Food for thought

The year started off well for me; no, not with fireworks, or dancing on the streets or any form of revelry for that matter. As far as I can remember, I have never had a new year herald in that way anyway (and I have had a lot of new years, believe me!). It was enough that my loved ones were all in good health, alive and kicking, and I was still able to wield the vacuum-cleaner without hearing a bone creak. Alas, I spoke too soon.

Two weeks ago, about elevenish, I got an sms from my other half on the golf course, that said a relative died in a car accident in Brisbane. He was the son of a cousin - a young man, not quite 25, the same age as my eldest son. I hardly knew him as an adult as he had studied abroad and was out of the country a lot. Still, I remember him as a rather laid-back teenager with a sweet nature. And then there was Matheus Mersing August from Bintulu - barely 16 - but robbed of his life in school which should have been his playground, not his deathbed. The news of death is always baffling, to say the least. And somehow it becomes more difficult to reconcile when it is the passing away of a young life. Is it any consolation that "the good die young"?

My heart goes out to both sets of parents, strangers or otherwise. As a mother, I can only understand and share their grief, but can never begin to fathom the depth of their pain. I hope time will help them heal and they can find solace somehow.

But what saddens me more is what Matheus was subjected to at his school. Was it merely a 'ragging' incident among a group of immature schoolboys? Staggering thought, isn't it? There was ragging in my university days, but I have yet to hear of a beating case. What could possess such young minds to hurt one of their own in such a manner? If you had been reading the papers, you would recall that this is not the first of its kind. So don't tell me that this is a remote case, and then forget about it! Young people seemed to be easily provoked these days and their retaliation is nothing short of violence. Am I making a mountain out of a mole-hill? You decide; at least I know you are giving it some thought. If I still had children in school, no matter where, I would be careful, very careful...

So, does it still look like it's going to be a good year? I hope, I hope. After all, there is the education 'revamp'. Remember the Education Blueprint? It's only the 2nd month of the year, so don't blame me for being optimistic. The fact that the powers-that-be realised the need for changes in the national education system is already laudable.