In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States, we have all lost track of one thing; this kind of thing happens almost every day somewhere else.

They show up as secondary stories in newspapers: tales of genocide in Rwanda, stories that trickled out of the Gulf war about civilian deaths, suicide bombings in Jerusalem plus bombings, violent conflicts and murder in Northern Ireland,the siege of Sarajevo and the countless other violent acts that happened during that conflict, and the situation in Kosova.

Why wasn't there such an outpouring of grief for any of them? So many of those victims were innocent, too.

Yet we turn a blind eye to things that don't affect us.

We've been too complacent here in North America for too long. We are the safe continent; not even the Second World War reached our soil.

The last act of war targeted at the United States from another country happened in 1812. Nothing has ever made us fear for our lives, until now.

Now, we see our own vulnerability. It was too easy. Our countries were integrated when we had our backs turned.

The victims of this recent tragedy were innocent. They did not deserve their fate, but we are too quick to forget the fates of countless others around the world.

The fate of Afghani women under the strict Taliban regime, the fate of young Israelis or Palestinians in a nightclub when a bomb went off, the scars left on Catholic school girls after being pelted by a Protestant mob during their first few weeks of school in Northern Ireland.

We look away. It's not here, it isn't us, it's so far away. There are so many. It seems overwhelming.

I was watching the news today. It showed a survey of people asked in the street about how we should treat recent events. One man said: "I think we should treat it as if it were any other country."

The truth is, if it were any other country, then we would probably ignore it. I hope that what has happened will show us that we are not immune - and when this happens again in some faraway place, we will not ignore it.