The voices we should hear

March 11 is a day on which we should listen to victims’ voices, which do not yet always get the attention they need and deserve. Terrorists try to de-humanize their victims in order to legitimize killing in the name of extremist ideas. This is neither brave nor heroic. Giving victims a voice refutes the terrorist narrative and removes the glamour that the terrorists try to build around themselves. Victims’ voices reveal what terrorists really are: not warriors for a higher cause, but ugly, mean criminals who kill and cause enormous suffering and pain. These voices thus act powerfully to prevent radicalization and recruitment to terrorism.
 
We should never forget the individual tragedies behind each and every attack. This is also the core message of the numerous victims’ organizations in countries like Spain and Ireland. Their work is precious. A prominent U.S. voice promoting the victims’ perspective on terrorism is Carie Lemack, who lost her mother in the 9/11 attacks and has since become the producer of the Academy Award-winning documentary “Killing in the name.” She has said: “The victims in a terror attack are normally just numbers. We want to give them names and voices.” Her powerful film gives victims, mainly Muslims, a platform to speak up, and allows them to pose questions directly to terrorists, who struggle for answers and justification. It shows the victims’ particular resistance to terrorist propaganda.
 
{mosads}However, terrorist propaganda still continues to find new followers. The threat from “lone wolves” or loose groups remains high. In recent months we have seen an attack in Stockholm, Sweden, several arrests in the Netherlands, in Denmark, in Belgium and in other places in Europe. The attack last week at Frankfurt’s airport, where two U.S. soldiers were killed, shows that extremist ideas still have the power to motivate youngsters to commit attacks.
 
And yet today is also a time of hope. We are witnessing the beginning of a process of enormous change in the Arab world. On March 11, the EU will not only commemorate the victims of terrorism, but EU leaders will also hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss what is happening in our southern neighborhood.
 
The EU shares the hopes of Egypt and Tunisia for an orderly and irreversible transition towards democracy and free and fair elections. Recent dramatic changes show that the terrorist organizations, which always claim to speak for the Arab people or for the Muslim world in general, are completely disconnected from reality. Their common justification — that extreme violence is the only way to overthrow autocratic regimes — has withered away within a matter of days.
 
Al Qaeda and its ideology were simply irrelevant to the most drastic changes in the Arab world for decades. Even its much vaunted propaganda machine stuttered in the face of these fast-moving events. Al Qaeda asked for “killing” but its voice was not heard. It was the voice of the people in Tunis and then in Cairo, the protesters’ strive for better living conditions, greater political participation and democracy, that started the revolution. Thus, it became clear that the rhetoric of al Qaeda does not reflect the concerns of the people in the street, nor does it provide any credible answer to them.
 
But does this really mean the end of religiously motivated terrorism? Can we hope that on next year’s March 11 we can look back and there will be less new victims?
 
Oppression by security agencies, human-rights violations and a lack of respect for human dignity have in the past provided fertile ground for radicalization and recruitment. Successful reforms in the Arab world are essential to remove this threat. There needs to be a real perspective of a successful future for the Arab world, in terms of freedom, democracy, education and prosperity. Clearly this does not mean that crime and violence will vanish overnight. In the near term, there must be a serious risk that those terrorists who remain might take advantage of the uncertainty and destabilization to mount attacks, including against Europe or European interests. The EU needs to offer its advice and experience to Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in the region to help them build the capacity to fight terrorism while respecting human rights and the rule of law.
 
We have to support the reform in the Arab world, and uphold our values when engaging in this dialogue, because responsive democratic government is the only sustainable way to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism. In contrast to the deafness of the terrorists, and the deafness of oppressive governments, we must make March 11 a day on which Europe shows that it is listening.
 
de Kerchove is the European Union’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator.