by Meghan Quinn
Skiing, luge,
ice skating…and terrorists? I never
thought terrorists and louge went together that well, but apparently the
terrorists think otherwise. The 2014 Winter Olympics are about to begin, but
just where are they being held?
Sochi, Russia,
just miles outside of the infamous war zone, has been chilling threats over the
past few weeks. Threats like, “as for your Olympics, something that you really
want, we’ve prepared a present for you. You do your business and we’ll do ours.
We’ve prepared a present for you and all that come over,” have been on all the
news stations from CNN to Channel 5 News Boston. Just weeks ago a suicide
bombing in nearby Volgograd, Russia took place, killing 34 people by the same
group issuing these threats.
Although the
bombing in Volgograd had nothing to do with The Olympics taking place or The
United States, it is still a serious matter of international relations. According
to Joshua Cook, writer for The Ben Swann Newsletter, “Last summer in a meeting
with Vladimir Putin, Prince Bandar bin Sultan directly threatened Russia with
terrorist attacks to persuade the Russian president to withhold support from
Assad’s regime.” The Saudi Prince then
offered Russia a multi-billion dollar arms deal, and along with control over Europe’s
oil supply. Cook reported that following Russia’s rejection of the Prince’s
offer they also issued threats toward the Russian
Olympics in 2014. Among the threats Bandar issued included, “I can give you a guarantee
to protect the Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea next year.
The Chechen groups that threaten the games are controlled by us” (Cook).
With
Middle Eastern turmoil striking again, why don’t they just move the games? Whose
bright idea was it to have them in Sochi anyway? Do you think a worldwide event should be held
in such a tense area of the world? Judging by the amount of money spent on
security, 2 million dollars, Russia was never going to move the
games—especially since Russia has spent almost $51 billion dollars on the
Olympics, making it the most expensive yet, including the summer games.
Sochi is no
stranger to safety concerns. Remember way back when when all the homosexuals of
the winter games were feeling a little unsafe? According to BBC News, Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor of 2014 Winter
Olympics host-city Sochi, said that there are no gay people in his city. If you
were gay, would you feel safe or welcomed in Sochi? Pakhomov, a member of
President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, said that homosexuality is not
welcome in his region, but that it would welcome gay people with “hospitality”
if they respect Russian laws. It is a little funny that Putin wanted the Winter
Olympics to be held in Russia so the world could see the “new” more “welcoming”
Russia.
The
Olympic Committee should have never even thought Sochi could host the games safely.
But then again, things like the Olympics shouldn’t be compromised because of
our differences with other cultures. The entire reason for a lot of these
problems is because we do not understand each other. I am not saying you and
me, but America, and places like the Sochi area. Does anyone ever think to just
calm down with the terrorist threats, the money, and the thoughts of something
always going wrong, and maybe just try to understand what makes people like the
Boston Bombers, and the Sochi Bombers do the things they do, and vice versa?
The Olympics are supposed to be this high, positive energy event that brings
the entire world together all wanting the same thing, but maybe if the entire
world took some of that golden Olympic energy and used it to try to understand
our differences, things like the games could go on peacefully.
But hey, I, along with many other
people, will probably be thankful to watch the games from the comfort of their
couch, rather than standing out in the stands.
Works Cited
Cook, Joshua. "Volgograd Bombings: Who’s behind the Terrorist Attacks
in Russia?"
Benswan.com. N.p., 1
Jan. 2014. Web
"Sochi
2014: No Gay People in City, Says Mayor." BBC
News. BBC, 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Jan.
2014.
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