SALON

Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013 8:29 PM UTC

Empathy for Boston, from Iraqi children

Two Iraqi boys express their solidarity with the marathon victims -- and offer an example for Americans to follow

By

Topics: Boston Bombings, Baghdad, Boston, Kirkuk, Iraq, Massachusetts, Boston Marathon, ,

Empathy for Boston, from Iraqi children
This piece originally appeared on firedoglake.com.

On April 15, 2013, in Boston, three people were killed when two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. Over 144 were wounded. Doctors performed at least 10 amputations on those injured.

The same day, in the cities of Baghdad, Fallujah and Kirkuk in Iraq, there were “serial blasts.” Fourteen car bombs and three roadside bombs went off. Thirty-three people were killed and over 160 were wounded.

The two boys understand far too well what it is like in the immediate aftermath of a terror attack. In their lives, there has been numerous acts of violence as a result of terrorism and U.S. forces waging war and occupation.

The boys not only stand in solidarity with the victims of the Boston explosions, but they also empathize because this is what they’ve experienced. Part of this message is being shared with Americans because they want them to know they understand the pain Americans are going through.

The Boston explosions received far greater attention than the attacks in Iraq yesterday. They continue to receive much more attention than the car bombs that went off in Iraq today.

In Iraq, bombings are too regular to be news events, which U.S. pundits and news crews respond to by flying to the location of the attacks. They also are happening over there, not here.

Few Americans ever stand up and snap a photo when bombs went off in Iraq. They rarely show solidarity with citizens of other countries that are feeling deep pain from violence. They wish, after events like this, that people recognize, “We Are All [the Name for People in That City Just Attacked],” when residents of U.S. cities are hit by attacks. People stand up and say things like, “We are all Bostonians today,” and, perhaps, there is a part of these Iraqi boys that would like to see that from the world.

America is, also, one of the greatest purveyors of violence. The political motivations behind this state-sponsored violence that we call counterterrorism or warfare can be just as hard to justify as the violence that kills people in terror attacks in America. The sadness that an event like a marathon would be disrupted should be coupled with reality that there are people in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, etc., who embark on daily errands and are swept up in violence.

All of which is not to suggest that people not mourn the dead and wounded. It is not to suggest that people do not wish that life was not marked by such acts of terrorism. It is rather to highlight, in the moment when people are most paying attention, that there are other people around the world who suffer from violence daily.

These others are willing to show empathy toward us in tragedy. What if Americans could follow the boys’ example and acknowledge the victims of bombings in other countries daily? What if every now and then more individuals posted photos showing empathy with others impacted by violence?

One can be cynical and offer a snarky retort, or one can brush this off as left-wing hippie nonsense, but it’s a rhetorical question that the two Iraqi boys in the photo should force all Americans to confront.

We are all citizens of the world, and our pain can bring us together.

Kevin Gosztola is a civil liberties blogger for Firedoglake More Kevin Gosztola.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 12 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Shelter Cycle": Raised in a cult

Recommendations