Mothers And Their Unborn Are Dead. Terrorism Must Not Stay Alive -By Bamigboye Judah Segun

“Haja Sarwari was in labor with her second child at a west Kabul maternity ward on Tuesday morning when gunmen shot her twice in the abdomen, killing her and her unborn child.”…Washington Post.

As the world grappled with the spiraling cases of COVID-19 infections, gunmen unleashed terror on modern Doctors without frontiers maternity ward in Kabul, killing over two dozens people- most horrifyingly, newborns, their mothers, pregnant women, and their unborn children.

The rise of terrorism is simply an offshoot of the rise of inhumanity-a vicious disdain for the preciousness of human life and dignity. Terrorism involves violence, predicated on ideological spiritual or political fanaticism, a morbid belief that every other human who subscribes to dissenting beliefs must be cowed into submission through arrests, incarcerations, assaults, and killings.

The Middle Eastern countries, particularly Syria, Afghanistan( this gory incident occurred in Afghanistan) and African countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria have all experienced surges in the incidents of terrorist attacks resulting in loss of lives and properties. Disturbingly, when unchecked, this cancer spreads across the world.

Terrorism is an unwanted ogre, worse than the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the pandemic, described as the “invisible enemy” and most likely a product of accidental discharge, terrorism is more of a deliberate portrayal of man’s inhumanity to man, which hopes to establish an order where democracy and human rights are thrown to the trenches.

Terrorism drains the soul; piddles the vision; kills humans; restricts liberties; stokes fear and harassment; and stunts global growth and development. This is why all hands must be on deck to end this scourge.

According to ourworldindata.org, terrorism accounts for up to 21, 000 deaths globally each year. Between 2008 and 2014, deaths occurring from terrorism soared to 44,000 from 8000. The surge of this bloodbath has been facilitated by increased sophistication by which terrorists perpetrate their dastardly acts: Improvised Explosive devices; suicide bombings; annexation of territories; clampdown on civil liberties and democratic consolidation; decentralization of Terrorist organizations into cells known as ‘bases’; massive recruitment and deployment of non-literate and easily manipulated ‘soldiers’ to ‘fight’ over nebulous causes; and an egregious distortion of religious values for violent ends.

It is quite ironic that a congregation of humans could still decide to, at this trying time, unleash mayhem and death in a medical facility where human lives are generally cared for and saved. In the latest attack on two Afghan facilities, pregnant women and unborn children were killed in ghoulish circumstances. The picture isn’t pretty.

Whether it occurred in Afghanistan or Pakistan; Syria or Lebanon; Nigeria or Somalia, it hardly matters. What mostly matters is our response as humans and respecters of the dignity and value of human life. Afghan’s President, Ashraf Ghani has offered a terse statement condemning the act. But that is never enough.

This incident must be brought to the spotlight by leaders in every country. There should be press briefings by global leaders condemning this devilish act and recommitments to ending the cascading bloodshed that terrorism has unleashed. The United Nations should lead a more coordinated effort to combat the ravages of the XFrorism than it has in the past. The terror act on the Afghan hospital was reported to have been carried out in the middle of dialogue for a ceasefire. Moral: dialogue never works for dyed-in-the-wool terrorists.

The mother, child and others killed in the Afghan shootings are humans like you and I. To avenge these gruesome killings, terrorism must die, consigned to the dustbin of post-COVID-19 history.