Safe

I woke up to this newspaper headline this morning.

RIOT BREAKS OUT IN LITTLE INDIA:
POLICE CARS, AMBULANCES SMASHED AND BURNED AS MOB OF 400 TURNS UNRULY

At first, I thought it was a bad joke. I mean, this is Singapore we're talking about. We're safe, aren't we? But reading on, finding more news sources to read from, watching the videos and reading the same shocked Facebook statuses... It was true. 

I like to consider myself desensitised from watching violent movie after violent movie. Riots, people overturning vehicles, officers getting injured... I thought I'd seen it all. But watching the video made me feel otherwise.

Sure, the riot could be considered small compared to other riots around the world. But what made it scary to me was the fact that it happened in the country I considered home. This was a place about an hour from my house, a place I knew how to get to. I could literally take a train there. I think what makes this scarier than all the other riots I read about is how personal this feels. Someone I know could have been there. It was a Sunday night, and it's the school holidays now. Friends I know could have been in Little India shopping with their friends or family, maybe getting a drink to brace themselves for another week ahead. Someone I know could have been hurt. And what made me feel even worse was the fact that even after reading the various news reports, I still couldn't understand why the riot broke out. I know it was horrible that someone was knocked down by the bus, and I know it was terrible that he died from the accident, but I still don't understand why and how the riot broke out.

What were they rioting about? That's the question I want answered more than anything else.
And although I'm insanely tempted to grab my camera and head over to Little India, that's the one thing that people shouldn't do - please try your best to avoid that area for the next few days!

An incident like this will lead to a lot of finger-pointing. Many people will be taking part in the blame game that's bound to follow in the next few days, but whoever's reading this... Please don't. Now is a time for everyone to be quiet and reflect instead of making decisions based on their emotions. It's going to be a very emotional next few days for everyone, and rushing to blame others is only going to make matters worse.

I don't have much to say about this, but please stay safe, everyone. 




Looking at the pictures and videos, it's difficult to believe this is the same safe country we've been living in all our lives. In a sense, maybe we've only known our safe little bubble for too long. Maybe that's why this scares us so much.

Comments

  1. SiegiusDecember 9, 2013 at 3:22 PM

    Safe is an illusion we all create to keep ourselves from worrying. There is no such thing as "safe", only safer. If we were truly "safe", we'd be locked in a padded cell where nothing can get in or hurt us. People sometimes forget that peace and safety don't last an eternity. Condolences to the family of the poor chap that was knocked down, but from what I understand, he was crossing the road illegally. Don't mean to point fingers, this was a sad thing to happen.

    ReplyDelete

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