Why I seem to care more about Paris

One need not elaborate on what is happening in Paris, those who care about news must have their feeds and papers inundated with enough horror stories and personal accounts.

But there are a lot of articles, which are disguised as news pieces and opinion pieces but are nothing less than rants in the true sense – I am talking about the write-ups that have been criticizing people for not caring as much about the Beirut bombings or the Syrian situation. One could off-course keep adding to that list a lot of other things.

I cannot speak for everybody, but since I am guilty of feeling more for Paris than other attacks that have taken place in the recent past, despite the fact that I have never been to the place, I think I might perhaps answer the burning question every third cynic is asking.

People were listening to music at the Bataclan Hall, others were having a nice meal, a drink or two at the other restaurants. Why the France attack hit me more than Syria is because I could have been that person. It could have happened in my city. Because Paris is not a battleground. Maybe I do not even know Paris, but the media has sold to me the city as a ‘city of love’. A city that is supposed to be a cultural melting pot.

The Syrian situation is something I cannot identify with, my country is not on the verge of war, my country is not facing a civil war, our homes have not been taken over by terrorists. And that does not mean that one has to be apathetic to the Syrian situation. It’s just that, one feels more about things one can relate to.

I live in one of the biggest cities of India – Mumbai. A city that itself was a victim of a terrifying terror attack, where innocent civilians were slaughtered. Even the international media immediately drew parallels with the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks after the Paris massacre.

It made me think – one minute I might be toasting a drink to a friend and the next minute I could be a frying dead body from a suicide blast.

It seems unfair to compare tragedies and judge people based on their reactions. Of-course people are biased. We will always respond to things from our experiences and not with logic.

It’s like telling a man who has just lost his mother – hey, at least you did not have to see your mom being blown to pieces like the Syrian kids.