I still recall a lost me wandering through a huge crowd outside my school back in kindergarten. As a tiny child, roaming through the school population was a pretty easy task at the time. After finding my neighbors in the large assembly point and heading home that day, school was canceled for the rest of the semester. Of course, back then I didn’t know the reason everyone was outside in panic, usually as a kid you go with the flow. The reason for this dismay was a bomb threat.

Growing up in the Middle East, you get your fair share of terror alongside you from a very young age. Once during elementary school, a fellow classmate described how he watched a maid thrown off a house roof dead when a residential compound was under attack. Quite a gruesome thing for a child to be discussing with his classmates, don’t you think? It’s a repulsively grim situation from the start when a young one has a first row seat to massacre. All while I aged and played with dolls, I’d hear stories of death and slaughter.

I think the main reason I’m sharing all of this with you right now is because I’m to some extent heart-broken by a lot of recent events especially considering it hits too close to home. A few weeks after moving to Germany, I’m in my friend’s room and we are frantically trying to keep up with the live updates of the Paris Attacks. I genuinely felt heartache after every single notification, the same heartache after the ambush on Beirut, Anakara, Niagaria, and so many other places.. Let’s all admit it, just seeing the aftermath of terrorist attacks is absolutely terrifying, one can only imagine, God forbid, being in a situation like that.

Two days ago, Brussels was under an attack of terror. As sad as it is to admit, this is the reality we are living in. Terror in general affects us greatly and is always among us. Lingering ever so slowly, ready to pounce when you least expect it’s presence. Your panic, fright, and apprehension will overcome your sight for a short while. You’ll even admit to it always being around and the unlikeliness of it occurring.

But that’s exactly what terror wants of you.

I pray and send my heart out to everyone affected by any recent tragedies and can only hope for a peaceful future free of terror and grief.