A Case Of Charity

A middle aged man was sitting in his wheelchair at the end of a long underground corridor. Hundreds of people were walking past him, as they all raced to catch the next train. I was there too, walking a bit slower, trying to soak in the feeling of being back in Singapore again. Its amazing how fast people walk in Singapore on a Sunday afternoon.

I saw the man in the wheelchair from a few meters away as I walked towards where he was. As I drew closer I noticed his very skinny legs, his severely crooked body bent like wet cloth draping on one side of the wheelchair. Perhaps he had a severe case of backbone deformity. His head was tilted downwards to the point that he would not have been able to see anything but the floor and his own feet. I felt rather struck by the sight. 

As I walked closer to pass him, I noticed his legs trembling. In fact his whole body seemed to be trembling. As I looked closer I realized why he was so: He was trying to put a two dollars bill that a person gave him into a small pouch sitting on his tummy. That simple movement required so much energy for him to do.

I passed him and walked several steps before I stopped. I don't always feel like giving any money for charity, because there are many cases of fraud, or cases where a child or a handicapped person was used by someone "behind the scene" to collect money. But the sight of this man was enough to convince me that I should give something.

So I took a two dollars bill, turned around and went towards him. Instead of dropping the two dollars in his palm, I reached out to his pouch directly and slip it in.

The man once again made a great effort to move. His body began to shake again, as he mustered all energy he had to lift his arm. In his hand he held a bundle of tickets. That, apparently, was why he was there. He was selling some ticket. I did not know what ticket it was.

I was struck once again by the sight. I walked away waving my hand to him, to say that I do not need the ticket. He could not see me as his head was tilted downwards, so I just walked away.

As I walked towards the train my heart was warmed by his gesture. His resolve to be a useful member of the society despite his severe disability brought tears to my eyes.  I might have given him 2 dollars easily, but he had to put so much effort to give me something in return.  The charity was on me.

The Most Dangerous Disease

In the year 2007, when Barack Obama was emerging as the candidate for the US presidency, I was glued to the news channels following his campaigns.   I thought he was a much more thoughtful candidate compared to all the other candidates that were running; and, being a mixed raced person, he seemed to be more sophisticated than the standard white candidates.  I remember I was really inspired by his rise, by his message of hope. I bought his book and read it. I was even more excited as I watched his swift handling of the massive economic crisis that hit the world in 2007.  

Now in 2016, as I look back at Obama's last 7 years as a president, I felt quite disappointed.  The inspiration of hope that he exuded during his campaigns seemed to dissipate quickly, especially after he finished doing his emergency bank and auto industry rescue in the first couple of years of his term. I was expecting much more from someone who ran and was elected based on the message of hope.

I should first qualify that I think it is too much to expect one president to solve every problem in the world during his term in office. Furthermore, Obama has inherited a perfectly messed up country (and world) from a destructive and incompetent predecessor. But I think it would be fair to expect that at the end of his presidency, some evidence of hope should be visible.  At the very least, the root causes of the problems he inherited should be dismantled, controlled, or eliminated all together.

Unfortunately, after 7 years in his job, much of the causes of the serious problems in the world are not smaller; instead they are bigger and more dangerous. The banks that wrecked the economy in 2007 and was rescued 7 years ago are now bigger than ever, despite Obama's promise to make them smaller.  The oil industry is getting even more destructive with fracking, and he allowed them to do so despite the evidence of damaging environmental problems they create. The US economy is perilously fragile, more fragile than when he took office. Like a former US senator said, in the last 8 years alone, the USA has doubled the debts that it has accumulated over more than 200 years. Furthermore, the USA has been printing money out of nothing, making it the most indebted, delusional economy in the world. In the mean time, despite the trillions of money being printed, its middle class is getting ever closer to poverty.

I can go on and on to list out all the worrying things that has occurred during Obama's presidency.  At the end, despite being a huge fan of him 7 years ago, I have to admit now that Obama is not a president who brings out hope to the world. He is a so-so president; a better option to the other really bad candidates that he competed against, but that does not say much at all.  Obama is a mixed race person and it was a big deal for the USA. Unfortunately, the first black president might only be remembered for that fact alone, and not much more. In the mean time, whoever is going to take over his job will inherit an even more fragile and more precarious situation than before.

