Proceeding with Caution

If you have not heard already, there was bombing today at the the Domodedovo Airport in Moscow- the same airport I am scheduled to fly into this week. Approximately 100 people were injured and over 30 were killed in the explosion, which took place in the international arrivivals hall. It is very tragic event and the second bombing Moscow has had to deal with within the past year (there was a metro bombing in March 2010 that killed 40 people). Right now, it is suspected that militants from the Caucas region (not to be confused with the Cossack warriors of Ukraine and southwest Russia) are behind the attacks. If you want to know more about the attack, I recommend checking out BBC.

The ILP has already called me today to let me know that security has been hightened, not to worry, and that the bombing should have little impact on our travel plans this week. We will be arriving late enough in the week that things should be settled down and cleaned up by then. I am to just stay posted in case any changes do occur.

It is strange. The airport, even the very same part of the airport, that I will be flying into in less than a week just got bombed, but I am not scared for my own safety. Maybe if they thought there was going to be a second attack later this week I would be scared. But they don't, so I'm not. Mostly I'm just sad for the people of Moscow and worried that they will probably have to keep dealing with horrible incidents like this one until peace is reached within their own country. America has its problems, but at least Texans aren't blowing up our transportation hubbs in order to try to create fear and make political statements.

Maybe I should be more scared than I am, but this is what I figure: Bad things happen and will continue to happen. Sometimes they will happen directly to us, sometimes they will happen to people we know, sometimes they will seem almost unreal because they are happening to people thousands of miles away in places with names we can hardly pronounce, and sometimes they will almost happen directly to us (as has been my case this week). To say we should not let them affect us at all or totally ignore them I think is absurd. However, I do not think we should let them or, rather, the fear of them keep us from living. Proceeding with caution is probably wise, but stopping all procedures will only make us unhappy and let the terrorists (in whatever form they will appear in) win in the end.

So onto Moscow I go.