By Kerry Steinhofer, Copy Editor
The world was in shock Nov 13. as multiple tragedies took lives from all across the globe. Within 24 hours, starting the night prior, there were terrorist attacks in Paris, earthquakes in Japan and Mexico, suicide bombings in Beirut and a funeral bombing in Baghdad.
Coverage of the Paris terrorist attacks dominated news outlets and social media. According to CNN, at least 129 people were killed due to a series of six attacks tarting at 9:20 p.m. The ISIS attackers were armed with assault rifles and explosives targeting civillian locations around the city.
In Japan, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck northwest of the Ryukyu Islands. According to BBC, the Japan Meteorological Agency ( JMA) said a 30 centimeters (1 foot) tsunami was registered on the southern Nakanoshima Island.
A similar event happened in Mexico Friday morning when a 4.3 magnitude struck a Baja California town, reported by ABC News.
[column size=two_third position=first ]Suicide bombings struck the Lebanese capital of Beirut Thursday night leaving 43 dead. The explosions happened within 150 meters (490 feet) and five minutes of each other, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency told CNN, shaking an open-air market and other parts of the Bourj al- Barajneh district. Like the Paris attacks, ISIS had recruited suicide bombers to attack Beirut.
In Baghdad, the Huffington Post reported a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral for a pro-government Shi’ite Muslim fighter. The funeral was held at a mosque in the predominately Shi’ie area of Hay al-Amil. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.
Most of the traffic on social media about these events has been about Paris, much of it encouraging solidarity with Paris and the other nations that are grieving the loss of their citizens. There has been an influx of hashtags promoting prayer for the tragedies around the world. Ever since these events took place, hashtags such as #PrayForWorld and #PrayFor (insert specific city or country) have circled the nation to support those affected.[/column]
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There has been an influx of hashtags promoting prayer for the tragedies around the world.
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While other hashtags have made their way around social media, there are two specific hashtags being used to help those in Paris.
After the attacks in Paris, residents started using #PorteOuverte on social media. The hashtags means “open door,” which is used to offer shelter to strangers in Paris who are stranded after the attacks.
Not long after this hashtag became popular, U.S. residents started using #StrandedinUS. This hashtag shows the Americans who are willing to help Parisians who are having trouble returning home due to flight cancellations and delays. People were willing to give up their beds and couches and offer a hot meal to those in need.
In the U.S., we have seen the French flag around business and other buildings; hundreds of people are sharing recent news, photos and even changing their profile picture on Facebook to a tricolor filter of the French flag.
According to The Telegraph, President Barack Obama responded to the attacks by saying, “Once again, we’ve seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”
Karuna Ezara Parikh from New Delhi described her thoughts on these events in a poem, which has become viral worldwide with over 20,000 Instagram likes and 90,000 Facebook shares. In her poem, she encourages others to remember Paris and pray for Paris, but to do the same for the other cities that have seen tragedies as well as well as the world in general.
At the end of her poem, she writes, “Say a prayer for Paris by all means, but pray more, for the world that does not have a prayer for those who no longer have a home to defend. For a world that is falling apart in all corners, and not simply in the towers and cafes we find so familiar.”
Jean Jullien, who drew the peace for Paris picture, told TIME, “In all this horror there’s something positive that people are coming together in a sense of unity and peace.” This statement not only applies to the people in Paris, but this applies to everyone who is dealing with the aftermath of their tragedy.
