IT was like any other day when Tamworth woman Emily Paddison crossed the Westminster Bridge in London on Thursday morning.
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But by that afternoon, the city she has called home since 2015 was plunged into chaos, as news of yet another terrorist attack rung out and fear took hold.
Five people were killed and dozens more injured when a vehicle mowed down innocent pedestrians on the Westminster Bridge just after 2.30pm local time.
The car then crashed outside the parliament, and the man got out of the vehicle and ran through the parliament gates, before stabbing a police officer.
Police stormed on the area and locked down parts of the city, as Scotland Yard declared the attack a terrorist incident, sparking a counter-terrorism investigation.
Two Tamworth women shared their story with The Leader – first the utter shock, but then the sense of unity triggered by such a horror act.
Tamworth’s Karlie Muller, who now lives in Brixton, summed it up when she said it was important to not let the attack affect the way we live.
“Australians all have a close bond over here and we know we have each other and it feels as though London is uniting to show we aren't afraid,” she said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan shared the sentiment.
“London will never be cowed by terrorism,” he emphatically declared in a statement after the attack.
It’s a statement that we all must not lose sight of.
Sadly, terrorist acts seem to be on the rise across all corners of the globe.
No person deserves to live in fear.
Sadly, it can be an everyday reality for so many people.
But it is important that we not let an act of evil define us or they way we live.
Instead, we must pull together in our darkest hours. Awareness and education must win out.
We need only look at this latest London attack or the Je Suis Charlie campaign that ensued after the terrorist attack on Paris satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, in January, 2015, to realise the healing power when a community pulls together.
A community, city, country coming together can be far more powerful than a minority act. Our thoughts go to all those affected in this attack and all the others. Let us never be cowed by terrorism.
