Terrorist attacks in Europe will cause wider schisms in society

THE HOSTAGE INCIDENT that happened in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, northern France, on Tuesday, in which two men armed with knives took five people hostage, resulted in three dead, including the two assailants, and another seriously injured. Ifeng.cn commented:

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the sixth in Europe within half a month.

The bloody incident once again laid bare the vulnerability of European countries to terrorist attacks. The emergence of left-wing ideas in Europe, collective guilt about their past colonialism and their need for economic reconstruction have caused European countries to simplify procedures for immigrants from ex-colonies and embrace multiculturalism.

Thus European countries have almost unconditionally opened their doors to outside refugees in recent years. According to Europol, most terrorist attackers in Europe since 2015 are extremists from the Middle East.

European countries lack experience on how to promote amicable coexistence among different ethnic groups and cultures. While reflecting a humanitarian approach toward immigrants, such policies have ignored the difficulties of integrating immigrants into society. And many European politicians don’t dare to openly talk about the issue of immigration and the social problems it has caused as they fear being labeled “racist”. This lack of a voice for their concerns has pushed some into the embrace of right-wing extremist forces.

The exposure to frequent terrorist attacks also showcases Europe’s incapability in information sharing and social integration. France now has six intelligence agencies, but they have failed to work in unison.

It is not a simple task for European countries to address these problems or promote better coordination among their intelligence agencies. This will inevitably lead to wider schisms in European society and breed fertile soil for more violence.