Thankfully no one with T&T origins was killed or injured in these incidents, but the people of this country, especially in the light of this close connection, share in the shock and the concern for Canada as it deals with the aftermath of these assaults. T&T already knows first-hand about the grief, trauma and long-lasting insecurity that can be caused by terrorist activity, having been subjected to a large-scale attack from within in 1990.
Wednesday's attack on the Canadian parliament and the attack on a soldier the previous day came as a shock not only to Canada but to the world.The reasons behind them have not yet been made clear; information is still being gathered. But the man involved in Tuesday's incident was described by Canadian authorities as having been "radicalised"; the attacker in Wednesday's murderous incident, identified as 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, is said to have been acting alone.Reports are that he too had recently become "radicalised" and had wanted to travel to Libya to study.
The two incidents, as the Canadian Prime Minister pointed out, made it clear that "Canada is not immune to the types of terrorist attacks we have seen elsewhere around the world."While it is a prosperous developed country, Canada does not pursue an aggressive foreign policy and is known for its embracing attitude to multi-culturalism, an approach which has led to many people from this country finding a warm and welcoming second home there.Thankfully no one with T&T origins was killed or injured in these incidents, but the people of this country, especially in the light of this close connection, share in the shock and the concern for Canada as it deals with the aftermath of these assaults.
T&T already knows first-hand about the grief, trauma and long-lasting insecurity that can be caused by terrorist activity, having been subjected to a large-scale attack from within in 1990.The recent reports of young men from this country finding their way to the Middle East to fight on behalf of the fanatical Isis group is doubly worrying: while it might expose this country to outside attacks from opponents of Isis, there is also the possibility that some of these home-grown Isis adherents may remain here as sleeper agents.National Security Minister Gary Griffith responded to the Canadian incidents by saying he and the local security forces had done a risk assessment on T&T's Parliament two months ago, and reminded that he had ordered armoured personnel carriers, used–after the fatal attack–by the Canadian authorities.
No doubt Mr Griffith meant to assure citizens of his ministry's preparedness, but he must also be on constant guard against complacency.If anything, he should consider this a security wake-up call and another sobering reminder that we live in a transformed world.Just days before this attack, Canada had raised its terrorism threat level from low to moderate and earlier, this month the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that they were investigating 63 national security cases and 90 individuals with potential links to terrorism.Zehaf-Bibeau himself had recently been designated a "high-risk traveller" by the Canadian government and his passport cancelled.
Even after that, this week's attacks, aimed at the centre and symbols of the rule of law, were not averted.It is testament to the skill and responsiveness of security personnel inside and outside the Ottawa parliament building that there were only two fatalities.There are painful but useful lessons to be learned from this attack. The most important is that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance; those words are truer than ever in the 21st century.