Terrorism

I never really imagined that I would post on this topic but it's impossible to ignore the current events. I was at a dinner party and a guy answered his mobile. When he hung up and returned to the group he excitedly explained that a series of bombs had exploded in Ahmadabad...he was quoting number of bombs and numbers of people dead. The contrast of our music/food/wine and the knowledge that there bombs going off somewhere in India was very disconcerting. And, this was following bombings in Jaipur earlier this year.

People are talking about how it's just a matter of time until 'they' bomb Delhi...which totally freaks me out...and all I can really hope for is that if that happens, I won't be near it...which strikes me as a very selfish thought...but it's really how I feel.

UPDATE - Nov 21, 2008

Following the blasts in Jaipur and Ahmadabad, there were events in Bangalore and then there were bombings in Delhi in September.

Luckily, I was not in Delhi at the time. Megan and I were eating dinner in a very lively bar/pub in the Himalayan town of Mcleod Ganj (where the Dalai Lama lives) when I received a text message asking me if I was ok. Completely confused, I called the friend who sent the message. She explained that two bombs had gone off in very popular shopping districts in Delhi...three more bombs exploded after we hung up. Immediately I started checking on all of my co-workers and friends. Amazingly very few people were actually killed (this is truly amazing considering how popular the locations are for shopping).

The source of the violence appears to be a Muslim group called Indian Mujahideen . Honestly, I don't understand all of it...but this group has claimed responsibility for a lot of nasty things lately.

What I find more interesting is the reactions. For a lot of my friends/co-workers, there was about 20 minutes of panic and once they concluded that everyone they knew was ok things went back to normal. In fact, even the location of the bombs have gone back to normal and it would be very difficult to find the actual location now.

For me the effect has been a bit more lasting. Whereas usually I love the 4th of July and firecrackers, I did not enjoy the 'cracker' exuberence during Diwali. When an errant firecracker went off in the garage under our building I was terrified and shaking for a few minutes. I don't think the Mujahideen is going to bomb my apartment complex but loud blast really get my attention these days. While I know no place in the world is safe; leaving this country where terrorism is a part of life will be a welcome change.