About the Russian say they have a certain talent to keep a straight face in poker. On Monday this week I had the opportunity to meet this legendary Russian equanimity.
With a group of students from the Higher school of applied Sciences Hamburg, I arrived in Petersburg. There, in partnership with the city of Hamburg each year, the German week, including the conduct of various activities. Our group had together with a partner, the University of St. Petersburg, to organize a political debate. From the airport we went into town on the bus and then had to take the metro. Of course, you know, what was going to happen.
Russian student who had to accompany us to the hotel, while the bus trip began quietly to call, and then concentrated on writing on my smartphone. The passage in the subway is closed she announced to us externally quite calm. It was unusual, but no problem. She instead ordered a taxi.
Does the terror benefits from digital media?
Student, which was 21, knew why subway trains did not go. About half an hour before we had to enter the subway on one of the trains of this line explosion that killed 14 and injured more than 50 people. Among the dead were children.
She consulted by phone with your Professor, and it was decided, without disturbing us, to take our group from the immediate area of the attack, said a us student after a couple of days.
When the whole group left in a taxi away from the scene of the attack, suddenly everyone found out what happened, news came from Germany. How we received information about the attack, which occurred a few kilometers from us, says a lot about the relationship between terrorism, globalization and digital communication. All present received calls, news or urgent messages, some of those present turned pale. The message of the attack in a matter of minutes received from Russia to Germany and from there back to Russia.
No fear
International terrorism gets, at first sight, great benefit from the fact that every terrorist attack in the modern big city instantly become public knowledge throughout the world. Whether in Paris, Orlando, Brussels, nice, on the Berlin square Breitscheidplatz in London on Friday in Stockholm and before that in St. Petersburg society in the industrialized countries inevitably quickly learns about the bloody crimes. Today the terrorists reach their goal much easier than ten or twenty years ago, this goal is attention.
As for their second — and probably most important — the goals, the events in St. Petersburg show that they are, in my opinion, achieved much less success: this objective is to sow fear.
The population of St. Petersburg has made us even on the day of the attack the same impression of equanimity, equanimity as a student. In the following days we saw how people were viewed works of art, laughed, celebrated, discussed, worked and walked. We were with our Russian partners, who took us, talk about global politics, journalism, media, education, and utterly mundane things. Of course, the attack was not forgotten, but he was not in charge in your everyday worries and thoughts of people.
Attacks on global lifestyle
“We Russians are accustomed to misfortune,” said one friend of us. associate Professor of journalism liberal views. Of course, the city was mourning for the dead. And the fact that the whole metro network of the Petersburg remained closed on that day, this is an inconvenience to many people. People were too busy with their everyday problems to such an attack vyzvalo them panic.
I was under the impression that such an attitude cannot be explained only by the legendary Russian indifference: it’s everywhere. For London, Berlin and other cities where terrorist attacks killed people, it is important the same thing: residents of the cities where the attacks occurred, mourn the victims and feel their connection with victims of terrorist attacks in other cities. In the end, it is a common global style of life, and eat criminals. People do not give in to intimidation and not lose your head. They refused to fear. I think their resistance will be strengthened, rather than weakened with each new attack.
This, in my opinion, an instinctive action. And that, apparently, the best way to fight terror is not to let yourself be terrorized. Because in this case the terrorists are defeated.
