Making Good of a Bad Situation.

Oceania Group.
Week 10: “Je Suis Charlie.”

Making Good of a Bad Situation.

Very few people in Paris, let alone around the world, would have known of the existence of Charlie Hebdo just over a week ago. But yesterday, the publication which usually has a circulation of only around 30000 copies was printed for a global audience of 3 million in 16 different languages. In the wake of the attacks on the magazine’s headquarters, the power of journalism, in particular that of cartoons, has been placed at the forefront of global conversation.

Although this was not an isolated incident involving this particular magazine and its cartoons, the world was still brought to a standstill and called to question how it values freedom of expression in today’s society, rather than simply dwelling on the ever-present threat of terrorism as has been the case in the past.

The victims of the incident may not have been as randomly selected as those of the Sydney siege at the end of the last year, however they too were simply going about their daily lives and just doing their jobs just like we all do on a daily basis. Arguments about whether their work was asking for trouble are not only insensitive, but are simply ludicrous.

A decision was made by two individuals to inflict harm directly on those behind the publication, as well as indirectly on those related to the victims. And again their actions were attributed to a religion, as if this made everything which they did justified.

Tough times are ahead for our world in light of these recent occurrences. Not only for the Muslim community, but for each and every one of us. Unfortunately there will be a usually silent minority who will see these events as an opportunity to fight their futile argument against the religion.

In Australia, it can be confidently said that the country has only become more united in the past month, silencing bigoted minorities unequivocally. One can only hope that the rest of the world, in particular France, does exactly the same thing. To do the opposite would only be doing a favor for those terrible beings who deserve anything but what they are trying to achieve.

By Francesco F., Australia
20 years old