Sir, – After Paris, surely the flag of Irish neutrality should be folded and put away.
If we claim that Irish values and European values of freedom, human rights, and justice are one, then the defence of those values should be one.
We claim to have a place at the heart of Europe. We should also be prepared to defend, by all legal means, these shared values of freedom, justice and human rights.
Of course the situation is complex and the fault for all of it can be spread wide. But we must draw the line here and decide that while working out the problems of the world, we will not hesitate to join Europe in defending our shared principles and indeed our actual selves.
It is time to get off our little Irish fence – and put that irrelevant flag of convenience away for good. – Yours, etc,
LIAM QUINN,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – I am a Trinity student currently on Erasmus in Paris, and attended the France v Germany match at the Stade de France last Friday night with fellow students. The brief panic we experienced at the stadium gave me a tiny insight into the utter terror and fear that so many refugees have had to live with on a daily basis. I cannot bear to imagine what this must be like. This horrific experience should bring us closer to these people who are fleeing from such awful circumstances.
This atrocity is the fault of individuals, and they must be held accountable. But it is not the fault of an entire people. In this time of tragedy, we need now more than ever to be united in our support for each other and in the fight against terrorism. But this is not just the job of world leaders. It begins with each and every one one of us showing tolerance, understanding and respect. Please, let us be courageous and compassionate in our response. Friday night’s atrocities were designed to create fear. We cannot allow them to succeed by allowing ourselves to be fuelled with irrational hatred. May we only be strengthened in our efforts to oppose such horrors and unite with persecuted people the world over, in search of a way that we can all come to live in peace, respectful of each other’s differences. – Yours, etc,
ÁINE EARLEY,
Paris.
Sir, – It is estimated that somewhere in the region of 250,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict since March 2011. That equates to 146 every day for 1,700 consecutive days or, to put it another way, the equivalent of what has happened in Paris every day for a very long time. The reaction of Europeans to the terror in Paris demonstrates how immune communities and regions not directly affected by the suffering of other communities become to that suffering. Let us remember others who are suffering like the people of Paris at this time also. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL AHERN,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The citizens in Paris have been attacked by a brutal group of people.
The suffering this attack has caused will give us some idea of what it must be like in Syria and other countries at the present time.
It also gives us some idea why so many refugees are fleeing this terror. – Yours, etc,
EILEEN HUMPHREYS,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
A chara, – Following the horrific scenes in Paris on Friday night, it is surely time to address the root cause of these types of attacks in Europe once and for all. While some of the more reactionary politicians and commentators will cite the Paris attacks as proof that the flow of refugees into Europe needs to be stopped, the plight of these unfortunate people results from the same policies that caused Friday night’s carnage.
US-led military intervention all over the Arab world, the arming and funding of jihadists and the continued support for despotic and criminal regimes throughout the Middle East by the West is what creates the type of hate-filled people who are prepared to slaughter innocent people and take their own lives in the process.
Until these policies are reversed, no amount of security or tough talk will prevent attacks of this type in the future. – Is mise,
CORMAC CHAMBERS,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Mick Wallace’s ill-timed and insensitive comments do not reflect my views and, I would imagine, do not reflect the views of many Irish citizens. – Yours etc,
M CROKE,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – On behalf of our community in Ireland I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people and government of France.
We condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest way possible. These acts of terror aim to divide the communities.
What we have to do is show solidarity and that we are together.
With these few words, I would like to relay the message of our worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who condemns the Paris attacks and prays for victims: “On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide, I express my heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the French nation, its people and government following the heinous terrorist attacks that have taken place in Paris. This brutal and inhumane attack can only be condemned in the strongest possible terms. I would also like to reiterate that all forms of terrorism and extremism are completely against the true teachings of Islam. The Holy Koran has said that to kill even one innocent person is akin to killing all of mankind. Thus under no circumstances can murder ever be justified and those who seek to justify their hateful acts in the name of Islam are serving only to defame it in the worst possible way. Our sympathies and prayers are with the victims of these attacks and all those who have been left bereaved or affected in any way. May God Almighty grant patience to them all and I hope and pray that the perpetrators of this evil act are swiftly brought to justice.”
Dr M ANWAR MALIK,
National President,
Ahmadiyya Muslim
Association,
Galway.
Sir, – Sharing information? As recently as a few weeks ago our “security agency” in Dublin couldn’t even agree with its counterpart in Northern Ireland on the issue of local terrorist activity along the Border. The national security committee, which includes the Garda commissioner, has some work to do if it is to be taken seriously by a jittery Europe. – Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY,
Killester,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – It is up to Europe to decide what the next steps are in terms of protecting the European Union and its citizens from further attacks. European nations, including France, have committed to fighting Isis and crushing it in Syria and Iraq. Why? Because Isis is an existential threat to the entire European Union.
Schengen is already under threat, with member states closing borders and now refusing to take refugees.
These actions and disagreements are not simply because of fears about lack of space in towns and cities or resources to support refugees.
Nor is it only about xenophobia, which sadly exists in Europe. It is about a real, a present risk of a terrorist attack, carried out by Isis jihadists hiding among genuine refugees. Refugees whose very presence in Europe was determined 12 years ago by the so-called “War on Terror”.
It is highly likely that we have not seen the end of these attacks, but as with all wars, life must go on, we must go to our jobs, take the bus, send children to school and do what we always have done, that is to live. To do anything less would be tantamount to letting the terrorists win and we must never do this.
We must stand resolute as one indelible, united European citizenry with the future of our European Union and all it stands for at heart. We must not let this tragedy destroy what we have built or change how we treat other people, in particular those who are suffering.
If anything the Paris attacks must strengthen our resolve as a people to move forward and protect the principles of liberté, égalité, fraternité.
Martin Luther King jnr once said “the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people”, Europe must not be silenced by the tyranny of evil and the actions of few. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP JONES,
Artane,
Dublin 5.