Terrorism in indirectly affected populations

Abstract

Terrorism continues to significantly affect people throughout the world. Research of perceptions of terrorism and the threat it poses has focused on cities where terrorism has taken place and such studies generally focus on psychological stress. A smaller domain of research has studied indirectly affected populations. This research is particularly important as very few cities in the world witness terrorism on its streets yet people everywhere feel the affects. Indeed, it is the nature of terrorism to have an impact on a target audience outside of the victims of terrorist violence. Cities in the same country where terrorists have struck are also potential targets and people in these cities experience many of the impacts. But what of people in cities geographically distant to terrorism? In a world where mass communication and transport continues to ‘shrink time and space’ the impact of terrorist violence is likely to be significant in distant locations. This is the case in Melbourne. In a city that lies 16614 kilometers from New York and 16762 kilometers from London this research has found that people experience an acute awareness of terrorism and the threat it poses. Interviews conducted on December 5, 2004 in a retail organisation in inner city Melbourne are presented. The outcomes are alarming and demonstrate the impact of terrorism far from the death and destruction.