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| How do I ... live in the shadow of terrorism? | How do I ... live in the shadow of terrorism? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The gun and bomb attacks in Paris a week ago served as a sudden, brutal reminder to the western world that terrorists can strike anywhere, anytime. | The gun and bomb attacks in Paris a week ago served as a sudden, brutal reminder to the western world that terrorists can strike anywhere, anytime. |
| While Paris mourns and sympathisers look on with compassion, there are fears that an attack on London or Washington, Melbourne or Berlin could happen next. | While Paris mourns and sympathisers look on with compassion, there are fears that an attack on London or Washington, Melbourne or Berlin could happen next. |
| Related: Have the Paris attacks made you feel more anxious? Share your experiences | |
| “I think it’s almost inevitable that there will be a terrorist attack in the future in London and very probably that it will have some Isis-related connection,” says Professor Richard English, director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews. | “I think it’s almost inevitable that there will be a terrorist attack in the future in London and very probably that it will have some Isis-related connection,” says Professor Richard English, director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews. |
| “The likelihood is so strong that regrettably it’s a question of when and how significant, rather than if. This isn’t something that’s going to go away,” he said. | “The likelihood is so strong that regrettably it’s a question of when and how significant, rather than if. This isn’t something that’s going to go away,” he said. |
| The likelihood of being caught up in a terror attack is still remote: far more Londoners have been killed riding bikes in the city than in terror attacks over the past 15 years. | The likelihood of being caught up in a terror attack is still remote: far more Londoners have been killed riding bikes in the city than in terror attacks over the past 15 years. |
| But with the threat hovering, how do we cope? What is the psychological impact? Should we change our behaviour? How do we live in the shadow of terrorism? | But with the threat hovering, how do we cope? What is the psychological impact? Should we change our behaviour? How do we live in the shadow of terrorism? |
| Psychological impact | Psychological impact |
| Some experts are concerned that the attacks - and the threat of more to come - will make people feel vulnerable and start making decisions based on fear. | Some experts are concerned that the attacks - and the threat of more to come - will make people feel vulnerable and start making decisions based on fear. |
| “When something dramatic happens, such as the attacks in Paris, something called the ‘availability heuristic’ kicks in,” says Dr David Purves, a Reading-based psychologist specialising in trauma and post traumatic stress. | “When something dramatic happens, such as the attacks in Paris, something called the ‘availability heuristic’ kicks in,” says Dr David Purves, a Reading-based psychologist specialising in trauma and post traumatic stress. |
| It means something is in our awareness that seems more likely than it really is. Knowing someone who wins the lottery, for example, makes people think they are more likely to win. It is why casinos like to have winners at the roulette table, says Purves, as it encourages more betting. | It means something is in our awareness that seems more likely than it really is. Knowing someone who wins the lottery, for example, makes people think they are more likely to win. It is why casinos like to have winners at the roulette table, says Purves, as it encourages more betting. |
| The Paris bombings brought heightened awareness, which can elevate feelings of risk. “People who have a tendency to worry, they are able to ask themselves the questions: could it happen here, what if it happened to me or somebody I care for, how would I feel, could I cope? | The Paris bombings brought heightened awareness, which can elevate feelings of risk. “People who have a tendency to worry, they are able to ask themselves the questions: could it happen here, what if it happened to me or somebody I care for, how would I feel, could I cope? |
| “These are questions that don’t have answers and the fact they don’t have answers tends to make people anxious and dwell on them more, going over and over them again. And this makes people feel more at risk.” | “These are questions that don’t have answers and the fact they don’t have answers tends to make people anxious and dwell on them more, going over and over them again. And this makes people feel more at risk.” |
| Traumatisation makes people feel more vulnerable. “It makes you feel it is more likely to happen. And it is being replayed over and over in the media. | Traumatisation makes people feel more vulnerable. “It makes you feel it is more likely to happen. And it is being replayed over and over in the media. |
| “People become a bit more watchful and wary. They start to make decisions based upon fear; shall I go on the tube, or take the bus; shall I get a taxi; shall I even go out? Making a decision based on fear reinforces that anxiety.” | “People become a bit more watchful and wary. They start to make decisions based upon fear; shall I go on the tube, or take the bus; shall I get a taxi; shall I even go out? Making a decision based on fear reinforces that anxiety.” |
| Go about normal life | Go about normal life |
| The response should be to go about normal life as much as possible. Those who have spoken of life in Paris since the attacks have said that carrying on as before feels like an act of resistance. | The response should be to go about normal life as much as possible. Those who have spoken of life in Paris since the attacks have said that carrying on as before feels like an act of resistance. |
