●EDITORIAL● Deliberate bushfire: an act of terrorism?

As seen on the October 2019 issue of The Philippine Sentinel

The bushfire season in Australia has started early, and it’s not even summer yet. Soon after Spring has started on September, at least 130 bushfires have been recorded in Queensland and New South Wales.

According to The Guardian, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, more than 5,000 people have been forced from their homes with no timeline for return due to an out-of-control fire at Peregian Beach and Peregian Breeze Estate. It is believed that many of these bushfires have been deliberately lit ━ an act of arson. But why should anyone commit arson?

In a country where there is very tight security, terrorists will resort to anything to pursue their objective. The use of high technology and sniffer dogs at domestic and international airports make it difficult even for homegrown terrorists. What else could they do? Destroy forests with the hope of also burning homes and killing people inside?

We all remember what the ilks of Osama Bin Laden did on September 11. Two aircrafts were used to attack the Twin Towers in New York. In the process, they killed at least 3,000 innocent people ━ Americans, Asians and other nationalities. American Homeland Security did not expect such a thing to happen, but it did.

They now look for other means to terrorize people. Indeed, Australia has Forest Rangers looking after a vast area of land. But somehow, arsonists are still able to sneak in and start fire that is difficult to contain. They do it at a most opportune time when there is gale force wind that fan the flames making the fire uncontrollable.

It makes us wonder. Is the Immigration Minister doing enough to protect Australia?

Many believe that so-called refugees actually seek a better life by wanting to come to this country. And yet, many of these migrants have become homegrown terrorists. Maybe it is time to impose stricter rules on migration or close our doors until we are happy that the country is secure.

━ DMC

Updated: 2020-01-29 — 11:18:21