ISVARI MOHAN: Paris attacks were attacks on us all

I have no jokes. I have no cute stories or words of wisdom. All I can do is hope.

On Friday night, more than 120 people died in Paris in suicide bombings, terrorist shootout, and a hostage crisis. More than 300 were hospitalized. Some of my friends were there. Luckily, none was hurt or killed. One barely made it out.

The Islamic State, the organization of psychopaths, claimed credit for it.

Attacks are on the rise all over the world. There were the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris earlier this year, which killed 11 people, and there are terrorist attacks all over the Middle East (including an Islamic State attack in Beirut on Friday that killed 43 people. There were attacks in Australia.

People have died unfairly. People will die unfairly. This has to stop.

And I have the slightest hope, today, that it will.

President Obama and the United States have opened their doors to stranded French citizens in the States and issued statements of solidarity.

European nations have said they stand with France and that terrorism is a curse we all face and have to fight together.

France itself has declared the Friday attacks to be “an act of war.”

Countries have come together and people have come together, as they always do in a tragedy. It’s not just the obvious people.

On Friday morning before the Paris attacks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a joint statement with his British counterpart David Cameron, saying that the two countries will work together to disrupt “all financial and tactical support for terrorist networks.”

Russia has “strongly condemned these inhuman murders,” and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that French pain is Russian pain.

China has “strongly condemned” the attacks and “resolutely supports France to protect its security and stability in the country and supports its fighting against terrorism.”

Israel stands with France.

Even Iran condemned the attacks and said that fighting terrorism requires international cooperation.

China, Russia, Iran, Israel, India, France, the U.K., the U.S., the rest of Europe, and almost every other country in the world stand in solidarity about something. This gives me hope.

All five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (China, the U.K., the U.S., France, and Russia) agree that something must be done, and together they have the power to declare this an international threat and deploy united military assistance to combat the Islamic State. The thought of a “world army” – U.N. peacekeepers, NATO-backed troops and Russia – fighting terrorism and ISIS gives me hope.

All around the world, people have tried to help, supported Paris with words, and used hashtags like #strandedinU.S. and #PorteOuverte to provide places to stay for the stranded. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and atheists have all condemned the attacks. This gives me hope.

I urge the Security Council, which needs the five permanent members and four more countries to vote yes, to come together and pass a resolution to fight and defeat ISIS.

I hope Russia and the U.S. can stop fighting the proxy war in Syria and focus on the enemy we’re both trying to defeat.

I hope that Iran and Israel can understand they’re both trying to stem the violence in the Middle East and that blind hate creates groups like the Islamic State.

Friday night was difficult for all of us as we emailed and called friends and family, sat glued to the breaking news, and hoped. The world has gotten too small for an attack in Paris to not matter halfway around the world, and it’s gotten too big for us to allow it to happen again.

I have no jokes. I have no cute stories or words of wisdom. All I’m going to do is hope.

Isvari Mohan is the author of the war drama, The Eyes of Mikra, a singer, and a Global Law Scholar at Georgetown Law.