| Silvianne Bürki, from Switzerland, who is currently living in Paris and studying at L’Ecole Normale Supérieure, spoke of how after an eerily silent Saturday, life returned to the city on the Sunday after the attacks. | Silvianne Bürki, from Switzerland, who is currently living in Paris and studying at L’Ecole Normale Supérieure, spoke of how after an eerily silent Saturday, life returned to the city on the Sunday after the attacks. |
| “The sun shone, and the streets and cafés were again full of people, as if in an act of defiance. I did what I normally would do on a nice Sunday: go to church, have brunch in a café somewhere, enjoy the sun in a park. It was so good to feel and be part of a strong will to life and to normality.” | “The sun shone, and the streets and cafés were again full of people, as if in an act of defiance. I did what I normally would do on a nice Sunday: go to church, have brunch in a café somewhere, enjoy the sun in a park. It was so good to feel and be part of a strong will to life and to normality.” |
| English says that continuing to live a normal life is one of the best things people can do after a terrorist attack. “One of the many aims of terrorists with an attack is to provoke a disruption of that society. When somebody plants a bomb in Paris or shoots someone on a Tunisian beach, if people say ‘I’m not going to go to Paris or Tunisia’, it makes future terrorism a more attractive method. Society needs to make that decision to live as normally as possible, it makes the likelihood of terrorism succeeding more remote.” | English says that continuing to live a normal life is one of the best things people can do after a terrorist attack. “One of the many aims of terrorists with an attack is to provoke a disruption of that society. When somebody plants a bomb in Paris or shoots someone on a Tunisian beach, if people say ‘I’m not going to go to Paris or Tunisia’, it makes future terrorism a more attractive method. Society needs to make that decision to live as normally as possible, it makes the likelihood of terrorism succeeding more remote.” |
| In the days after the attack, people around the world, from Madonna to those who attended the football match between France and England, expressed their desire to defy terrorism by continuing as before. | In the days after the attack, people around the world, from Madonna to those who attended the football match between France and England, expressed their desire to defy terrorism by continuing as before. |
| “Things like the football match are a very good and public way of saying the threat of violence won’t disrupt a way of life which we think is precious. The right to go to a football match, to go out to concerts, go out for a drink, these are things that are good, the threat of violence won’t stop that,” said English. | “Things like the football match are a very good and public way of saying the threat of violence won’t disrupt a way of life which we think is precious. The right to go to a football match, to go out to concerts, go out for a drink, these are things that are good, the threat of violence won’t stop that,” said English. |
| Don’t turn on each other | Don’t turn on each other |
| One of the aims of a terrorist attack like the one on Paris, say experts, is to sow discord in society particularly between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Research shows that after a global incident like the Paris attacks, there is a rise in harassment of Muslims in western countries. | One of the aims of a terrorist attack like the one on Paris, say experts, is to sow discord in society particularly between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Research shows that after a global incident like the Paris attacks, there is a rise in harassment of Muslims in western countries. |
| “Scapegoating Muslim communities for these incomprehensible acts of extremism simply fuels more hatred, more hostility and more suffering. Rather than allowing terrorism to polarise, we should instead use these atrocities to remind ourselves of the shared sense of humanity that unites people living in diverse societies,” says Professor Neil Chakraborti, director of the Leicester Centre for Hate Studies. | “Scapegoating Muslim communities for these incomprehensible acts of extremism simply fuels more hatred, more hostility and more suffering. Rather than allowing terrorism to polarise, we should instead use these atrocities to remind ourselves of the shared sense of humanity that unites people living in diverse societies,” says Professor Neil Chakraborti, director of the Leicester Centre for Hate Studies. |
| Leaders and public figures such as Australian television presenter Waleed Aly, as well as the family of those killed on the weekend, like Antoine Leiris, who penned “You will not have my hatred”, addressing those who killed his wife at the Bataclan music hall, have urged people not to let Isis win by causing hatred. | Leaders and public figures such as Australian television presenter Waleed Aly, as well as the family of those killed on the weekend, like Antoine Leiris, who penned “You will not have my hatred”, addressing those who killed his wife at the Bataclan music hall, have urged people not to let Isis win by causing hatred. |
| English says that Leiris’s response was particularly brave and that the response of victims’ families can be a powerful defence against future terrorism. | English says that Leiris’s response was particularly brave and that the response of victims’ families can be a powerful defence against future terrorism. |
| “When people look at things the bereaved have said, if they’re humane, if they’re forgiving, people draw comparisons between the cruelty of the terrorist and the resolute humanity of the people whom they’ve damaged, and in a national and international context that tends to undermine the terrorist group quite considerably,” he says. | “When people look at things the bereaved have said, if they’re humane, if they’re forgiving, people draw comparisons between the cruelty of the terrorist and the resolute humanity of the people whom they’ve damaged, and in a national and international context that tends to undermine the terrorist group quite considerably,” he says. |
