"It is not Paris we should pray for, it is the world"

Facebook users from across the world have been joining together to pay their respects to those affected in Paris, by overlaying the French flag across their profile pictures.

Millions of people have customised their profile pictures after the online social networking service encouraged them to “support the people of France and the people of Paris”.

But some people claim atrocities in other countries have been overlooked, seemingly because they’re not part of the accessible westernised regime.

The action received a mass of attention on social media, but not everyone agrees that this gesture will support the terror attacks and many people feel that there is selective treatment and grieving.

“It is not Paris we should pray for, it is the world” wrote Indian blogger Karuna Ezara Parikh, in a poem shared by thousands since Saturday. More than 40 people lost their lives when they were killed at random in a double suicide attack in Beirut, Lebanon just days before the terrifying attack on Paris.

Famous monuments around the globe lit up in the colours of the French flag, presidential speeches were made and Facebook even activated Safety Check, a feature allowing users to mark themselves as ‘safe’ for natural disasters to let friends and family know the status of their wellbeing, but the same services were not offered after the Lebanese attack. 

Receiving even less attention was an incident in Baghdad, when at least 18 people were killed and more than 40 wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the funeral of a pro-government Shi’ite Muslim fighter.

But one journalist summed up a possible reason behind this. Charlotte Farhan, editor of the online magazine, Art Saves Lives International, explained “if I did this for every attack on the world, I would have to change my profile everyday several times a day.”

Parikh wrote, “say a prayer for Paris by all means, but pray more, for the world that does not have a prayer for those who no longer have a home to defend.”