Hellobee Boards

@travelgirl1: I totally agree.

Is it true that no one has come forward and claimed responsibility?

@looch: looks like ISIS had praised the attacks online, but no one had accepted responsibility.

Its morning here. When I went to bed, the death toll was 30. Now its 120. I'm completely heartbroken this morning. Terrible.

@SugarplumsMom: thanks. I'm ok. My husband's family doesn't live in Paris, but I have a lot of friends who do. I've been frantic to check and I've seen most people are "safe" thanks to Facebook.

Reports say that ISIS/ISIL/IS are claiming responsibility for the attacks. It's just sickening. I'm so sad.

I knew it would be ISIS or some other Islamic based religious extremist group the second I saw even the most initial reports. It always is. I'm getting sick of it. And I'm feeling very numb to it, sad to say, because it's stopped feeling shocking and much more expected. I've been following the situation with that particular group closely for the past few years and am just so over the terror and the hate and the persecution of so many people at their hands.

Praying for all in Paris today.

@lawbee11: http://www.today.com/news/paris-attack-heres-how-you-can-help-victims-survivors-t56011

@MrsSCB: @.TWIST.: @mrs. pen: Thank you so much - yes, thank God she is ok. Her line was tied up today, fast busy signal, which is strange because it's a U.S. number but she Instagrammed that she was shaken but safe.

@agold: I hope no one is surprised that out of more than 1 million refugees, some ISIS members would have infiltrated and snuck in as well. That helps their cause too, because by blaming refugees anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment grows. Which is what they want, and which is happening.

So far, several of the terrorists were French citizens, though at least 1 (last I heard a few hours ago) was a recent refugee immigrant.

@agold: seriously?! Just because a refugee is single, male and of military age doesn't mean he's a part of or will become a part of ISIS..

Also, where are you getting your numbers from? Donald Trump?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees — which refers refugees for resettlement in other countries — says there are more than 4 million registered Syrian refugees. Its figures on the demographic makeup of refugees is based on available data on the 2.1 million who were registered by the UNHCR in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. (Another 1.9 million Syrian refugees were registered by the Government of Turkey, and more than 24,000 were registered in North Africa.)
UNHCR’s data show that 50.5 percent of refugees are women. Females age 18 to 59 make up 23.9 percent of the refugees, while males in that age group make up 21.8 percent.
Even younger males — age 12 to 17 — represent 6.5 percent of refugees, while females that age are 6.1 percent. The majority of refugees — 51.1 percent — are under age 17, including 38.5 percent who are younger than 12 years old. These numbers were as of Sept. 6.

@Mrs. Pen: @MrsSCB: the immediate politicalization has been disheartening to say the least. Makes my heart hurt how callus so many others are.

@agold: I'm with you and thought the same thing. I'm terrified for the future of our country.

Everything about this is so sad and scary. Just awful.

@agold: from what I understand, the numbers of refugees are about 50/50 male/female as @catomd00: stated. I live in a place where refugees are transiting through and there are indeed a lot of young males, that I have seen with my own eyes, but many of them are fleeing so as to escape the military draft (in Syria), in addition to the extreme violence. I also understand that men will often come alone to Europe first, wait to be granted asylum status which in turn grants legal residency and then they are able to apply for family members to join them in the host country, and have them come through legal/safe means for those who can afford it/scrape together the money (by plane with refugee documents) instead of getting on a boat and paying smugglers to bring them in.

I encourage you to read this report on one refugee's escape to Europe to give you an idea of what the vast majority of refugees are going through. The overwhelming majority of refugees have one goal: escape the violence to live a better life. From the article:
“In Greece, someone asked me, ‘Why take the chance?’ I said, ‘In Syria, there’s a hundred-per-cent chance that you’re going to die. If the chance of making it to Europe is even one per cent, then that means there is a one-per-cent chance of your leading an actual life.’ ”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/ten-borders

@MrsSCB: I read that too. It really is such a sad and desperate situation. We firstworlders are so fortunate that we don't have to be scared for our lives and the lives of our children every single day.

"Not all refugees are terrorists. But one or two might be. Just sayin"

Most of your neighbours might be sane people, but one or two might be murderous psychopaths. Just sayin'.

Escalation to war will be imminent for sure The coming days with arrests/identifications are going to be really eye opening.

@looch: oh, I agree. You just never know what could happen. Anyone could wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I think you could argue that our daily lives are much safer, we don't have to be worried about being kidnapped or gunned down when going to the grocery store.

@agold: Regarding the refugees - our local news follow the group of refugees walking beside the highway on the way to Sweden - there seems to be a lot of kids. By kids, I mean toddlers with their parents. There was a piece posted a few weeks ago with very moving pictures taken by a photojournalist. The English title is called, "Where the Children Sleep" (warning, very emotional images): http://darbarnensover.aftonbladet.se/

@agold: if a terrorist wants to get into a country, they will figure out a way to do it whether or not the county is accepting refugees or not. Terrorists got into our country and flew our own planes into our own building. They weren't hiding among refugees. It's just silly to believe we shouldn't help refugees because one or two might be a terrorist. I mean, come on!!