The main goal of terrorism is to spread fear and anxiety amongst the civilian population. Terrorists want to break down the population’s daily security; replacing it with a climate of terror that changes our lifestyle. Unlike what happened in Paris, where the target of the jihadists were journalists who had insulted Allah, in Tunisia, the victims were regular people who were simply on holiday.

Ordinary people who are going to work or on vacation are the preferred victims for terrorists. These victims are favored because hitting them gets the best result. The whole world has identified with the ideas of the journalists who were slayed in Paris. In this case the terrorists have received a response to their attack. They have failed to defeat freedom’s ideals as represented by the magazine called Charlie Ebdo. The Bardo Museum attack on the other hand was hit because it affected ordinary people, who were on vacation. The foreign tourists had not offended anyone, certainly not Allah. From Tunis, the terrorists’ message comes clear: nobody should feel safe and this concept is amplified, loudly, by the mass media.

Funeral of italians victims in Turin
Funeral of italian victims in Turin

These days Italian television channels broadcast images and video of what happened inside and outside the Museum: people who ran away, their screams, and Tunisian police responding to the terrorist attack. A few days after the museum was hit, a journalist reached the city of Savona, where he met with the passangers of the Costa cruise ship “Fascinosa,”  to interview the survivors, emphasizing this word, survivors.

Some of the passengers who were in the area of the Museum or near the victims were swept away by the interviews. Were they tired? Were they afraid? What was the worst moment? Interviewees – not many thankfully – responded logically led by a sense of insecurity and fear more than anything. How should they respond? They were victims twice over, once by the terrorists and then a second time by media stupidity.