Here is the thing.  Obama is probably a very decent person, a talented human being who loves his family and wants to do his best at his job.  But as well intended, intelligent and energetic as he is,  he did not seem to have the depth of understanding, the wisdom and most importantly the courage to fix a systemic disease that has infected his country. Seemed like somewhere in the middle of his presidency, he realized that the disease is much bigger than him and he did not know how to solve it. The disease is called capitalism, and many people in the US believe that it is their ideology.

The most concise description of this disease was said in the movie Wall Street, when Michael Dauglas' character said "greed is good".  While greed has been a part of human history ever since we exist in this world, it has found the most fertile ground in a capitalistic society.  A capitalistic society does not only allow greed to flourish, it promotes it, builds a powerful system around it and protects it at all cost. 

Capitalism is a powerful disease.  It is a virus that nobody has been able to beat over the last century. The most famous fight against it happened in the 1960s during the rise of an opposing ideology called communism. But communism itself was such a flawed concept and adopted by several brutal governments that it died a really violent death.  As the winner of the battle of ideology, capitalism virus spread like wildfire, expanding from its incubation country of the USA to all other countries that opened itself up to the idea.  By the later part of the 20th century, even the biggest communist country in the world, China, has been severely infected by capitalism.

Like many diseases, capitalism needs a carrier to be able to spread; and it found an excellent vessel in the form of global corporations, many of whom have used greed as the fuel for their existence.

Capitalism is also so strong because it attacks deep into human being's psyche.  It created an illusion that the more money one accumulates, the more prosperous one would be.  At the same time it triggered an acute sense of fear to those infected; a fear of losing the prosperity.

This fear has driven corporations to drop any moral guidance and do anything to accumulate more money.  It in turn cause rampant corruption and no country is spared from it. It has led to so much pollution, over production, and lifestyle of excesses in the world.  It has led to war over oil that has happened so many times in the last century.  It has clouded the very basic nature of humanity, compassion, and replaced it with ruthless competition.

The virus does not only infect the corporations. It infects so many people in the world through the mass media, capitalistic minded education and passed on from parents to their children. The infection is so acute that some people could respond violently to any criticism towards capitalism; as if they have just received a terrible insult.  Some others react with ridicule and cynicism, branding anyone who seeks alternative to capitalism as nuts, crazy or even dangerous.  Some others resign to the situation and said "well, I do not see any better option". 

Capitalism is the catalyst for war.  It is the catalyst for the uncontrollable global pollution to the sea and the land.  It is the reason why the income gap between the rich and the poor continues to expand.  It is the reason why modern day slavery still exist. It is the reason why corporations keep exploiting the earth irresponsibly. Capitalism has to be stopped, and everyone has to get involved.  The later we act, the worse it will get.

Gratefulness

How does one express gratefulness in a meaningful way?   I often struggle to express it even at the joyful moments of my life, because words are cheap.  I do feel grateful, very grateful for so many things. But as I count my blessings, I know that my friend somewhere is grieving as he just lost his son to illness.  Life is fleeting; one moment of pleasure and one equal measure of pain may come one after another.  One moment of joy may be followed by one moment of sorrow, and vice versa. 

Life is a continuous journey, with its ups and downs. Gratefulness should always be above them all, beyond the daily dramas of our lives.  It should be ever present regardless of where we are in our lives journey.  Gratefulness should be there in pleasure and pain, in joy or sadness.  It should be a state of being, a glowing light that shines even in the darkest and most depleting moments.  

Gratefulness is most meaningful when it is expressed through action, not words. It should be reflected in everything that we do, the choices that we make, the gestures that we give.  When our action is guided by a sense of gratefulness, it will fill our hearts with joy. With gratefulness in our action, hate has no place to exist.

Easter Misalignment

The street was so quiet today, at 8 am on Easter Sunday.  I guess people would either be in church or still be in bed.  I am guessing that this pleasant quietness would soon disappear as people would go out to celebrate Easter. 

Somehow I am not feeling very celebratory today. Yes Jesus has risen from the dead - just like he has every year, around this time. Time to go to church and fall asleep during the priest's homily.  Time to hunt for some Easter eggs afterwards.  Somewhere in the bible Jesus told us to do that. 

Bah humbug!

Before anyone calls me the Easter Scrooge, let me stand to differ,  Unlike Scrooge, I am not feeling grumpy.  I am feeling misaligned.

