be more disastrous and devastating than ever. We would be freely optimising the plan of the terrorists against humans and they would not be any more to blame for the Paris attack than we are.

We must be able to read between the lines and understand their writings on the wall. These groups have master planners and we shouldn’t undermine or underrate their strategy as one that is not deep or smart. In the words of Democratic presidential candidate Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked about the blowback in accepting Syrian refugees in the United States in the wake of the Paris attacks, he said: “What we have got to be is not just strong and tough, but we have got to be smart.” And that is exactly what we need to know and do; that is, it is not enough to be strong and tough to win the ISIS, but the world also is got to be smart.

The world would be the cowards before these terrorists if the refugees are left uncared for. In other words, the world would be the coward before the real cowards –the extremists. The world would be surrendering to their tactics, however selfishly or foolishly such tactics may be. The dismissal of refugee programmes due to the Paris attacks would make things even worse for Syrian refugees, thereby making things worse for the world, either in the short run or long run.

The fact that security efforts generally are often a step behind the latest method of criminal or terrorist attack doesn’t mean the innocent people or policy should be accused. The saying ‘as one hole in the net is mended, the fish swims toward another ‘is particularly apt in the case of Paris attack and the general security concerns of the world.

Generally, in security system, protective efforts are usually initiated after serious problems have occurred. France is just one of the unfortunate countries which now have to initiate and reinforce protective efforts after serious damage has been done to them on the heels of their openness to the Syrian refugees. The September 11, 2011, attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre initiated substantial reforms in the United States Federal Government.

As such, the blowback to accepting Syrian refugees in the other countries in the wake of the Paris attacks is not the way forward. The argument against the refugees does not go farther than the need for countries accepting them to tighten their screening procedures to ensure that Islamic State infiltrators aren’t among the refugees. The thing to do in all countries that serve as in-let for refugees is to implement a more robust screening for them. A screening for those considered for immigration to other countries should be more thorough; relying on extensive interviews, biometric screening and the combined intelligence assets of several federal and international agencies. Such countries basically have to slow down their immigration process to tighten their vetting procedures to ensure that Islamic State infiltrators aren’t among the refugees.

It would simply be heinous for the European countries, America, Canada and countries of the Gulf region to turn their backs and lock their gates against the fleeing immigrants. It is encouraging that Canada is still set to take in 25,000 refugees latest by this month, according to their new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In the same vein, The U.S., which has admitted only about 2,500 Syrians since the civil war erupted in that country in the spring of 2011 plans to admit 10,000 more this year. It would be unwise to dismiss more than 700,000 requests for asylum that have been submitted to European countries by refugees fleeing horrific violence and persecution in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries over the last year.

In conclusion, we ought to bear in our mind that the efforts and decision the world—world leaders— will take in honour of the innocent lives that was lost in Paris that bloody night will not only lie in punishing the extremist group but also in what happens to refugees.

The position of the world in the wake of Paris attack will go a long way in showing how much countries of the world and their leaders mean well for, not just all the people who were murdered that night and the pains that their friends and families have been going through, but also to the survivors and the refugees. As such, it is astonishing that some world leaders, by virtue of the Paris attack, are now feeling vindicated in their position that Paris (Western Europe) is reaping what it has sown through a ‘disastrous policy’ of liberal multiculturalism.

The moving words of Isobel Bowdery, a 22-year-old lady who was at the Bataclan concert with her boyfriend are worth recalling: ‘’Last night, the lives of many were forever changed and it is up to us to be better people. I also pray for peace and comfort to every soul that perished the Friday night, and survived Paris terror attack by pretending to be dead in the pool blood of strangers or who survived the Paris attacks and for persons or region at present under similar threat.”
CONCLUDED
Adeyemi is of TL First which is a part of Integrated Management Group and an international firm of accountants, productivity & improvement advisers, leadership & management transformation consultants. [email protected]