In recent years, terrorist groups have become one of the biggest threats the world faces today. From the tragedy of 9/11 in 2001 to the recent incident in Paris, terrorist attacks are not a surprising affair anymore in this state of the world, but they still hold tremendous impact whenever they occur. Two recent attacks in particular have been brought to the world stage because of their devastating effects.

On Tuesday, March 22^nd, a Brussels airport and metro system were attacked by members of the infamous terrorist group ISIS. The attackers strapped bombs to their bodies and placed one man at the metro station in Brussels and two others in the Brussels airport. As of now, the number of casualties has reached 35, excluding the deaths of the 3 attackers, and 340 people have been affected because of injuries, according to BBC News. Last November 13^th, a similar incident occurred in Paris, France that also brought mourning upon the world, and recent investigation into the Belgium incident indicates that the two attacks may have been connected. The bombs used in Paris have been proven to have been made in Brussels, and some culprits of that incident seem to be some of the same culprits of the Brussels incident.

Upon hearing of the Belgium attack, many European leaders made their own statements in support of the victims of the incident. French President Francois Hollande took to Twitter to express his “solidarity with the Belgium people,” and British Prime Minister, David Cameron, tweeted a similar statement, saying, “We will do everything we can to help.”

President Barack Obama held an emotional press conference in response to the attack stating, “This is yet another reminder that the world must unite. We must be together, regardless of nationality, regardless of race or faith, in fighting against the scourge of terrorism. We can and we will defeat those who threaten the security of people all around the world.”

If the Brussels tragedy wasn’t enough for the world to mourn, on Easter Sunday, March 27^th, another suicide bombing left at least 74 people were killed and 342 injured in Lahore, Pakistan, this time perpetrated by a “splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat ul Ahrar,” CNN stated. The group was targeting Christians celebrating Easter Sunday in the city’s Gulshan Iqbal Park, although the majority of people who died were Muslim. In Pakistan, the divide between Muslims and Christians, although for some citizens is insignificant, is the reasoning behind this attack, and it isn’t the first time an incident such as this one has occurred. Previously, in March of 2015, the Pakistani Taliban attacked a Christian community in Lahore, and in 2013, suicide bombers attacked a church in Peshawar, killing more than 80 people. The Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, addressed the attack with a televised statement urging better security measures and a promise to defeat the radicals carrying out these attacks.

“We will not allow them to play with the lives of the people of Pakistan,” Sharif said, “This is our resolve. This is the resolve of the 200 million people of Pakistan.”

Similar to what happened after the Brussels attack, world leaders stated their support of the victims and their families after the attack in Lahore. Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafazi stated her mourning through Twitter, saying “We stand together with the families of the victims. Pakistan and the world must unite. Every life is precious and must be respected and protected.”

At this moment in time, the world can be quite a scary place. Sometimes it seems as if a new tragedy strikes the world every day, whether it happens in America’s backyard or not. With each terror strike, security continues to get tighter and tighter in places with large congregations of people, such as airports or theme parks. One example of this can be seen just down the street from Winter Springs High School at Universal Studios. Fairly new security measures have stationed metal detectors at the entrance to City Walk, causing anyone who enters the City Walk area or the two parks to walk through the metal detectors and have their bag searched. Most park-goers are not happy about this new development because of the toll it takes on their amount of time in the park, but these security measures must be taken to keep as many people as safe as possible. Airports also have seen tighter security measures. After 9/11, there was a complete renewal of security measures that most students at WSHS can’t even remember, but even these methods continue to be modified with every attack or security breach that happens around the world. Now is an important time in history to stay safe and make sure the proper procedures are being taken to ensure everyone’s safety, no matter where in the world.