The revengeful cycles of violence continue in the tragic Moscow Concert Hall attack. ISIS-K, accusing the Kremlin of having Muslim blood on its hands in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Syria, claimed responsibility for the retaliatory killing of more than a hundred Russians. 

In 2005, while providing medical care to Chechens, during the Second Chechen War, I witnessed civilian atrocities committed by the Kremlin. By looking the other way for too long, the world empowered Putin’s aggression. As he continues to wreak havoc on lives today, his invasion of Ukraine devastates the population. 

Putin has used his trademark playbook of denial, deflection and projection to commit civilian atrocities and terrorize the population into submission in Syria and Georgia without any consequences. This historical lack of global resistance to Russian aggression enabled an alarming creeping normalization of Putin’s waging unprovoked wars. He was able to continue his murdering of innocent civilians in Ukraine. Sound familiar? Finally, the world suddenly seemed to wake up; the International Criminal Court found him guilty of committing war crimes in Ukraine. 

State terrorism is about the intended destruction of its target. If you are fortunate to survive, these violent acts linger to psychologically intimidate. Putin’s henchmen are indiscriminate in their targeting civilians, including myself. 

In 2005, during the Second Chechen War, I was poisoned by an FSB agent while providing medical care to Chechens1. This was only one of a multitude of horrendous civilian atrocities in Chechnya, which was only made worse by witnessing the world’s depraved indifference in not protesting Putin’s totalitarian war crimes. But even though physically debilitated, I refused to allow myself to continue to be terrorized by remaining silent. Mouth wide open for me. 

My grandiose, impulsive reflex was a desire to bring down Putin. But by reluctantly bowing to reality and momentarily excusing myself from the political canvas, I turned inward to learn from my trauma. Ironically, these circumstances became a well-earned springboard to understanding terrorism and surprising new perspectives around transcendent healing. 

The brutal oppression of Chechens is mirrored in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The retaliatory violence in the Middle East—more than 13,000 Palestinian children have been killed since the Israeli assault began 2—nullifies the virulent sides reifying the retaliation because in truth this is an intricate test of our belief in the sanctity of human life. While the world argues left/right and chicken/egg, Palestinians are out of time. Where is the world’s outrage at such catastrophic proportions for the continuing pageant of the desecration of human life in Gaza? 

By slaughtering Palestinians and depriving civilians of food and water, Israel is only furthering cycles of resentment and breaking international laws of war. A U.S.-backed war by Israel, at an unbearable cost to Palestinians lives, is more likely to feed further extremism than crush it 3. Israeli retaliatory war only revives and redoubles the convention of antisemitism. Such futile, never-ending cycles of violence proves Gandhi was right: an eye for an eye will leave the entire world blind. 

My spiritual journey took me from the organized sanctioned elimination of human life to an alternative path which promises to lead to restoration of  wholeness, compassion, and belief in the sanctity of human life. In turn, my goal is to offer hope to the wounded to choose an alternative to violence by living a life of balance fueled by a new perspective. How does a citizen maintain their light in the short-sighted, reckless world today? 

 When we turn our backs on the plight of the oppressed, insular self-interest deepens. This furthers the marginalized sense of hopelessness and desire for retribution, which only perpetuates continued cycles of violence. Failing to meet the needs of the alienated is more than morally indefensible, it has powerful reverberations and threatens the lives of all. The oppression, starvation, and illness of others—whether it be in Chechnya, Gaza or NYC— are ultimately our own. Willful inaction makes us participants in crimes against humanity. If our country wants to eradicate mass terrorism, we must aspire to have greater empathy for the marginalized.

REFERENCES

1. Cerfolio, N. (2023). Psychoanalytic and spiritual perspectives on terrorism: Desire for destruction. Routledge.

2. Labs, AJ. (2023). Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: Live tracker. Aljazeera.

3. Cerfolio, N. (2023). The only true revenge for terrorism is achieving peace. The Daily Beast.