By Sylvia Chen
“Because it’s not okay.”
David Begbie’s words still echo in my mind even after a few weeks. It was a wake up call for the many times I brushed things aside, thinking that everything will be okay.
In school, we studied about poverty and wars; In the news, we read about refugee crisis happening outside this little red dot; On social media, we shared videos about human trafficking and slavery. We are so aware of all the problems in this world, but we do not act on them, perhaps because these problems seem so distant from us privileged folks. Or it could be because we think that we are simply too small and not competent enough to truly make a difference.
This is not okay.
Before the symposium itself, we traveled to Halong Bay together and even stayed on the boat there for one night. Surrounded by mountains and endless sea, I felt like I could do anything and I could be anybody. Feeling adventurous, I suggested to our tour guide for a ‘jetty jump’, overlooking the fact that I do not know how to swim. Nonetheless, I was up for it until I stood at the edge of the boat and “I can’t do this” escaped my mouth. After I said that, it truly felt that there was no way I could jump into the ocean wearing a bright orange life vest. As I was hesitating, a good friend came over and gave me a good push. (Thanks a lot)
Looking back, it reminded me of what Professor Arrowood from Northeastern University said during the Symposium – “Suspend the rules.” Rules here do not refer to the traffic regulations or school rules that keep our society in order, but the rules that we unknowingly place on ourselves, restricting ourselves because of fear. Perhaps we all need that extra little push to go beyond the boundaries, to experience the liberation from the limitations and to feel the exhilaration for doing something that we never thought we could. Every time you think that you are lacking or cannot accomplish something, I urge you to suspend these rules that you place on yourself.
There was another speaker that left a deep impression on me. David Begbie is the spokesman for Crossroad Foundation, a social enterprise based in Hong Kong that collects superseded goods and redistribute them to people in need. “Because it’s not okay,” he said.
Indeed, the idea of changing the world sounds incredibly daunting and far fetched even. But, we need to stop thinking that someone else will do it. Social psychologists call this bystander effect and it is not rare to have nobody going to a victim’s help, especially when many others are present. A conscious effort has to be made. If not you, then who will do it? This Symposium reinforces how privileged we are and perhaps the only thing we have done right so far was to be born to the right family. This privilege of birth, albeit inevitable, remains unfair if we take everything we have for granted.
I visited Bắc Ninh Province Leprosy Dermatology Hospital during the learning journey section of the Symposium. Leprosy is a contagious skin disease that when severe, can render the patient handicapped and disfigured. Yet, I was not afraid of contacting the disease at all, because I know as a Singaporean, I will be able to receive medical care to cure it. It was precisely this assurance which came to me naturally that made me mad at the unfairness of resource distribution in this world. These patients were tortured by this disease for practically their entire lives, only because they could not receive medical attention at an earlier stage. They have so much lesser than us, when they are the same humans as us. They enjoy the same things as we do; they believe in the same God as we do; they love life as much as we do. I met a patient by chance and she invited me to her room for a chat. Without any locals, I could not understand a single word she was saying, but the emotions in her eyes – desperation to break away from this disease and despair when her prayers went unheard – are universal and need no translation.
That was the moment I decided that I cannot be content with my life anymore. There is so much more I could have done instead of spending time on useless things like Korean drama or social media. There is a long way to go to change the world, but that does not mean we should not start now. Change starts from within. Perhaps as the academic year progresses, we will be inundated with school work and our own commitments but I hope that, as how Pope Francis said: “Do not be content with mediocrity, with simply going with the flow, being comfortable and laid back.”
