Christopher Young, 2002
The surface of the table was scarred and stained with a complex pattern of coffee rings and cigarette burns. Incoherent scrawlings and obsenities overlapped each other completing some lines and destroying others. An overflowing ashtray sat in the middle over which a shadeless bulb hung. The stench of wet smoke and the blur of the voices in the hallway clouded his mind.
This emptiness would haunt him forever. The inate will to mould his ideas and express his thoughts had driven him as a young man. To have this taken from him – especially so non-chalantly – had shattered him.
It was neither the silence nor the threat of reprisal but rather the twisting and splicing of his words that had cornered him and cut out his tongue so brutally.
Michael felt so weak and had not spoken for the longest time. He could do nothing but stare coldly at the battered door across the room.
The shelves were bare and the owner was sweeping the floor as the boy entered the store. The old man had expected him earlier that day and had set aside a few things; a small loaf of bread, flour and some salt. He thanked the storekeeper, packed everything carefully into his bag and pulled it over his shoulders.
The boy stepped outside into the shade of one of the few trees left in the village. He liked the coolness of its breath and the rustling of the leaves. Pausing, he looked up the potholed street and watched a small dust cloud twist and writhe. It forced its way into the cracks of the old houses and into the hearts of villagers.
It had not rained for months and they found themselves staring at the walls and their accusers, the hatred burning their eyes in the form of bitter tears.
‘Strawberry, Boysenberry, Caramel, Mocca, Mango, Pineapple, Banana, Vanilla, Chocolate, Double Chocolate, Triple Chocolate, Yoghurt, Coffee or Chocolate Chip?’
‘Can I pick more than one? Like three or four scoops?’
‘Of course; in a cone or a cup and with how many scoops?’
‘A cone please … with three scoops.’
He picked up a cone, ‘Now, which flavours would you like?’
‘Can I have … strawberry, … mooc, no … ummm … double chocolate and … boysenberry?’ His mother glaring at him, ‘… oh yeah … please?’
The man took the cone and scoped first the strawberry ice cream – the boy’s eyes followed his hand eagerly – then the chocolate – his mouth opened slightly – and then the boysenberry – his eyes now wild.
‘Would you like a biscuit, a chocolate stick or sprinkles with that?’
‘A chocolate stick please.’
He proceeded to push the stick into the ice cream and passed it down to Thomas. ‘Anything else?’
‘No … thank you.’
His mother paid and they walked off together, the boy clutching his ice cream, totally oblivious to the world around him.
Almost as shocking as the events of last September was the awareness that many people were incapable of fathoming why something like ‘that’ might happen. This ignorance would suggest that many countries seriously need to re-evaluate their media, social and educational systems to include more than just the viewpoints of the ‘hero’ and diametrically opposed ‘villain’. A fundamental goal should be to give the population enough uncensored and unbiased information that they have the opportunity to form and develop their own opinions. It is an unfortunately common misconception that the public are too stupid to be able to do this themselves.
Various western cultures have to learn to take responsibility for their actions and realise that their politics are just as answerable as those of a ‘guilty’ minority. It doesn’t solve problems to heighten walls or to demonise people. What is required is a serious change to conflict resolution. To best deal with an issue you should study the source rather than simply treat individual symptoms – it is simple logic that you might be able to stop a sniffle but that doesn’t necessarily cure a cold. Too often short-term token solutions are offered for political gain and are insensitive to the actual issues involved.
The greenness was suffocating. It crawled in through his nostrils and stung his tearducts. The pungent smell of ammonia burnt his throat and left an acidic dryness on his tongue.
The man entered the room; his eyes fixed on the pieces of paper in his left hand. He read and re-read the scribbled results, occassionally nodding, checked another point and nodded once more. Rua noticed that he was hesitating to make eye contact with him.
As a boy he had been told how his ancestors would head out to the then fruitful fishing grounds. He also left the harbour every morning but returned each night with less and less in his nets.
‘Sorry Rua.’ The doctor paused, struggling with the moment. ‘It is dangerous and we’ll have to remove it as soon as possible.’
He looked into space and shuddered, his head hurting. ‘But doesn’t that happen to people who smoke?!?’ he cried, ‘I haven’t smoked a cigarette in my life!’
The doctor could do nothing but look at him with his sad and tired eyes.
She sat in darkness. The air was cold and a light wind brushed across her face like a fleeting caress. She pressed her left ear to her shoulder and shuddered, remembering the closeness of touch and her distant memories of warmth.
