An event causing great suffering, destruction and distress; this is the official definition of the word tragedy, and recently, the nightmare haunting the people of Paris.
At 9:20 p.m. November 13, the first explosions went off at Stade de France, a stadium where France was playing Germany in a soccer match. As the night went on, more explosions went off at restaurants and a concert hall. These attacks were carried out by suicide bombers and gunmen armed with assault rifles. They have ties to the terror group ISIS.
It is impossible to watch the news coverage of these attacks and not have strong feelings. It is arguably the worst terrorist attack since Sept. 11. These people were just enjoying their lives on a seemingly normal Friday night, which makes it extremely difficult to imagine the horrors these victims experienced.
“It is obviously a really unfortunate and tragic event in Paris,” senior Lauren Wong said. “I have been to Paris and seen the beauty of it. It is heartbreaking to see this happen to such a beautiful place.”
Being a world power, the world looks to the United States in times of need such as this. There are varying opinions on how and if the U.S should get involved.
“This makes me very angry and it makes me want to go to war and fight for my country,” senior Ross Williams said. “I think there should be boots on the ground for sure.”
When the attacks on September 11 took place, high school students today were toddlers, with no real understanding of what had happened to our nation. The main difference is that now, the people who would be fighting are people our age or close to it. They would be people we know, people we grew up with. So this has a deep impact here at Center Grove; students would be going overseas to foreign lands to risk their lives.
“I feel like I should give back to those who have served” said Alexabelle Macias, a senior who plans in enlisting in the Air Force after high school. “It makes me mad that I can’t enlist yet, because the attacks in Paris made me very upset, not only for Paris but all the other countries that have been attacked like Lebanon, and the United States could be next and we don’t even know.”
The painful emotions don’t stop there.
“It struck me very deeply that this could happen in a city as big and well known as Paris. I think we should not do anything independently but band together with other nations to help,” senior Grant Wright said.
In a sheltered environment like Center Grove, most of us are fortunate to have never experienced something similar to this. However, just because students have never experienced something like this does not mean they aren’t empathetic to those who have been impacted.
“We are raising money to help the victims of Paris and Beirut attacks as well as Syrian Refugees,” PALS Club President senior Ally Colinco said. “We hope to raise over $500 and raise awareness of the horrors not only in Paris, but also in Beirut and Syria.”
The proceeds will all be given to three different organizations, based in Paris, Lebanon and Syria. Students can purchase bracelets ($2) and T-Shirts ($10) at lunch the rest of this week.
