War narrative/ Under the drone sky
Under the drone sky reactions to the terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels, and Bamako have been different. The first is always the distancing, the differentiation between good and bad Muslims, even though commentators, journalists and even private citizens are as confused as we are too, and many of them feel responsible for the West to reject religion and Islamic culture and see terrorism as inevitable results. Numerous those worried that their ability to have a visa for Europe is greatly reduced. Nobody, but nobody, thought to have stereotypes and prejudices against the West.
Under the drone sky for three days after the attack on Paris, the most popular Pakistani newspaper published a front page, next to the chronicle of terror, the news of the murder of a Muslim girl, thrown on the subway tracks in London. In reality the investigation was just opened – a few elements that enable us to forecast a murder motivated as Islamophobic – but the news appeared so well with the dead in France to feed the perception of discrimination and persecution against any Muslim so yes, after all, who cares of the facts and of the investigations …
Under the drone sky, Pakistan had to put back the hands of two burning and now unavoidable issues: the management of almost two million Afghan refugees in the country (the potential danger of some of them, the possibility of repatriation, relations with Afghanistan relating to counter-terrorism strategies) and repatriation of illegally migrants entering the EU countries. Yesterday the visit of a European delegation in Islamabad has deleted quickly a series of controversies related to a possible refusal by the Pakistani government to take back home citizens illegal.
In reality, as always, under the drone sky events and dynamics are not easy to understand. The attack in Paris has been compared to the massacre of some 136 children and adults in the school for the children of military in Peshawar last December by terrorists; attack that led to the restoration of security law, the increase in restrictions on freedom of movement of civilians, deportation of a million and a half people from North Waziristan, where it hides the most terrorists, territory razed. In fact, the events in Paris and those of Peshawar have correlations: the first part of the strategy of extended Dae’sh against the West, the second was a clear show of force by terrorists against the Pakistani army. Sunnis and Shiites, of States which finance them, the ethnic and religious minorities constantly victims of deadly attacks, are never mentioned. So the puzzle of understanding is not complete because in many cases, and from all over awareness is a goddess who has lost an eye.
Under the drone sky I spend evenings that I could hardly live in Italy: in an Indian restaurant (the only one where I see women waiting tables) are Italian, French, Pakistani and Burmese and talk (also) about Paris. In the presence of French friends those Pakistanis seem embarrassed and speak little: the French are very angry and they keep repeating that Muslims were always welcome but the rules are the rules and everyone must adapt and refugees are continuing to arrive, Well have to see … The Americans are for attacking and hit the enemy in his house, anyway. No one remembers that this is a religious war that hit just in France, the European country that more than others has made flag of respect for secularism.
Under the drone sky in Pakistan as in other Muslim countries, no one raises his voice enough to move away from the terrorists, who have little of Islam and all of fanaticism. And that no one made up of millions of women and men, is the only voice that can overlap violence with that.
