PTSD

The day so far...

I woke up this morning around 6am, blearily took out the dog and waited for her to do her thing(s) and wandered back inside to have coffee and check my email. Opened up the Internet where my home page is BBC News to find reports (at that time, there were not very many) about the London bombings.

At first, I just thought about the horror of it all and wondered about how it was done. Then, I remembered that my parents were supposed to leave today for Nepal from London. They'd left Liverpool (where they were staying with an aunt) early in the morning to catch the train to London, with plans to spend the day there before catching the underground to the airport.

I had to wait nearly three hours before finding out they had made it safely to the airport. These were pretty awful hours since there was no way to get information. In today's world, that might sound surprising but that is how it was. The news was not encouraging since phone lines were down, mobiles were jammed (not that my parents have mobiles) and transportation was uncertain. Just recently, my mother called from the airport saying they had got there okay and would wait there until they could check-in. Apparently, my parents found out on the train that there had been bombings in London but the details were unclear. They were told they could return back to Liverpool (and many others did) but decided to continue on, with a few other people, to the airport since they are supposed to leave later on today. According to my mother, despite the chaos in London, people were very helpful, the transport people and police were willing to help out and discuss alternative ways of getting around.

Only yesterday, the pictures we saw from London were of crowds of people cheering as they received news that the 2012 Olympic games would be held in London. Today, the pictures were different: mangled trains and buses, crying people, blood and sombre policepeople, panicked commuters as they tried to comprehend what happened. In the space of a few hours, the images had changed.

London's always been one of my favourite cities. I like the vibrancy it has and the many different types of peoples, languages, accents you hear as you walk around. Despite what Jacques Chirac recently said, the food is also excellent, especially once you leave Central London and go towards Camden Town, East End or the Notting Hill areas, as you can then find the many Indian curry places, the Eastern European fast food kiosks and the Thai restaurants. Then, there is the history. For a history and literature buff, London is a fantastic place: visit the areas where Jack the Ripper murdered his victims, or where Charles Dickens used to write (and write about) or where Sherlock Holmes supposedly lived. The great thing about the city is that you can walk around and run into something unexpected as when I found Bush House (where BBC World Service, which I grew up listening to, is broadcast from) when walking around aimlessly.

London, I am sure, will recover from this. Life, as they say, goes on. But, at a time when I am already having trouble explaining how I want to do my PhD and why I want to note the historical and social constructions of terrorists, acts such as these make it even more difficult to counteract the usual response: "So, you are saying that terrorists are made up then? How about (9/11, Bali bombings, London today, etc)? Were those who did it not terrorists?"

I do have an answer, I think. But, that is for another post. Today, I am just glad (selfishly) that my parents are all right and I hope they have a safe trip home.

posted by Priya @ 12:24 PM