Seven people killed, 48 people injured, one senseless act in London. And I was minutes away from the London Bridge at the time. Any one of those people could have been me or one of my friends.
Normally when a terrorist attack happens, we hear about it on the news and it’s awful but it does not directly hit home. It is usually an ocean away therefore it is a distant, depressing thought.
This past summer I went on an exchange to a beautiful castle in England through the Bader International Study Centre. It was located two hours outside of London and on weekends my friends and I would travel to cities around Europe.
On June 3 my friends and I were at a hostel in London getting ready for a night out. The wine was flowing, music was playing and we were all excited to hit the London bar scene.
At around 10 p.m. our phones started blowing up with messages from the BBC and other news networks about an attack on the London Bridge not far from where we were located. There was not a lot of information available so we did not know how serious it was.
This came as a huge and scary shock to us. Our first instinct was to call all of our friends in the surrounding area. There were 70 people from our British university in London and these people had become family to us. Frantically we phoned, texted and Facebook messaged them to find out their whereabouts.
One of them was in a different hostel right next to the London Bridge and could hear the roar of sirens from the rush of ambulances and fire trucks headed to the murderous scene. Another group of friends were in a taxi at the time and heard the commotion over the radio. They were just 10 minutes away from the attack, on their way back from a restaurant.
As the night unfolded, we watched the news in disbelief. People were being stabbed and killed just a car ride away from us. This made us question the world we live in and how some people could carry out such horrendous acts on others. It also made us see how fragile life is and how easy it is to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Personally, it made me question how people can be brought to a point where they believe the only option is to murder others. My uncle studies the Middle East and has written books that pose some suggestions to these questions. After telling my family that I was safe, I emailed him to get some answers.
He told me that some people come to a point where they bring themselves to follow a religion that translates into a political-social cause. He said that these people want to see their doctrine enforced as a total system and called it the “Islamic totalitarian movement.” By gaining a better understanding of the problem, I was able to better process it.
The next day in London was one that was eerie but somewhat normal. The British people did not let these terrible acts stop them from carrying on with their daily lives. People went to work even if it meant taking a longer route to avoid the blocked off roads. Shops were open and bustling. Westminster Bridge had the usual activities.
I was impressed with the courage the people of Britain showed. As horrific as these attacks were, they showed their strength and solidarity to prove that it will not affect their daily existence. After witnessing London, the day after the attacks, I have confidence the stiff upper lip that got the British people through two brutal wars will get them through this recent wave of terrorism.
