Over the last few days since the fateful downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 from Amsterdam, I've been reading many different articles and news reports pertaining the tragic incident.
I've seen political posturing from powerful presidents to poignant stories of those who had lost loved ones in the tragedy.
But a recent article I read has irked and upset me so much that it has moved me to write this. This was the op-ed piece by Wong Sai Wan, the editor-in-chief no less of the Malay Mail, entitled, "MH17: We must not forgive, we must not forget".
My apologies but I found this article a bit too emotional and not very well thought through. Yes we are angry. And yes we want the perpetrators brought to justice. But, with all due respect, I do not think suggesting we start WW3 are words of a rational man. Also I don't believe executing these perpetrators will bring an end to the civil war in Ukraine or anywhere else for that matter. If that were true, the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein and his top commanders should have turned Iraq into a peaceful, thriving, economic powerhouse instead of the war torn country that it currently is.
Unfortunately, I don't have an easy answer but I do know that wars don't resolve anything. As pointed out in the article, the Americans entered WW1 after 128 American civilians were killed when the ship they were on sunk after being torpedoed by a German sub. Yes, they entered the war and helped defeat the Germans. But in slightly over 20 years, WW2 had begun and claimed more than 40 million lives.
So do forceful acts in the name of retribution bring the desired end results, I think not. Thus, I don't think that to avenge the death of 298 persons, we need to start a war and kill millions of other innocent lives.
I do agree with one point made in the article, "we should not forget". However, what we shouldn't forget aren't the perpetrators and their acts of crime but instead the different people who were on the plane and their contributions to the world. Whether, it was researching to find a cure for AIDS or entertaining the masses with their appearances on Malaysian sitcoms or by attending every game of their favourite football club.
We should make them martyrs! We should go forth and find new cures, entertain more lives and probably win the Premier League in their memories.
Dedicate these inventions, innovations and triumphs to them.
If jihadist soldiers or communist rebels can use their fallen brethren as a catalyst or a "call to arms" and continue to kill in their name, we should be able to do the same... With one big exception, instead of ending things or lives, we should be creating solutions for the big problems we face to prolong life and allow it to flourish.
So remember Dr. Joep Lange when you create the next breakthrough vaccine. Or remember Shuba Jaya Goes when you pen your next play or movie. Or John Alder when you lift the Premier League trophy high above your heads.
Peace and love to all.
