Je suis Charlie, je suis pas Charlie, je suis Ahmed, je suis Clarice; je suis all the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre and of the “Kocher supermarket”, also je suis Amina, je suis Mohammad and many others… Yes I am, because they were all simply humans who died from Ignorance and Hatred. What happened over the past 7 days in Paris were devastating events that took away innocent lives. Over the past week I’ve read many posts on Facebook and heard many comments on TV about what’s been going on. People expressing their pain, anger and opinions. Many, thankfully, making a clear distinction between “moderate Islam” and  “fanatical Islam”, others using what’s happened to add fuel to the fire and “confirm”, in their opinion,  what true Islam supposedly is.

As an Egyptian living in Europe, the first thought that crossed my mind when I first saw the news was “Not another victim in the name of Islam” !! And then came the following most natural ones:  “What has the world become?” “How did we reach such a state of inhumanity and cruelty?” “How are all these people walking around freely and heavily armed?”.  Days went by and the more I’d listen to the media, politicians, journalists, family (including myself) and friends’ opinions on this matter the more I was startled at how highly sensitive and aware everyone has become when such a massacre took place close to home (for some) or simply in a “peaceful” country, yet how indifferent we have become to the endless massacres that daily take place in Syria, Palestine, Libya, Nigeria… and even Egypt.

Don’t get me wrong here, I am not saying that one is more or less of value than the other, but simply expressing my disdain towards the system we have come to live in; one which reacts worldwide, protests, calls upon peoples voices to march for such an important cause, only after it hit them close. It’s just sad, because Charlie Hebdo has been happening for the past years in many countries. These daily massacres go by unspoken simply because they are taking place in Arab and Muslim countries. Even if we share the same language, nationality, and on paper the same religion, terrorism has the same bitter taste everywhere and anyone that knows better knows that what they call Islam is everything but ISLAM.  So when you remember the victims of Charlie Hebdo and “Kocher” remember all of the other innocent victims: sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters that have died and still are right this second in useless wars, which they never asked for.

So without names or distinctions, my prayers go out to all of the VICTIMS of Terrorism around the world. This ignorance can only be fought with the one and most powerful weapon we should all own …EDUCATION….education…education.

Dina Fahmi is a Psychology graduate from an Italian University in Rome, specialized in the “Montessori Educational Method” and recently working with children with Autism, in Egypt. She chose this domain because she is a strong believer that only through correct education we can plant the seeds of tolerance, acceptance and respect of the world’s diversity.