The bindings cut into her legs and she felt the blood running slowly over her ankles. Her bare feet were cold from the wet floor.
Once a day a hand would feed her and she would beg it to untie her blindfold. The hand always remained silent and constant, ignoring her sobs.
She kept her eyes closed; the feeling of her eyelashes brushing against the material had sickened her. There was neither light nor sound in the room and when she spoke there was no echo. All she could sense was the cold grey smell of wet concrete.
Diversity: An opposing or different view has to be seen as potential constructive criticism and not immediately as conflictual. Diversity and freshness are vital for the development of contemporised tenets. The will of a countries people should also be held sacred regardless of another countries political or financial interests.
Multiculturalism: Many countries have to learn to accept that they are significantly multicultural and not – as some claim – monocultures. A priority should be the integration of the associated issues and concerns into their social, media and educational systems. This will help to minimise demonisation.
Punishment: The value of one person’s life should not be seen disproportionately to that of another. In a mature society each person – irrespective of race, religion or gender – has an equal right to quality life. It has happened too often that governments have been willing to sacrifice or ignore the lives of innocent people – both directly and indirectly. Indefinite imprisionment without charge, murder and torture are crimes wherever and however they might happen. Only when all countries are judged and punished equally by an impartial body – regardless of oil output, market potential, veto powers or political biase – will people accept global politics or initiatives willingly. “It’s ok because they’re ‘the villains’” is also an unacceptable and extremely dangerous standard that can be – and is – easily exploited.
Media & Military Terminology: Couldn’t we also call the incidents in Washington and New York ‘Collateral Damage’? This is the harsh reality that the relatives of all military victims have had to live with in a recent history of War as a mail-order catalogue or media spectacle. Death is not glamourous, a killer is not a hero, war is not a sport and television networks are not legal systems unto themselves. With the widespread coverage of world events potentially innocent people and groups are often being portrayed as criminals and then being asked to prove otherwise. The Media must be made responsible for their actions so as to ensure that a high standard of impartial and authenticated information is maintained.
The red was intoxicating and smothered all. It crept in under his skin and saturated every one of his senses. When the wind blew the field undulated like a sea of blood that bewitched all with the beauty of her dance. There was however hastiness in everyones work that did not allow long moments of contemplation.
The work had crippled him. Waves of pain and hunger stung his thoughts into a continuously spiralling scream. His back was twisted and he could no longer sleep. The skin on his arms and hands was a ruin of dry flakiness and sores. His eyes were burnt as red as the fields and dark rings of skin distorted and aged him beyond his eleven years.
The flowers were pretty but they smelt of death. It seemed a shame to pick them.
She paused, took a breath and stood silently. Annette let her eyes wander over the sea of white powdered faces. Her standing had not disturbed the dustiness of the room and she sat quickly and quietly back down in her chair.
The blur that was the combination of their voices, the boustrous slapping of hand on twead, tireless laughter and the endless clash of cutlery with porcelain was like a shot of saltwater into her sinuses. She felt dizzy in it and held the table to support herself. She reached in amongst the faces desparate for one that might have caught her glance, but the room was empty to her existance.
The lamb still bleed ever so slightly – as it should – and the red wine was pungent but not overbearing. She felt weak thinking about any attempt to attract their attention let alone to begin her speech. The feasting was in fullswing and she dare not pull the bone from a furious animal.
Annette looked once again around the room in search of some sense of real purpose, sighed once in resignation and then also cut gingerly into the bleeding flesh before her.
Tolerance and acceptance has a lot to do with awareness, openness and dialogue. Cultures can co-exist. It is a matter of making compromises, being considerate of sensitive issues, using mature responses for conflict resolution as well as everyone being able to swallow a little pride.
Danger situations can be averted. It however requires that egos and diverse playground rivalries or alliances be set aside.
It would’ve been easy to write an essay detailing how the freedoms of so many people had been sacrificed long before the events of last year – often by the ‘heroes’ themselves. I find it insulting that it is only an issue once events happen on American soil or to Americans.
The lack of effectual compassion when events did not involve any sort of financial benefit to the ‘hero’ or his ‘friends’ is an obscene trait that should not be maintained.
The question shouldn’t be ‘How much freedom should we sacrifice for our security?’ but rather ‘How much pride should some of us swallow for EVERYONES security?’