Europe needs to secure its borders and people

Nice, Berlin, London and now Stockholm. The city is the latest to be hit by relatively low-tech and difficult to prevent terrorist attacks. Friday’s incident at the busy crowded pedestrian street killed four and injured 15 more. From what we are hearing as the investigations unfold, the impact could have been more profound and gruesome, as the stolen truck had explosives in it. The site is now turning into a makeshift memorial with people dotting the area with flowers and prayers for peace. Meanwhile, there are larger questions being asked. What prompted this attack? Sweden, an open and liberal society, isn’t a part of Nato, or any other alliance fighting wars in other countries. It has, on the contrary, opened its doors for refugees, and lent hopes to thousands of lives that were shrouded in despair. In 2015, it absorbed 163,000 asylum seekers as per some reports. Comparatively, these are more refugees per capita than any other country in Europe.

The police have arrested the driver, a 39-year-old from Uzbekistan. We know he is a father of four, but what we do not know is whether he is a part of Daesh or inspired by it. As the extremist group loses battle in its core cities in Syria and Iraq, experts say the group’s devious plans are to make inroads in Europe. We do not know this for sure as yet. Investigations would lead to further clues. For now, this attack, like in other European cities, risks reigniting the debate on refugees. But let it not take the spotlight away from what really needs to be done. Europe has an important and tough task at hand. To protect its people, to foil any further terror attacks, it needs to ensure wider cooperation and sharing of intelligence among countries. Porous borders are the hallmarks of the open European societies like Sweden. Yet, they need to be reinforced. Probably more vetting measures need to be implemented, too. Sweden ranks favourably high on various indexes measuring prosperity, happiness, sustainable living, openness and development. These achievements need to be protected.