Attacks Around the World
By Tanushree Nekenti
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Over the past few weeks, many devastating attacks have taken place worldwide. The Denver shootings, Kazakhstan protests, and Nigerian captives are just a few examples of this.
On December 27th, 2021, a series of gunshots in the Denver metro region resulted in the deaths of at least four people. According to officials, the suspect is also dead. The shooter targeted a business, a retail mall, and a hotel. Many people ended up killed or injured. Police were involved in a car chase with the suspect and exchanged gunfire. The suspect disabled a police car during the chase and injured an officer before being shot and killed. Officials said there is no ongoing threat to the community and no known rationale for the shootings.
Denver Shootings
A state of emergency was declared in Kazakhstan at the beginning of this January. This was in response to several days of violent political unrest sparked by resentment over rising fuel prices, low living standards, and corruption. In Almaty, the country's largest city, protesters set fire to public buildings and attacked the airport. During the chaos, the prime minister and the government resigned, further heightening the tension. The public is now dealing with a nationwide internet blackout, and a Russian-led military coalition has reportedly deployed "peacekeeping" personnel to help stabilize the situation. In response to the country's violent protests, Kazakhstan's president has ordered security personnel to "kill without warning." What began as rallies against rising petrol costs has evolved into a broader set of long-simmering political issues. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on the other hand, claims that "terrorists" and "specialists educated in ideological sabotage" are to blame for the rising violence. Dozens of people have been killed as a consequence of the violence. Tokayev has requested aid from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, led by Russia. The turmoil, which analysts say is an unavoidable result of a government disregarding its people's needs and pleas, also poses a dilemma for Russia, which maintains close ties with Kazakhstan and uses its spaceport there.
Kazakhstan Protests
Ninety-seven captives have been freed in a series of rescue operations in northern Nigeria during early January of 2022. This includes babies, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. The raids, which targeted two well-known kingpins infamous for abduction in the area, were coordinated by local police and the military. According to authorities, the hostages had been held captive for more than two months.
Nigerian kidnappings
"There are many different causes for why these violent attacks are occurring around the world. In Denver, the cause is still being investigated. As for Kazakhstan, the government is causing the people to act out like this. Moreover, the Nigerian kidnappers may have done this due to living in poverty. I'm not justifying their actions; however, I am saying that this may be a cause of their actions." -Mr. Braz, an SHS teacher
"We may never know why all of these, along with many other attacks, are happening right now. Like in Kazakhstan, people are acting out due to the government. We don't know why the Denver shootings occurred. And the Nigerian kidnappings could have happened for many reasons; it's hard to pinpoint the exact reason. Kidnappings are very complicated and often occur for many different reasons." -Anonymous, an SHS student.
The majority of people agree that there are many different causes regarding these various attacks. The cause behind the Denver shootings is still being investigated. The Nigerian kidnappings could have had many different motives behind them. Often, kidnappings occur due to poverty (wanting money), revenge, discrimination, disagreements, or many other things. The Kazakhstan protests clearly happened due to disagreements between the government and the citizens.
"There are many different causes to each of these attacks, most of them being independent from each other. Whether that might be the role of firearm access in the United States, the lack of political power for the average Kazakhstan people, or the influence of wealth inequality, poverty, and extremism in Nigeria." -Mr. Braz, an SHS teacher
"Stopping these types of attacks is a very difficult thing to do as all of them have many different causes. But overall, I would say that peace is a major part of all of them. The only way to have peace is to encourage communication with each other about what we want. Once the other party understands our needs, then everything else can automatically fall into place." -Anonymous, an SHS parent.
Since the beginning of history, stopping these types of attacks has been something that everyone has wished to do. The first thing to do is identify the incentive behind these attacks. The next step is to figure out and work together to find out how to solve the situation. It is effortless to list how to do this, but implementing them into action is the hard part. These tactics have been successful in many areas, but not in others. Regardless of what the situation is, it will not progress unless we all put our heads together to fight for a social cause.
"It's important to appreciate what you have, advocate for the marginalized people who are being hurt during these attacks, and be hopeful." -Mr. Braz, an SHS teacher.
"These are very devastating events which are taking place. Unfortunately, we cannot do much at this point but be positive, hope for the best, and help victims of these attacks." -Anonymous, an SHS student.
No matter the motive, it is inevitable that we can all agree that these attacks are all extremely dreadful. It is crucial that we acknowledge what happened, plan for how we can do better in the future, try to assist the victims of these attacks, keep an open mind, have hope for the future, and move on.
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