| Report suspicious behaviour | Report suspicious behaviour |
| According to experts, in the last 15 years many planned terrorist attacks have been foiled because members of the public gave information to police about people acting strangely. Behaviour people should report includes people buying ingredients that might be used in bomb-making, and the radical transformation of someone’s political views in ways that lead you to believe they might be drawn to violence. | According to experts, in the last 15 years many planned terrorist attacks have been foiled because members of the public gave information to police about people acting strangely. Behaviour people should report includes people buying ingredients that might be used in bomb-making, and the radical transformation of someone’s political views in ways that lead you to believe they might be drawn to violence. |
| Know what to do in the event of an attack | Know what to do in the event of an attack |
| On Thursday the UK national counter-terrorism security office (Nactso) published advice on what to do in the event of a gun and bomb attack, urging people to “run and hide” rather than “play dead”. The guidance came after reports that many people in the Bataclan music hall fell to the ground and pretended to be dead as gunmen fired at the crowd. | On Thursday the UK national counter-terrorism security office (Nactso) published advice on what to do in the event of a gun and bomb attack, urging people to “run and hide” rather than “play dead”. The guidance came after reports that many people in the Bataclan music hall fell to the ground and pretended to be dead as gunmen fired at the crowd. |
| According to the Nactso guidance, in the event of such an attack, people should “escape if you can”, “insist others leave with you” and “leave belongings behind”. If you cannot escape, the guidance suggests finding cover from the gunfire behind “substantial brickwork or heavy reinforced walls”. Once hidden, they advise people to remain quiet, silence their phones and then phone emergency services. They also published guidance for organisations on how to implement lockdown of their buildings. | According to the Nactso guidance, in the event of such an attack, people should “escape if you can”, “insist others leave with you” and “leave belongings behind”. If you cannot escape, the guidance suggests finding cover from the gunfire behind “substantial brickwork or heavy reinforced walls”. Once hidden, they advise people to remain quiet, silence their phones and then phone emergency services. They also published guidance for organisations on how to implement lockdown of their buildings. |
| Don’t jump the gun | Don’t jump the gun |
| In the days after the atrocities in Paris, France launched air strikes against Raqqa, and intelligence agencies took the moment to push for greater surveillance powers. | In the days after the atrocities in Paris, France launched air strikes against Raqqa, and intelligence agencies took the moment to push for greater surveillance powers. |
| These responses, while “emotionally understandable”, are not necessarily the wisest response to a complex global situation, says English. | These responses, while “emotionally understandable”, are not necessarily the wisest response to a complex global situation, says English. |
| “The rush towards a primarily military response is an unhelpful urge. People will think if we bomb some of these people it’ll make it better. It’s emotionally understandable but the crucial question should be how do we make things like the Paris atrocities less likely in the future? | “The rush towards a primarily military response is an unhelpful urge. People will think if we bomb some of these people it’ll make it better. It’s emotionally understandable but the crucial question should be how do we make things like the Paris atrocities less likely in the future? |
| “People understandably have an anxiety, but terrible as these attacks are, we have to keep them in proportion. Statistically you’re overwhelmingly safe from terrorism, remembering that enables us to have a proportionate response.” | “People understandably have an anxiety, but terrible as these attacks are, we have to keep them in proportion. Statistically you’re overwhelmingly safe from terrorism, remembering that enables us to have a proportionate response.” |
| Don’t believe everything you read | Don’t believe everything you read |
| Social media is awash with hype and rumour, and even more established outlets can fail to make clear the scale of what we are talking about. | Social media is awash with hype and rumour, and even more established outlets can fail to make clear the scale of what we are talking about. |
| “The media probably contributes to the malaise and anxiety,” says Phillip Hodson, spokesman for British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. “There is a failure to provide a scale, for example to stress that Isis only has so many soldiers and volunteers, and only has the capability to kill so many people. | “The media probably contributes to the malaise and anxiety,” says Phillip Hodson, spokesman for British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. “There is a failure to provide a scale, for example to stress that Isis only has so many soldiers and volunteers, and only has the capability to kill so many people. |
| “When the imagination takes over, people think they’re about to get their throat cut, when they’re not. If the threat is measureable and strategic and specific, we can handle that.” | “When the imagination takes over, people think they’re about to get their throat cut, when they’re not. If the threat is measureable and strategic and specific, we can handle that.” |