May Man Be Kinder in 2009

Alas the curtains will come down on 2008. For some more resolutions will be made only to be broken yet again as the clock ticks past the midnight hour of 2009. Indeed many will be reflecting on the days and months that have gone by. For those who have put in effort to do something useful, they may be looking back with fulfilment. Others, it may well be precious time wasted as they find themselves left by the wayside while the world moves on.

Certainly there were many challenges in these past months, especially in the last quarter of this year. The not altogether unexpected economic downturn shattered the dreams of many. Jobs were lost, opportunities missed and the luckier ones only lost their year-end bonuses. The painful tragedy of Dec 2004 is still remembered when the tsunami killed thousands and left many more homeless. Obituaries still fill the newspaper pages to remind of the passing of loved ones. Indeed 2008 may also be remembered as the year where names like Nobel Prize British playwright Harold Pinter and US singer and dancer Eartha Kitt will be missed. Then there are the many others, unknown but fallen heroes who died in the course of their line of duty in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Pakistan, India including civilians killed because of senseless bombings by terrorists. Even as this blog is written, more are being killed in the Middle East as they will also be in the South African continent such as Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somalia.

Mankind is known to be great builders of cities and nations. Mankind is also known for its great civilisation, artistic talents and ingenuity in inventions. If the present carnage continues, mankind may well be better known for its work of destruction and mayhem. Let's hope that 2009 will bring good sense and civility to the leaders of the powers so that mankind can continue to build on its good reputation. That there will be greater kindness, concern and goodwill to all mankind.

Human Rights Abuses

Two dozen people protested outside China's Foreign Ministry to mark the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The end result was obvious in that they were all bundled onto buses and taken away. The significance of the event was not how they demonstrated or were arrested but that numbers who took to the street to voice their indignation. Governments every where tended to have a bad perception of humam right advocates. Many see them as "trouble makers" and others classify them as a "threat" to political stability. It is indeed a shame that basic rights are not widely followed by countries who are not just members of the United Nations but even those who sit on the Security Council. While I am not advocating that one should take to the streets to push for governments to pay more attention to human rights issue, I think the UN body should revisit the charter and look at how this matter can be given a new dressing and made more palatable to its wider membership.

There are so many countries where governments abuse their power and steam-rolled their way through to get things done to their advantage. The events in Zimbabwe is pathetic and given the ills that have beset the world's economies, free governments are not too enthusiastic to put their finger in lest they be drawn into a deep bottomless pit. While politicians look polished in their suits and lavish office, large parts of the people are dying of cholera and suffering from starvation.
Sudan and Myanmar are other examples where human rights are abused in broad daylight. But such abuses are not just confined to the Third World. We see absuses in developed nations which makes it difficult for anyone to throw a stone at the likes of Zimbawe and Sudan since everyone seems to be living in a glass house.

Meantime the people must suffer, finding solace only in the writings in their religious books where sufferings is seen as an atonement for past sins given by the Greater Being. Suffering is also seen as a way to greater glory in the life hereafter.