SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2024
Learning to respect human Lives
Since some years there is an active movement particularly in the American sub-continent with the hash tag #BlackLivesMatter, enlightening the world to do away with racial discrimination in any form and to value a person not by his complexion but by his capabilities. In the past slavery was present even in a leading country like the United States and it took massive efforts from the President Abraham Lincoln to abolish it and uphold that every human life matters irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. However it is not easy to change human thinking and this great US President had to pay for his benevolent act with his life.
I still remember a rapid reader that I had read in school ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, on the injustices faced by the Black people even to the extent of being killed mercilessly. We feel sad that though centuries have elapsed since slavery was wiped out by law its trail still persists in some countries and there are repeated racial persecutions by some of the whites, though thankfully majority of them are for equality before law without any such archaic biases.
In this backdrop it is fitting to highlight the brutality demonstrated by a White US cop some days ago by pinning to ground a Black person and crushing his neck under the weight of his knee suffocating him to death, over a complaint filed on alleged counterfeit bill used by the victim. Yet another example of excesses committed by the police misusing its authority!
There is terrible unease in the US over this repugnant incident with wild demonstrations against the police cruelties with even Hollywood celebrities and IT CEOs expressing their solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Four police personnel have been fired and various charges filed against them. The incident has added to the woes of the Americans already cornered under the Covid-19 rampage that has infected close to 2 million people and caused over a lakh deaths.
While pointing out this incident it is worth stating that in our country too there are many persecutions faced by the people albeit on communal lines, like the butchery let loose on the innocent cattle traders or meat consumers in a couple of North Indian states. What is the level of condemnation over such equally outrageous incidents in our country, where cow finds primacy over humans?
Michael Vaz, Merces
Board exams; how big a part of life
“Tenth standard is the most crucial time of one’s life”. This statement is said by almost everyone, it haunted me most when I was in the exam hall. Rewinding back to when the exams were nearing, I was preparing for my exams and as the day approached, we were hit by the pandemic and the exams were cancelled. What was to happen was unknown.
A month later, the new exam dates were announced but there were objections from several parents and many were sure that the exams would once again be cancelled, causing uneasiness among students. Despite the disagreement among people, the board stood firm with their decision to conduct these critical exams.
A single day before the exams, I remember thinking to myself “Will I perform well in my exams or swill I not?” The dreaded thought stayed with me the whole night. I thought that if I did badly, I would fail my entire life. I felt like I was being locked up in a dark room, completely over-come with fear and it did not allow me to eat, sleep or think properly Finally the day arrived and the exams passed.
In the end I realized that it was just one part of my life where I felt stressed and scared. What I understood was that, like the board exams, there will be many obstacles in life which we must face no matter what and these situations mold us into a better person for tomorrow.
Remember, “You may lose the battle but not the war.” if you fail in your exam doesn’t mean you have failed your life.
Harrison Emilio Coelho do Amaral, Aldona
Mega conference must be convened
Political leaders, economists, eminent industrialists, prominent environmentalists as well as religious leaders have to meet in a mega conference to chart out a way for boosting sustainable development with high emphasis on employment generation as a prelude to post-Covid-19 policies to be taken so as to stimulate the high potential of rapid growth with poverty alleviation in the country.
India is on the cusp of a great revolution that can be sustained methodically through increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country by a prudent industrial policy in keeping with agricultural needs than can catapult India into the world stage post-Covid-19 and towards the target of making India a progressive and vibrant democracy that will be global centric with transparent foreign investment so as to make India a manufacturing hub that will also lay solid emphasis on environmental equilibrium so that climate change and global warming concerns are addressed in a sustainable manner.
Covid-19 has taught us that a large percentage of the Indian population is not sharing much in the industrialisation of India and the poverty-stricken population has to benefit more from India's prosperity. Let none be left behind.
Elvidio Miranda, Panjim
