By Eisen Teo

THE inevitable has finally happened: a Singaporean has died in a terror attack.

I say inevitable, because terrorism knows no bounds when it comes to geography or nationality.

In an e-mail to Indian media organisations hours after launching its attacks at 10 locations in Mumbai on Nov 26, the Deccan Mujahideen said the hits were retaliation for social, economic and political 'injustices' against Muslims in India.

Muslims make up roughly 13.5 per cent of India's population of 1.13 billion, the largest minority in a predominantly Hindu country.

What did 28-year-old Lo Hwei Yen have to do with years of religious conflict?

Nothing.

Scheduled to stay just one night in Mumbai on business, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The terrorists took dozens of hostages at first. But as the situation grew desperate, they decided to murder everyone, regardless of nationality or religion.

Ms Lo was shot through the head and abdomen. Some other victims were shot from behind.

This is not the hallmark of an organisation fighting for God or His chosen people. No God would ever sanction the murder of innocent human beings.

This was the work of madmen whose love of God had long departed from their hearts, to be replaced by mindless hatred.

But as the world grows smaller and more global, we have to contend with more and more of these deluded people.

It is not lost on me how each time we let down our guard and allow a sense of normalcy to take over, terror strikes anew at a pristine, peaceful place.

After the horrors of 9/11 and months of cranked-up airport security, terrorists packed vans and backpacks with explosives to kill hundreds in Bali - twice.

This time, despite previous warnings and ramped-up security, terror managed to make its way by boat into the magical city immortalised in literary classics by writers such as Salman Rushdie and Suketu Mehta. A separate study has warned that the United States can expect a terror attack from nuclear or biological weapons within the next five years.

Singapore is still untouched, basically. But with many Singaporeans travelling to far-flung places to work and play, we are easy prey for these harbingers of hate.

But what is the alternative? Hide at home in fear?

My emphatic answer is 'no'.

Do not cancel that overseas working trip or holiday. Do not let a gang of thugs disrupt our lives.

We should go on bravely, while staying vigilant and alert. Do not let our dreams be disrupted by what they epitomise.

I was cheered to know that cafes and restaurants near the burnt-out Taj Mahal Palace hotel, where dozens of tourists were killed, reopened for business as soon as the stand-off between terrorists and security forces ended.

The owner of the 137-year-old Leopold Cafe said: 'We will prove to terrorists by opening that we have won, you have not won.'

I take his words to heart.

Life is far too short for it to be taken over by a handful of gun-wielding madmen.

The writer, 24, is an honours student in history at the National University of Singapore.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 8 Dec, 2008.