I saw just yesterday, in the eve of Easter, the news about the mass death of hundreds of thousands of fish in the coast of Florida. The coast was filled with silvery carcasses, so many that no trace of sand can be seen in the photo.  There are several theories behind this.  The water is getting warmer and the fish can't stand it.  The salt water content is getting diluted by the dumping of dam water to the river. There are some other theories in the article that I do not remember.   

When I saw the news I thought to myself: How am I, as a human being, supposed to feel about it?  Isn't that event some sort of environmental warning that something is going seriously wrong? Wouldn't I be freaking out if hundreds of thousands of human beings drop dead in one day for whatever reason?  Wouldn't we all be in an emergency mode? 

Oh wait, the news channels no longer mention it today, so the problem is gone forever.  Jesus has risen from the dead. 

There are so many other massive problems going on that has come and gone in the news like they never happened.  The Fukushima nuclear disaster - the threat of contamination of the water still continues but the world seemed to have forgotten.  The plastic waste accumulating and getting bigger in the ocean.  The irresponsible logging and destruction of forests, the pollution of water and air by the irresponsible corporations. The irresponsible mining activities everywhere.  They're still happening at full speed.   Is this what humanity is all about? 

But wait!  Today is Easter, the time to celebrate. 

No to Democracy, Yes to People Power

What is this thing called DEMOCRACY?  If there is any word that defines how messed-up, confused and lost humanity is, it is this word.  

It is defined in the dictionary as "a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity ... are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly"

Ever since the 20th century and continuing until now, The United States has been overthrowing governments, waging wars, invading other countries and intervening in other nations' affairs in the name of spreading democracy.  Here is a country that was created when the white immigrants from Europe VIOLENTLY took over a land from the native american people 3 centuries ago. It is a country that is, at the present age, still very far from acknowledging or fixing this mistake and its other mistakes in the past.   Today in 2016, it is a country that is still obsessed to vote for the defender of status-quo like Hillary Clinton, or a tabloid quality bully like Donald Trump.  

How could the USA fix the past problems if they can't even acknowledge it?  Clearly, the current leadership of the country is as delusional as ever.  President Obama did not seem to learn from the errors of the past in intervening with other people's governments and toppling its leader; instead he wanted to do it once again in Syria. Meanwhile he continued to make ignorant statements like "we are the greatest country in the world".  The only past leaders who speak like that are those who has chauvinistic illusions.  I can imagine Donald Trump doing that if elected president.  I thought a non-white who has had the chance to live overseas in the past would be wiser than that.  

So there it is, a country that goes around the world preaching democracy like it invented it and owns it. I am sorry for this brutal analogy, but a country that invades others in the name of democracy is no different than a murderer who kills because he/she feels spiritually more enlightened than the victim.  It's beyond crime.  It's mental illness. 

But I should clarify my view: Just because the USA hijacked the word democracy and made a mockery out of it does not mean that the idea of people power itself is bad.  People power, which is the original essence of democracy, makes a lot of sense.  People power is a better alternative than mad dictators or monarchs. But the process to channel the power of the people into governance differs in every society.  Each one of them is not perfect, just like us humans.  Therefore nobody should try to impose one's way on others'.  Just like the best of human nature, the process of channeling people power into governance will continue to get better as long as the society keeps trying.  

A Papua Story

I am sitting in a tiny Suzuki minibus front passenger seat, with its window open to allow air to come in.  It is humid in the old cranky car with no air-con; and without the air from outside, I would have been sweat-baked in no time.  So the dusty breeze blowing on my face was the better option.

Despite this simple, time-worn public transport, the ride is quite enjoyable.  It is my second time to be in Sorong, Papua, but this is the first time for me to stay for more than just a day.  So I have the chance to get to know the city a bit better.

Sorong is a small town full of life.  I can imagine massive coastal cities like Mumbai or Singapore were once like Sorong before they became a city everyone wants to go to and eventually the metropolitans that they are.  A strip of road thread the coast, linking the tiny airport in the east and the small sea port in the west, all within a 10 minutes ride.  Along the way I see little businesses from hawkers selling fresh sea food to mom and pop retail shops to small distributors of building materials.   I see a large, nicely designed blue-white mosque prominently standing not far from the port.  I see a couple of signs of “buddhist vihara” as I pass by a bit further to the west.  I see a few newly built hotels, all of them hanging red colored lantern with some chinese characters at their front porch (it’s coming close to Chinese new year).  I finally stop in front of a row of coconut vendors, all of them women of the local tribe.  The coconuts, large and freshly picked, were laid out invitingly.  I and my three colleagues that came with me from Jakarta spent a good half an hour enjoying the delicious fruit. 

