Look at this photo. Look at it and remember when your child was 8 years old. I remember it like it was yesterday. Like my own daughter, this little girl was loved by her parents, liked by her classmates and teachers, and had a nearly limitless future. This little girl’s name is Saffie Roussos. On Monday night (May 22, 2017), Saffie attended the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. I don’t know Saffie, but if she’s anything like my daughter, she was still excited by all the things she’d seen and heard as the concert ended around 11:30 pm. She was probably already thinking about what she was going to tell her friends about the show the next day as she exited the arena into the foyer that leads to the parking garage and Victoria Station. That’s where Saffie died.
Saffie Roussos was one of 22 people killed by a terrorist suicide bomber Monday night. She was the youngest. She was 8 years old. Eight. Years. Old. EIGHT YEARS OLD! Her short life was ended by a coward wearing a suicide vest who undoubtedly believed he was doing god’s will. The murderer was a 22 year-old man of Lybian descent with possible ties to terrorist organizations in that country. He was known to British security agencies and had been reported to have been radicalized, likely by some hate-spewing nut-job imam on the internet (merely an assumption on my part). I will not give him the honor of using his name and you sure as hell will not see a photo of him on my page! He entered the foyer as it filled with men, women, and children leaving the concert after a night of fun. He wore a vest packed with explosives, along with nuts, bolts, and nails so he could be sure to injure as many people as he could. He approached the doors at the busiest exit from the arena and detonated his vest, killing 22 people and injuring 116 others.
The other 21 fatalities included three 14 year-old girls, two 15 year-old girls, a 17 year-old girl with her 19 year-old boyfriend, an 18 year-old girl and two 19 year-old girls. The rest were adult men and women ranging in age from 28 to 51 who were there primarily with their adolescent children or simply to pick them up after the concert. Marcin and Angelika Klis were there to pick up their children, who are now orphans. Philip Tron died while picking up his partner’s daughter, Courtney Boyle, who was also killed in the blast. It seems apparent that this attack was targeted at young girls. I don’t know anything about Ariana Grande’s music, but I would assume that her target audience consists primarily of adolescent girls. I’m sure the planners behind this knew that very well.
With that in mind, let’s apply a logical analysis of this situation. A 22 year-old man has somehow been convinced it will help his so-called religion defeat the infidels of the decadent West by killing himself and as many little girls as possible. I want someone to tell me what threat any of the victims posed to his religious beliefs or his “people”? A large portion of the audience probably wasn’t even old enough to vote, let alone cause any harm to him or Islam whatsoever. All any of these people were doing Monday night was trying to have a good time and give their kids a fun experience. And yet, somehow, they all deserved to die in the twisted eyes of the mullahs and imams who continue to brainwash these weak, stupid individuals who continue to commit these heinous acts. How is it possible to make someone believe that their religion not only condones the killing of innocent civilians, but demands it and rewards it? How do you hear reports of nurses washing bits of blood and flesh off of children and cheer?
As sad as this is, I didn’t react strongly to the news of this attack initially. Yes, you feel bad for the people involved, but it has almost become common. But then I saw this picture and the pictures of the other victims. My blood turned to ice, then started to boil. I keep seeing my little girl’s face when I look at Saffie’s. She loves going to concerts and is quickly approaching an age where she’ll want to go to more. I can not imagine what Saffie’s parents are going through. They will never get over this. I would never get over it. I feel for the first responders and doctors who treated so many injured people, so many who were so young. I feel for the Muslims who go about their lives every day like everyone else, but have to deal with the acts of fanatics like this. I keep coming back to one question: why? Why did Saffie and the others have to die that night? I don’t have an answer. I’m afraid there isn’t one.
Hug your kids extra tight. Not one of the parents thought that Monday would be their child’s last day on earth. But do not live in fear. The only way this enemy wins if we change the way that we behave and limit our own freedoms. Be vigilant, be careful, but do not be afraid.