How to live in a world where the threat of a terrorist attack is constant?

It so happened that several times I found myself very close to the attacks. I lived in America during the September 11 terrorist attack, and in Moscow – when the houses on Kashirka were blown up and there were explosions in the subway. I have many friends in Israel, so I know a lot about Palestinian terrorism. Now I live in Paris, and therefore I found both the murder in the office of Charlie Hebdo and the terrorist attack on the evening of Friday 13 November.

It becomes clear that this is forever, and we will always live under terrorism, no matter what states and special services try to do about it.

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This feeling was very strong after Beslan – and then my husband, writer Sergei Kuznetsov, and I decided to make a website. We launched StopTerror, a site dedicated to how we can live in a world where the terrorist threat is constant. How can you help yourself and others survive in this world? What can we do to increase our chances of surviving a terrorist attack, and how can we help other people? How to survive psychologically the loss of loved ones or a situation of constant threat? How to talk to the victims of the terrorist attack and their relatives? We ask these and many other questions to specialists: doctors, special forces, psychologists, human rights activists, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations … And we publish their answers on our website.

For several years, the site lived its own life: attendance increased sharply after the next terrorist attack, and then they forgot about it again. But in recent months, due to a new wave of terror in Israel, and now in other countries, the flow of people has become constant. Therefore, we decided to re-read our site carefully.

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As sad as it is to admit, the advice and recommendation over the years has not changed at all. But as I reread them today, I see that our site is missing a section on social media behavior. When we did it, there was no Facebook yet, and even LiveJournal was not yet as popular as in subsequent years. So now we are working on this new section. It is very important for us. Social networks, like any other form of social communication, can be used in the current situation both for the good and for the evil of other people. On the one hand, many get the opportunity to talk about their fears and make sure they are not alone in them. And (or) express support and condolences to the families and friends of the victims. However, after each terrorist attack, passions boil in social networks: now someone wants to paint their avatar in the colors of the French flag, someone wants to expel all Muslims from France, and someone is outraged that the reaction to the terrorist attack in Paris is stronger than to the terrorist attack in Beirut. Sometimes, reading posts and comments of acquaintances. you feel a real shock – how can you write such a thing? But, on the other hand, sometimes it’s good to know what people you know think about different topics, so that if necessary, avoid these topics when communicating with them.

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In addition, I can advise you to filter your reading circle more carefully on such days. You can remove someone from the tape and say to this person: “I didn’t treat you badly, but what you are saying now is unpleasant to me” – in fact, this will help maintain the relationship without irritating each other. You can unsubscribe from topic groups. Sometimes it can be helpful to cut down on the time you spend on social media.

Feel free to take care of yourself, feel free to protect yourself, maintain your good psychological state. Making you feel worse doesn’t make anyone feel better – this should not be forgotten either on social networks or in real life.

Let’s not forget that the goal of terrorists is not only the direct victims of terrorist attacks, but the psyche of millions of people who learn about the tragedy from the media or the Internet. Do not give terrorists the opportunity to achieve their goals. Let’s try to keep calm and dignity, helping ourselves and others, even in our difficult times.