海角大神

What鈥檚 the best way to respond to terrorism and the fear it tries to instill? As foreign correspondents for the Monitor with more than 40 years鈥� experience between us, that鈥檚 a question we鈥檝e asked ourselves 鈥撀燼nd watched civilians grapple with, from Jerusalem to Istanbul to Paris.

鈥淭he purpose of its perpetrators is to frighten you, terrorize you, and try to make you change the way you live your life,鈥� says Scott, who has reported from war zones all over the world and was in London Saturday night, when a trio of men rammed their van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then went on a knife-wielding rampage through a popular nightlife area nearby, killing seven and leaving nearly two dozen in critical condition.

What we鈥檝e found is that humor, faith, and unity have helped communities emerge resilient 鈥� if also more alert. And we鈥檙e already seeing signs of that from London, from hotels opening up spare rooms to those stranded by the attack to residents putting up posters that read, 鈥淒are to keep on loving.鈥�

There鈥檚 been some talk in London about whether to delay the election scheduled for later this week. But in a reflection of Londoners鈥� defiant standing up to these attackers, we saw a tweet to the effect that the last time the United Kingdom delayed an election, the Germans were poised to attack England.

鈥淲e will never let these cowards win, and we will never be cowed by terrorism,鈥� tweeted London鈥檚 mayor, Sadiq Khan. In an opinion piece for the Evening Standard, Mayor Khan 鈥� a self-described 鈥減roud and patriotic鈥� British Muslim 鈥� denounced the perpetrators鈥� 鈥渟ick and wicked ideology鈥� and added, 鈥淭hey cannot win if we don鈥檛 let them鈥�. That鈥檚 why Thursday鈥檚 general election will go ahead as planned, because to postpone it would be to play into the hands of those who want to undermine our democracy.鈥�

Very dangerous couscous!

Since the Bataclan attack in Paris in November 2015, which marked the start of a series of attacks inspired by the so-called Islamic State across Europe, one of the defining reactions has been humor. As politicians or media reports have propagated fear 鈥� intentionally or unwittingly 鈥� residents across Europe have countered with their best jokes.

After Fox News did a television report about 鈥渘o-go zones鈥� in Paris after the terrorist attack on the Bataclan, describing dangerous, Muslim-only communities of impunity, Sara says, "those of us living in Paris and reporting in some of those neighborhoods scratched our heads because it didn鈥檛 match up with the Paris we know."

So when a television comedy show aired a satire of two on-air reporters at the scene of an imaginary 鈥渘o-go zone,鈥� Sara says it felt like a collective statement that helped knit people together who might not usually laugh at the same jokes. 鈥淥h 鈥� couscous!鈥� one of the 鈥渞eporters鈥� reacted, as the headline COUSCOUS ATTACK IN PARIS appeared on the screen. 鈥淰ery dangerous couscous in Paris.鈥�

Yesterday, as CNN reported quiet streets on Sunday morning, a man who goes by @Scottieboy shot back with British wit on Twitter: 鈥淲oman on CNN talking about London鈥檚 streets being eerily quiet. Mate, it鈥檚 Sunday. They鈥檙e not cowering in fear, they鈥檙e having a lie in.鈥� (A lie-in is a Britishism for sleeping in.)

And when Sara was in Brussels reporting during a citywide lockdown, as authorities hunted for a ringleader of the Paris attack and asked residents not to report on their movements, Belgians took to social media with pictures of cats instead, in every variety of pose.

It鈥檚 just one sign of the communal strength that has emerged in the past 2-1/2 years 鈥� some of it organized, most of it organic. After the attack on the Paris-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, 44 global leaders linked arms and marched down a main boulevard of Paris, right in front of Sara鈥檚 house. It鈥檚 left an enduring impression, reminding her, 鈥淲e are in this all together.鈥�

After the attack on the Bataclan, a soccer stadium, and cafes around Paris less than a year later, Parisians organized 鈥淭ous au Bistro,鈥� or everyone to the bistro 鈥� refusing to change their lifestyles out of fear.

That defiance was best captured this weekend by Richard Angell, a patron in the restaurant in Borough Market that was attacked over the weekend. He returned on Sunday to pay his bill as well as give a much deserved tip to the staff, he told media.

Empathy and faith

To be sure, some Londoners are shaken by the uptick in attacks in their city, which until now had been relatively free from terrorism since the 7/7 attacks in 2005. But even as those concerns are addressed and officials take concrete steps to crack down on extremist activities, it鈥檚 important to not let fears exaggerate the scope of the problem. 聽

鈥淭here鈥檚 a danger of focusing on and being too obsessed with the visceral imagery of the attack or killings or bombing without putting it in a broader context,鈥� says Scott, a foreign correspondent since 1989 and also a professional photographer. 鈥淥ften what gets lost in that very, very focused view, which can appear overwhelming, is that 99.999 percent of the human beings in that town or city went about their daily lives perfectly normally, perfectly safely that day.鈥�

On the other hand, dealing with terrorist attacks closer to home can inspire greater empathy for Middle Eastern cities that have been dealing with terrorism on a far greater scale for years.

鈥淚 have heard some of my British friends, who have a good understanding of certain communities in the Middle East say, 鈥榃ow, now we鈥檙e beginning to get a small taste of what it must be like to be in Baghdad or Yemen or Syria or Afghanistan 鈥� so many places in the Middle East where you have substantial attacks that are aimed at civilians and are measured by the dozen, or even 100s of deaths, if they鈥檙e really big,鈥� says Scott. 鈥淲e often forget what kind of stress those people are under on a day-to-day basis because they鈥檝e been under those stresses for years.鈥�

While religion is often blamed as a catalyst for this region鈥檚 conflicts, it can also be a solace for those affected by violence.

鈥淚f we trust God and everything is in His hands, we don鈥檛 have to worry about it,鈥� a young yeshiva student told Christa amid an uptick in attacks against Israelis in 2014 鈥� almost the same words that a Muslim mother had shared with her the week before after her son was killed. 鈥淲e just turn to prayer as our comforter.鈥�

During the same spate of violence, Christa showed up at a synagogue in West Jerusalem, where Palestinians had killed four rabbis at prayer the morning before, to find a young father and mother emerging with their infant son.

Despite the attack, they had gone forward with the traditional circumcision ceremony they had planned to hold there. 鈥淲e decided to do it today to show we鈥檙e not running away,鈥� said the father, posing with his wife and son for photos with bullet holes and policemen in the background.

鈥淭his whole thing of rebirth is a constant in the Jewish history,鈥� the baby鈥檚 grandfather, Yosef Sorotzkin, told Christa. 鈥淚t鈥檚 in our belief, culture, religion, that we push forward.鈥