It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.
I found the below from a back issue of ASIAN GEOGRAPHIC...
Franz Kafka
I found the below from a back issue of ASIAN GEOGRAPHIC...
"Glue allows the kids to lose touch with reality; it numbs their sensation and this helps them to forget hunger and the pain of street life. It is an addiction, a 'brain food' they cannot live without."
The above words were accompanied by three pictures of children addicted to glue-sniffing from the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia - two in the act, and one lying semi-consciously from the effects of the sniffing. I have heard and read of glue-sniffing many times before, but this was way too compelling for me to flip through as just another page I've read, and not reflect further on it.
Reflections, no matter how worldly one's intentions are, often point back to one's own situation. I am no exception.
I looked at those pictures, read those words again and again, and my mind diverted to the hullabaloo Malaysia went through recently - one during which harsh accusations of racism, inequality, injustice were the talk of almost every Malaysian Indian household.
Malaysian Indians claimed they were unfairly treated, "activitists" fasted for weeks (or was it days) in retaliation, some "activists" were imprisoned and yet won the general election from behind the bars, the world famous Thaipusam festival was boycotted by many Hindus (poor Lord Muruga, how powerless YOU became then as opposed to politics/politicians...YOU finally realised I hope that in the minds of Malaysians, the objective of Thaipusam wasn't YOU after all. If it had been so, would they have boycotted you just because some political figure was linked to your temple. Time to reflect eh, Muruga? ), creative blogs turned political, and every tom, dick and harry (probably would sound better as Samy, Ah Chong and Ali - this being a multi-racial setting and all) talked politics and injustice for the sake of talking politics and injustice (sense of belonging was grossly missing till then among the community, you see).
Indeed, a hullabaloo it was.
I have lived on this land for 39 years. Yeah, I have had my days of being overlooked over a less-capable native; and probably I did end up paying (without even knowing or being bothered) extra tax charges for the pizzas I had eaten over the years (for further details, ask any other Malaysian you know, and you will be generously fed (no pun intended) with info on the WE REFUSE TO EAT PIZZA AT PIZZA HUT issue), and yeah, probably a few temples were demolished at places where I had lived over the years...
But I look back at the article on children lying on streets high on glue because they have no food to eat...and I am trying, even as I am writing this line, to figure out a way in which I can claim - in all truthfulness - that I too, can relate to that.
Can any other Malaysian, for that matter...? When was the last time we saw our kids suffer to that extent? (I am talking about the general situation in Malaysia - a scenario brought about by the economic and political situation).
And yet, look at us...
(I am at a loss for words at this point)
Reflections, no matter how worldly one's intentions are, often point back to one's own situation. I am no exception.
I looked at those pictures, read those words again and again, and my mind diverted to the hullabaloo Malaysia went through recently - one during which harsh accusations of racism, inequality, injustice were the talk of almost every Malaysian Indian household.
Malaysian Indians claimed they were unfairly treated, "activitists" fasted for weeks (or was it days) in retaliation, some "activists" were imprisoned and yet won the general election from behind the bars, the world famous Thaipusam festival was boycotted by many Hindus (poor Lord Muruga, how powerless YOU became then as opposed to politics/politicians...YOU finally realised I hope that in the minds of Malaysians, the objective of Thaipusam wasn't YOU after all. If it had been so, would they have boycotted you just because some political figure was linked to your temple. Time to reflect eh, Muruga? ), creative blogs turned political, and every tom, dick and harry (probably would sound better as Samy, Ah Chong and Ali - this being a multi-racial setting and all) talked politics and injustice for the sake of talking politics and injustice (sense of belonging was grossly missing till then among the community, you see).
Indeed, a hullabaloo it was.
I have lived on this land for 39 years. Yeah, I have had my days of being overlooked over a less-capable native; and probably I did end up paying (without even knowing or being bothered) extra tax charges for the pizzas I had eaten over the years (for further details, ask any other Malaysian you know, and you will be generously fed (no pun intended) with info on the WE REFUSE TO EAT PIZZA AT PIZZA HUT issue), and yeah, probably a few temples were demolished at places where I had lived over the years...
But I look back at the article on children lying on streets high on glue because they have no food to eat...and I am trying, even as I am writing this line, to figure out a way in which I can claim - in all truthfulness - that I too, can relate to that.
Can any other Malaysian, for that matter...? When was the last time we saw our kids suffer to that extent? (I am talking about the general situation in Malaysia - a scenario brought about by the economic and political situation).
And yet, look at us...
(I am at a loss for words at this point)
NOTE : I am not a member of MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress), or any other political party in Malaysia. There is not a single "political bone" in me. Heck, I don't even vote...!
For more information on Cambodian/world street children, click here
For more information on Cambodian/world street children, click here
