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More Bali Bombs (via CNA)

I’d write about the tremendous sense of repulsion I’m filled with when I think of terrorism, and the blind nature of these destructive acts, but my mind cannot even begin to fathom what these people must be thinking to inflict such damage on other innocent lives around them, nor the heartwrenching pain the victims’ families must be going through, in light of their incomprehensible and inexplicable losses.

Child Sex-Slaves (c.f. this, this and this, among others)

I’d try to put into words the kinds of torture I think the captors and pimps who kidnap children and force them into prostitution should be subject to, and multiply that tenfold for the parents who actually sell their kin into these industries because this way, at least the children are contributing to their families’ income, but I’d probably be checked into some mental institution for even harbouring thoughts of such violence and rage. Who decides which children get to experience an untarnished childhood, and which end up drugged and raped repeatedly before their first decade passes?

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It’s when I’m reading articles like these that my faith in the human race diminishes drastically. So many more thoughts swirl around in a whirlwind inside my head, and I want to put them all down, yet I can’t. We’ve come so far, as people – technology, science, arts, culture – yet when it boils down to the crux of the matter, how can we safely say that our standard of living has indeed been improved when so many people out there are being forced into such fields for their livelihoods (I’m not referring to those who choose to go into prostitution, as can be seen by the title “Child Sex-Slaves”), and when there are people who are dying left, right and centre for some deluded mind’s as yet unstated cause?

Granted, I am not of the same faith as these terrorist groups, and I do not claim to understand their standpoint. It’s beyond me to comprehend that a human being can inflict such grotesque acts of violence on his fellow mankind for no reason whatsoever, but can their driving cause really substantiate the murder of so many other people? It is not for me to say whether the pain that he has gone through really does justify some measure of drastic action, but why is his pain stronger, more important, than that of the victims’ families and loved ones?

(I can’t bring myself to write more about the child prostitution, the very act of selling/forcing a child into slavery – let alone sex-slavery – infuriates me beyond words.)

Sometimes, when I read about the fear being stricken in hearts of those all around different parts of the world, it makes me happy that I was born and brought up in a country where these problems are less rampant, comparatively. (I’m not denying their existence here either, I’m just saying it’s a good deal better and safer.) Then again, it leads me to wonder if the lack of political and social distress in Singapore is what leads to the predominant apathy that plagues my generation – for which we are constantly being castigated. (I know this is taking on a slightly disjointed turn, but just bear with me.)

If you ask me though, I’d take what we have over street riots, terrorism, black markets and slavery (of any sort) with political activism. Political apathy is by far the lesser of the two evils. It is, until it begins to translate into an overriding disdain for the welfare of others, less fortunate than ourselves, and Singapore turns into a state that doesn’t proffer a helping hand when our geographical relatives cry out in need.

(Vaguely) Related:
Petition
In Life, The Monsters Win by CowboyCaleb
Stop It, Damn You by j.
A Rant by notchet
Bali Bombed Again in Tomorrow

Note: Photo of 2 girls via Popagandhi. View also her Kolkata Set.

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