I am enjoying this little town, where many things coexist promisingly in one strip of road.  It’s a land that has been transformed into a small town no longer than 25 years ago.  From the perspective of the indigenous people, many has changed, many migrants from all over Indonesia have made the town their home.  Yet if we look at the women selling the coconuts by the sea, we will be reminded that it’s the land of the Mooi tribe of Papua. 

“Mooi people are open minded people”  my business partner mentions as we sit together in the tiny poblic transport.  He himself is not a local.  He came from the city of Surabaya as a business migrant, one of the seemingly many who came more than 15 years ago, when the town began to grow.  “Unlike some of the other tribes that live in this town, the Mooi people are welcoming and are willing to learn something new”, he continued.

I had the chance to meet a few Mooi people a few days earlier as I spent three full days at the cargo port, taking care of my business. I did not have the chance to talk to them very much, as they were busy working, unloading my cargo from a few containers at the port.  Frankly, I can’t tell the Mooi people from the other tribes that have settled in Sorong too; but I know some of them are.

I am in Sorong because I am expanding my business here.  To do so I have to find a local partner, and we managed to find one before we came.  In the last 3 days my colleagues and I had to train and supervise him and his crew at the port.   Everything went well thanks to him and my colleaugues who did a good preparatory work.  Our partner was well prepared, well supported by the local workers, fully dedicated and quick to learn.  We finished the work well within the timeframe we planned for and left the port feeling excited for the possibility to do more business in Sorong again in the future. My skin is noticably darker than it was when I arrived.  That’s what you got if you stand under the sun at the port for 3 full days.    

Back in Jakarta, it is very easy to have negative perceptions or be intimidated by the land of the Papua, the farthest province from the capital.  People tend to talk about the bad things that happened here, and the media only makes it worse as they report only the sensational bad things. 

So it is very heartwarming to hear my business partner say that the town of Sorong has become what it is thanks to the openness of the Mooi people.  The many migrants that are working and living in Sorong came from all backgrounds, from the island of Sumatra, Java to the island of Sulawesi. From the presence of the large mosque, I can imagine a fairly strong population of muslim people who may have come from Java and Sulawesi. From a couple of budhist vihara that I saw,  I learned that there are also a fairly established buddhist community in town.  There is also the christian influence that came from the Dutch occupation earlier in the 20^th century. Sorong is a small cosmopolitan, a town that is not only rich with natural resources, but also with an exciting mix of cultures and background.     

However this town is not spared from the many troubles that are happening as the modern life entered.  There most common talk in town is the wars that are often happening between the tribes.  There are different tribes who have settled around the town of Sorong, co-existing with the local Mooi tribe.  Time and again, tension flared among them, and hostility lead to another level of hostility.  The fights are often violent and destructive.  A local supermarket was recently vandalized badly during one of the wars.  I asked the public transport driver how often does this happen, and he told me “often”.  

Related to this is problem is the serious pandemic of intoxication and poor state of being of the native people.  Some of the immigrants I talked to perceive this as a problem of the native Papua people, who are often branded as lazy and addicted to alcohol and drugs.  But I refuse to believe this; I refuse to believe that a certain race is more “prone to alcoholism” or more lazy than others.  The Papua people got into this problem because of something has happened to them in the past; something unjust, something that violently took them out from the lives they know and comfortable with.  The fact that the problem worsens is only a testament that the cause of the problem is getting stronger, not weaker.  

I don’t have to search very deep to find similar problems everywhere else.  Just look at the displaced aborigines community in Australia, who also struggle with alcoholism, violence, drug abuse, lack of education and poor living condition.  Or look at the native american communities who struggle with the same things in the american continent. 

We have to face it: modernization and migration that violently displace the indigenous people, make them worse off from their earlier lives and ignorantly dismiss their problems are not good progress.  It is no different than looting at the grandest scale.  It is colonization at the highest and most shameful degree.  It is happening right now, and worsening every day.  Just because the indigenous people do not go to the media to scream and shout about it does not mean the problem does not exist. 

To be continued…