EDITORIAL: IF September 11, 2001, and the Bali bombings changed how Australians viewed the world, the Sydney siege has altered how we view our own great nation.
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The siege, which claimed the lives of two people just going about their daily business, is likely to be seen as the day terrorism reached our shores. Demands by the gunman, who was killed when police entered the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place, left no doubt his actions amounted to an act of terrorism.
Hostages were forced to read out his demands on video.
“One is to send an IS flag as soon as possible and one hostage will be released,” one hostage said. “To please broadcast on all media that this is an attack on Australia by the Islamic State. And number three is that we need Tony Abbott to contact the brother on a live feed and five hostages will be released.”
The siege, at a time when Australians are relishing the festive season, brings a sense of vulnerability, on a scale not experienced before on home soil.
But the message from our political and security leaders is that we must not let this act define our lives. Australians are renowned for their resilience, fighting spirit and happy-go-lucky attitude.
It’s hard to be upbeat when you wake to hear two innocent people are dead and their families will never be the same. Our hearts and thoughts go out to them.
But we have to push on.
We live in a nation that prides itself on freedom and we have to embrace the values that have made us what we are, including multiculturalism. Thankfully we accept and respect the diversity of backgrounds and beliefs and are committed to treating everyone equally.
In true Australian style, a simple act of kindness where people offered to support and accompany Muslims in public via a “I’ll ride with you” social media campaign sprung up after a woman removed her headdress, fearing reprisal.
One way to become stronger is to rally around those who need support while waiting for answers as to why this incident happened and, more importantly, how can we stop this from happening again.