Terrorist actions are forms of political group violence. They are a menace across the world. They affect the economies and health of many nations. In this regard, there must be effective preparedness, prevention, and response to terrorist hazards or threats. The factors to be considered in this process include preservation of civil and human rights, communications between and within nations, and risk appraisal (Belanger & Szmania, 2018). The epidemiological triangle model in combination with the historical records of terrorist actions has been adopted in this paper. This paper is aimed at addressing the factors that should be considered in response to and prevention of terrorist hazards.
Terrorism involves the use of violence to intimidate the public or governments (Magen, 2018). These actions include school shootings, urban assaults, and workplace violence. However, there is no universal definition of terrorism. Terrorist actions have increased rapidly in the recent decades (Our world in Data, 2018). These actions can be traced back to the 1st century where the Sicarii were the terrorists of that time. They used daggers to conduct their activities against the Jews (Our World in Data, 2018). These actions continued to the 20th century a good example being the reign of terror that was witnessed during the French revolution.
Terrorist actions witnessed in the modern world can be clearly traced from the rise of anticolonial movements witnessed after the end of the second world war. They were aimed at generating publicity with an aim of influencing the global policy. In the 1960s, there increased cases of terrorist attacks as aggrieved persons saw it as the only way to air their grievances. The peak of terrorism-related cases in the world was reached in 2016 as shown in figure 1.
Terrorist actions are aimed at intimidating governments or members of the community (Magen, 2018). They are forms of political violence. Oppression, feelings of disenchantment, social inequalities, oppression, religious beliefs, and discrimination are all causes of terrorist actions. The clandestine nature of terrorist actions makes it problematic to prevent them. The consequences of terrorist actions can be minimized through effective, prevention, control, and preparedness by considering a number of factors.
Literature Review
The previous study by Magen (2018) found out that terrorist actions intimidate the public through disruption of communal organizations as well as all spheres of life (p 112). The inflict injury, death, disease, pain, destruction, and damage to the public. The consequences of most of the terrorist’s attack have global repercussions.
Governments, professionals, and organizations should work towards the response and prevention of these actions by considering a number of factors (Akhmat, Zaman, Shukui, & Sajjad, 2013). For instance, health professionals should respond by treating and caring for the victims. Psychiatric and psychological reactions result from actions of terrorism. These consequences must be addressed to improve the overall well-being and health of victims.
There should be an enactment of laws and regulations to protect the citizens (Pickering, McCulloch, & Wright-Neville, 2008). The access to medical care by the undocumented and uninsured migrants should be safeguarded. There should be appropriate channels cooperation and communication among the sectors involved in prevention and response to terrorist actions (Belanger & Szmania, 2018). Local cultures, diversity, and values of the local community must be considered for there to be an effective response to the hazards of terrorism.
Age is also among the factors that should be considered. The most vulnerable age groups are the children and the elderly (Zeiss, Cook, Cantor, & Barbanel, 2002). They are susceptible to post-traumatic infections. Their survival from the attacks is very low. Additionally, they have a low understanding of how to give an appropriate response to danger.
Owing to the high number of people and the ease of access to shopping centers, they are susceptible to terrorist attacks. In this regards, such areas should be considered when developing policies aimed at preventing terrorism.
The internet is also another factor that should be considered in the war on terror. Terrorist use the internet to indoctrinate people with their beliefs. The ideologies used by terror groups are appealing to many people which accelerates their spread across the world (Tella, 2017). The use of the internet should, therefore, be monitored to control the spread of terrorist beliefs (Our World in Data, 2018). There should be appropriate channels cooperation and communication among the sectors involved in prevention and response to terrorist actions to effectively prevent the spread of these ideologies.
The other factors to be considered are religious affiliations, culture, and politics. The main cause of conflicts between and within nations is political differences. Differences in religious doctrines also lead to conflict (Akhmat, Zaman, Shukui, & Sajjad, 2013). In this regard, influential religious and political leaders must be involved in the fight against terrorism. The age distribution of survivors, as well as their degree of exposure terrorist’s actions, should be considered for there to be an effective response in case of a terror event.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Terrorism involves the use of violence to intimidate the public or governments. Terrorist actions are forms of political group violence. These actions include school shootings, urban assaults, and workplace violence. The consequences of terrorist actions can be minimized through effective, prevention, and preparedness. The factors to be considered in preventing terrorist’s actions include preservation of civil and human rights, communications between and within nations, and risk appraisal. Oppression, feelings of disenchantment, social inequalities, oppression, religious beliefs, and discrimination are all causes of terrorist actions. The clandestine nature of terrorist actions makes it problematic to prevent them.
It is recommended that countries should sign the international counter-terrorism instruments aimed at promoting cooperation. Issues related to refugees and immigration should be effectively addressed. The movement of terrorists across nations should be prevented through implementation of effective border controls. Additionally, the integrity of identity papers and travel documents should be secured by governments. Governments should also ensure that asylum-seekers who, in one way or another, have participated, planned or even facilitated acts of terrorism are denied refugee status.
It is recommended that, in response to terrorist actions, there should be an establishment of long-term efforts aimed at modifying the political, demographic, cultural, and economic background of terrorism. These activities should be disrupted from their source. A Heavy defense should be placed in all the possible targets such as schools, public buildings among others (Pickering, McCulloch, & Wright-Neville, 2008). Illegal transportation of arms and other weapons should be detected and prevented.
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