Descriptive Piece on War

Tens of comrades, brave and young. Their last wishes reduced to screams of pain, heard but never known. All they saw was the advancing enemy, the shouts of gunfire and their bodies crumpling to the floor as they drew their last breath. I saw the look of fear crucified to their faces, like masks of horror as I crawled, breathing the dust and smoke that clogged the air.

But that wasn't the worst part. It was the smell. It was the bodies that littered the floor, it was in the air, it was in the smell of gunpowder and blood. Spilt blood on the rubble, painted with bullets, the creation of hate and frenzy. Blood from people I knew, friendships borne and lost through war. People that I would never get to see again.

Why should we care about what happens in places far away from where we live?

So why should we care about what happens?

There are many reasons why we should care. Ultimately, anything that gets published on the news is a large scale event and will eventually affect us. For example, the earthquake in Japan has caused nuclear fallout and lead to radiation, putting countries such as Hawaii and the east coast of America at risk of radiation. Foodstuff from these few countries (and states) could be affected as well, posing possible risks to our health.

Some events that have been going on for a substantial amount of time get a little media coverage from time to time, such as the Egyptian revolution and the constant problems of terrorism and global warming. Such events not only affect us, but the whole world, and if we do not stay updated on these events, we may be seen as outdated and oblivious to global events.

Other events like the Thailand quake received less coverage, but it is still a disaster. Singapore is a multi-racial, multicultural society. We do not want to be seen as ignorant or as the chinese saying goes, "生在富中不知富“, meaning to be unaware of our own fortune that we are not hit by any natural disasters. If we were to be so ignorant about the current events in the world, what would the Thai community in Singapore think? How can a country be at the forefront globalisation if its people know so little about other events outside of the country? It will be detrimental to our image as a country if a Singaporean were to appear ignorant on international television.

In short, we should care about what happens in other places through the media and the internet because they might affect us, both directly and indirectly. Since we are a global trading hub, we also cannot afford to appear ignorant in front of other people from other countries.

Encouraging Letter

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/opinion/14iht-edmakihara14.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
162-0062 Ni-chome
Ichigaya Kagacho
Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, Japan

22nd March 2011

Dear Kumiko,

How are you and your son doing right now? It is worrying that you were affected by the quake because you are living in Tokyo. Are there any inherent problems caused by the earthquake? Please do reply. Having just read your article about the Japanese Earthquake and your experience, which I am sure was not a very pleasant one, I wanted to write this letter.

I was relieved that you wrote that you and your son are safe and well. It might get difficult from here on, the phone lines might be cut off but you still can communicate since the internet is up. But do remember, at the epicentre of the earthquake, thousands of people are having it worse, experiencing power shortages for weeks. My point is that since the quake and tsunami has already happened, you might as well look on the brighter side of things rather than be so negative all the time. Don't get so downcast all the time, it is not beneficial to your health.

It must be hard living in fear and anticipation since the earthquake happened, but it is heartening to hear that you have handled it so well. The worst is over. I’m sure the letters of encouragement are flooding in from your supporters and readers of that article right now. Your life might not be so good now, but hang in there! It will definitely get better soon. Send my regards to your wife and children for me!

Cheers,
Sean Koh