"Terrorists brought carnage to the streets of Britain for the second time in as many weeks, killing 7 and leaving 21 fighting for their lives."
I woke up blissfully ignorant yesterday. I pottered around the house, listened to music, fed all the animals, took the dogs for a tootle and then settled into my armchair with my sketch pad. I made a delicious super salad for lunch and took it and my pad outside to soak up some vitamin D as I munched and drew. It was peaceful and perfect.
And then I checked my BBC news app. My heart sank. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Another attack. More innocent people killed by hatred.
I was born in London and lived there for the first 13 years of my life, it will always be home. I felt like I was split in two. Half of me sitting in my garden and the other half standing on the streets of London filled with fear and sadness. I messaged everyone I could think of to check they were all save, thank God, they were. But it could've been any of them. The last time I was in London some friends and I spent two wonderful days at Borough market. The same place the three men decided to get out of their van and attack innocent civilians at random.
Within 8 minutes of the first call officers fired an unprecedented 50 rounds killing the 3 armed assailants. But that doesn't nearly make up for the 7 lives that were snatched away or the 21 others that are still fighting for theirs in hospital.
12 arrests have since been made and one can only hope and pray that they will lead to answers that will help end the carnage that seems to be the reality of the world right now. "The attack was the third to hit Britain in less than three months." But that doesn't begin to scratch the surface of the global terror we are currently facing.
When will it end? And how? How do we fight such hatred, such disregard for human life?
Innocent men, women and children massacred daily for what? What about Syria? What about France, Afghanistan, Kenya, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Turkey, Sudan and many many more. How do we help these people? And how do we help ourselves?
We live in a world where some lives matter more than others, where real information is scarce, where governments cover up atrocities for financial gain, where news is fake and where hatred is widespread and dangerous.
I don't know how this will end. I feel helpless and utterly devastated for everyone involved. All I do know is that love is stronger than hate and our best defence is to stand together and not let these acts divide us.
My heart hearts, please say a prayer with me for the victims, for their families and for the world.
Daisy xx
Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/03/london-bridge-everything-know-far/
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/police-arrest-12-london-bridge-attack-170604131743852.html