Our young heroes: Children in the midst of terror

Our young heroes: Children in the midst of terror

Michael Zink, Contributor, Jakarta

Over the last two months, life in Jakarta has been turned
upside down for many of us. The tragic bombings in Bali on Oct.
12 confirmed that the global network of terrorism has roots in
Indonesia. The closure of the international schools last Friday
brought the threat of terror to the threshold of our homes.

The world seems to be at one of those crucial turning points
of history. Is there truly a clash of civilizations underway?
Was the millennium the high water mark of globalization? Is the
nation-state giving way to different models for managing human
affairs? These are profound questions that will come into sharper
focus with time. In the meantime, however, we must find a way to
cope with the turbulence that has swept us up.

Some call the present global struggle the War on Terror.
Perhaps it is a war. Every war has its villains and its heroes,
history tells us so. The villains in this war are easy enough to
define by their cowardly murder of innocents, and their treachery
is indiscriminate. An exploding bomb is merciless. It knows no
religion or ideology.

Terror is now universal and it envelopes us all -- Muslim and
Christian, Asian and European, rich and poor, educated and
illiterate. In the face of this terror, we are all simply
vulnerable human beings, and the villains in this war know it.

I do not wish to dwell on the villains, though. I want to talk
about the heroes.

My heroes do not wear military uniforms and they are not
active combatants in a war. They have never fired a shot in
anger, they do not make government policy, and they do not give
speeches. They simply live their lives with courage and dignity
and joy as they manage each new day full of uncertainty and,
perhaps, a little fear. My heroes are the children -- your
children, my children, our children.

Last Thursday evening we were awakened about midnight by the
call announcing the closure of the Jakarta International School.
My wife was on the phone until 1 a.m. passing on the news to
other parents. Then she tried, without much success, to get some
sleep. In the morning, she told our children that they did not
have to go to school that day.

Our son, not yet six-years-old, looked up at her and with a
calm voice asked matter-of-factly "Why Mom, is there a bomb in my
school?" There was no bomb but, sadly, the question was still in
his mind. Growing up in Ohio, we got days off of school due to
too much snow. I got Snow Days. Our children get Bomb Days.

There are students from 65 different nations attending JIS.
Over half the students are from Asia and nearly 10 percent are
Indonesian. Hundreds of Indonesians work on the JIS campuses. We
should all be clear on one essential point. The threat made
against the international schools in Jakarta is not a threat
against foreigners. It is a threat against children. Can any of
us think of a more cowardly, immoral act than the intentional
targeting of innocent children? I cannot.

We all face some difficult decisions regarding the safety of
our families and the education of our children. We pray to be
blessed with the good judgment required to make sound decisions
in these troubling times. When looking for some inspiration to
guide me, I need look no farther than the eyes of my children.
Their steady gaze may mask some deeply hidden fear but the
reflection from those eyes is all about optimism and confidence
and trust.

They trust that the decision my wife and I will make regarding
their well being will be the right one, and they stand prepared
to do whatever we decide. That is genuine trust. That takes
courage.

Over these last two months, our children have posed some
thoughtful questions that revealed an insight beyond their years.
I have never heard any of them utter a single word of
condemnation or anger about the situation they face. They
understand the danger. Images from the Sari Club in Bali have
touched them, and have provoked many of their questions.

They seem to grasp, more instinctively than some parents do,
that this is their world now. This global struggle -- call it
terrorism or give it another name if you prefer -- is likely to
overshadowing their adolescence and young adulthood. They seek
only to understand it and cope with it, not to judge it.

They seem motivated by a deep desire to learn about the
underlying causes that lead people to carry out these awful
attacks. Still, there is not a hint of resentment in their
voices, much less any hint of hatred. They are facing the
reality. They are mastering their fears. That is my idea of
heroism.

We are all vulnerable human beings with nowhere to hide,
standing in the midst of a chilling moment that will test our
character. As is often the case in such troubling times, we are
blessed with an inspirational source of strength. Our children.
If anyone needs a reason to believe that our world has an even
chance of getting better, then look into the eyes of our
wonderful, courageous children. God bless them and keep them
safe. They are our young heroes.