After a triple suicide bombing at Turkey’s Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants the world to know that their tragedy is just as urgent and horrific as Paris or Brussels.
As usual, world leaders have condemned the attack in public and on social media, but according to the Independent, some are suggesting it would have attracted more world attention if it had happened somewhere in Western Europe.
In the wake of the alleged ISIS-linked attack, which killed at least 41 people and injured 239 more, President Erdogan said in a written statement that the world needed to unite to “fight the terrorists together.”
“The bombs that went off in Istanbul today could have gone off in any city in the world, in any airport,” he said. “I want everyone to understand that, to the terrorists, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago.
“Unless we come together as all countries and as all people, and fight against the terrorists together, all possibilities that we can’t even dare think of right now will come true.”
But nevertheless, social media users wanted to know why the response from regular people around the world was so “muted.”
Unfortunately this picture doesn't require a caption….but list of dates keep on growing #PrayForTurkey 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/BNfuKvnHCN
— Rav Billan (@ravbillan) June 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/thereaIbanksy/status/747976762060005376
why isn't the Istanbul attack receiving the same reaction as Paris and Brussels
— Sam Rumbelow (@rumbelow12) June 29, 2016
I have noticed a significant difference in reaction. Paris/Brussels/Orlando huge outpouring world over. Istanbul reaction seems much smaller
— Kara (@kara87) June 29, 2016
Predictable, I know, but an attack on Istanbul sure generates a relatively muted reaction in this part of the world.
— Adam Radwanski (@aradwanski) June 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/cupcakesandlime/status/748417169768124416
These attacks are becoming way to regular. Sadly the blood of a Muslim is not given any attention💔#PrayForIstanbul pic.twitter.com/AX2RYoVfJH
— MughzB (@Mughz_) June 29, 2016
From Newsweek‘s Mubaraz Ahmed:
But the atrocities in Paris and Brussels are no different from Tuesday’s attacks in Istanbul. Today, Turkey is mourning its dead. Istanbul, like any other city, is the victim of a poisonous ideology that does not respect states, nations, borders, ethnicities or cultures.
There is little recognition of the immense challenges Turkey faces on a number of fronts, as well as the measures that it is taking to try to bring stability to the country.
The pre-Brexit scaremongering about Europe’s borders being flung open to millions of Turks who will descend on the continent when Turkey joins the EU reflects a growing perception that Turkey is a threat, not an ally.
Featured image: Bansky
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