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.