I’m Worried For The People Of Tunisia: We Can’t Let The Terrorists Win.featured

Following yesterday’s terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia, I’ve found it difficult to think about anything else. I’ve not stopped reading the horrific stories from survivors and eyewitnesses or staring at the tweets from Brits concerned about relatives’ whereabouts. Less than two weeks ago I was there in Sousse and Port El Kantaoui myself, having an amazing holiday with my boyfriend.

While thoughts go out to the victims, their families and those holidaymakers still in the country struggling to decide what to do next, I can’t help but also feel for the people who live and work there permanently.

While many holidaymakers are currently travelling back to the UK in an attempt to return to normality, innocent Tunisians and local people who want nothing but peace will continue to live this nightmare. Many are likely to have never seen such violence before and many will probably never see it again. Yet their lives may never be the same.

When Jake and I originally started looking at holidays, I was hesitant at first to travel to Tunisia since its capital had so recently been the scene of massacre of its own. But Jake managed to convince me. He reminded me that we can’t live in fear. That’s what the terrorists want. Besides, they say lightening never strikes twice, after all…

So in the wake of this second tragedy, I can understand why many holidaymakers may be unconvinced by the inevitable discounts that hotels and airlines are bound to offer. After all, while rebranding an airline following two plane crashes in a short space of time is one thing, rebranding an entire country in a bid to keep tourists coming back is quite another.

Tunisia’s fate

Tunisia relies heavily on tourists visiting the country and spending their money there. In fact, 473,000 jobs in Tunisia are supported by the tourism industry. Without foreign visitors, the country is likely to struggle. Local people will lose their jobs, families will be driven into poverty, and this beautiful country that has relied on tourism for so long will never be the same.

I can’t emphasise enough just how friendly the people of Tunisia were during our stay. People were kind, considerate, caring, and they seemed genuinely interested in helping tourists in any way they could. I can’t help but wonder what they’re doing right now and whether they’re okay. Will our favourite waiter be able to keep his job amid an almost inevitable decrease in tourism? Will he be able to find something else? Since the revolution, the country has already been battling unemployment and unrest, so how will it cope following what can only be described as a full on massacre of 30 of its guests?

This could happen anywhere

Before Jake and I went on holiday we looked on the UK government website for terrorism threat warnings. At the time, the threat of terror in Tunisia was high. We were concerned. Yet when we later discovered the UK terrorism threat was classed as severe (and still is), we decided that we wouldn’t let the Bardo museum terrorist attack prevent us from travelling to a country that we believed would now be way down on a terrorist’s list of priorities.

We need to remind ourselves just how many travellers are in Tunisia at any one time and how many of these people make it onto their flights back home with nothing but happy memories and stories to tell. More than 6 million tourists visited the country in 2014. Yet we only hear the tragic news. It’s understandable, of course, but I fear that this terrorist attack will dissuade travellers from holidaying at a location that so many other tourists have returned to time and time again.

We can’t let the terrorists win

If people stop travelling to this country, the terrorists will win and do you know what? They’ll pick another destination to target. Whether it’s Tunisia, Kuwait, France, America, or Britain, we can never be free from terrorism. Whether we’re sunbathing on the beach, watching a movie at the the cinema, running a marathon, praying in a place of worship, or even learning in a school, there is always the risk that someone will go on a rampage with the intention of ending as many lives as they can. As frightening as this may sound, we can’t run from terrorism. We can’t hide from it either. What we can do is love each other and continue to live every day as if it’s our last. We should travel the world and enjoy every bit of it. Because nowhere on earth is completely safe.

If we want to tackle terrorism, the least we can do is carry on living our lives as normal. In fact, we need to live life better. We need to live it to the full and enjoy every second. If you’ve already booked a holiday to Tunisia and you really don’t feel like you will be able to enjoy yourself, I don’t blame you for having second thoughts and spending your week at work, cursing the money you wasted. But what if that week was to be your last week? What if your last week was spent doing something you hate rather than something you love? None of us know when our last days will be, all we can do is say ‘no’ to those evil enough to terrorise people into complying with their brainwashed nonsense, while living our lives the max.