Barely a week after the terrorist attack outside the Houses of Parliament, I paid a visit to lay flowers and pay my respects. Walking out of the Westminster tube station, the street scene was as frantic as usual, only the presence of armed police in the station and its environs suggested that anything was an exception to the norm. 

Visiting the seat of U.K. democracy has always been a moving experience but this time the sight of the stately building took on a somber hue. Walking amongst a crowd of people similarly laden with floral tributes I could feel the waves of anger rising. I spoke with several onlookers who had come to pay their respects, both locals and tourists, and the abiding sentiment seems to be bemusement at how a local man could so easily turn to terror for no apparent reason. There was admiration too at how quickly and with so little effort the British people are able to unite in their grief at a time like this. An anti-Brexit rally was ending as I arrived and the placards and banners mixed in with the flowers underlined the need to continue the normal routine of democratic life in the face of adversity.

The British spirit has proven to be indomitable, reflected in how quickly Parliament was able to reopen and go back to it's daily task of governance while the possibility of further more devastating attacks remains high. 

Since the emergence of organisations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS more and more youngsters have been radicalised while the rest of society has looked on in shock and horror. We seem powerless against this although organisations such as the Quilliam Foundation have tried in vain to re-educate and stem this tide.

If this attack was designed to divide, it has had the opposite effect. A demonstration of unity by Muslim women on Westminster Bridge a few days after the attack has reflected the increasing disgust many Muslims feel towards those who perpetrate violence in the name of Islam. Certainly in Westminster there were many Muslims amongst the mourners, ordinary everyday folk who wish to live their lives in peace.

As I stood in front of the floral tributes watching the heavily armed guards at the gates of Parliament laugh and joke with those coming to pay their respects I had and continue to have faith in the resilience of the country of my birth. A nation that has come through two World Wars, IRA attacks and the July 7th bombing will I am sure find a way to defend itself against and defeat this new threat to ensure a better and brighter future for all its people.

Shoaib Salim, Farringtons School