So, is there anything that can be done to stop terrorism? In this activity, you will understand that one of the best strategies to defeat terrorism is to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable citizens.

Defeating terrorism can sometimes feel like it is too great to overcome. When force is used to battle terrorist organizations and the nations that protect and support them, it seems only to make more people angry with the wealthy nations. Although most citizens in many of the world's troubled nations do not support terrorists, they resent any interference or military actions by the Western world against members of their own cultures. Dealing with and overcoming terrorism means many years of hard work to change people's attitudes in both the wealthy and underdeveloped nations. One of the best ways to fight against terrorism is to improve the quality of life for the world's poor people and promote positive relations with the nations that seem to produce terrorists.

Continuing Foreign Aid

In earlier lessons, you learned about the huge gap between the lifestyles of the world's wealthiest and poorest nations. Any person's first priority is food, which is followed closely by the need for shelter. People whose daily lives are devoted to trying to feed and shelter themselves and their families have no time to consider an issue such as terrorism. Starving people are not concerned with political issues.

Kate Holt/AusAID / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

         

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With better communication, more people are becoming aware of the gap between their lives and the lives of those in the developed nations. This can lead to resentment and frustration making it easier for people, especially youth, to be manipulated into terrorist organizations with promises of food, prestige, and money.

Wealthy nations helping the poor nations to overcome poverty lessens the influence of the terrorists among these people. Foreign aid programs must be continued and, if possible, increased. Organizations that work within these nations need the support of the citizens of the wealthy nations.

Education

Another tool that can fight against terrorism effectively is education. An educated population is a very powerful one. People whose knowledge of the world is limited to their own immediate environment have very narrow perspectives of the world. These people are unable to see how all the world's people are interconnected. A corrupt government easily controls an uneducated population. Just as easily, extremists and terrorists convince uneducated people that their enemies are responsible for the hardships in a country. Educated people ask questions and do not accept propaganda blindly.

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Human Rights

Canadians take for granted the concept of human rights. The physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of Canadian citizens is guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Most of the world's people do not have such a guarantee. The reality for many is that they have no rights. Their well-being often lies in the hands of leaders who maintain their power through actions that terrorize their own citizens. Often, citizens join in acts of terrorism to ensure their own survival. A basic right for citizens in developed nations is the right to free speech. Even when someone in a nation with a corrupt government recognizes that the real problem lies with their own government, to speak out results in prison or even death.

Democratic countries can influence and encourage the governments in developing countries to recognize the value of human rights to their societies and encourage them to make changes to ensure the protection of human rights. Of course, the ultimate goal of any human rights program is to create a fair and just democracy in which the welfare of a nation's population is in the hands of its citizens.

People who struggle daily to survive and are uneducated are easily manipulated into believing that the reasons for their misery lie outside their own borders. Actions that help to improve the well-being of people can bring about changes in their beliefs. None of these actions is easy or quick, but they are the best measures to combat terrorism. The ultimate goal is to make these nations self-sufficient, but this will take several decades. Patience is needed during the transition. 

Digging Deeper!