The Cycle Begins Anew

Welcome to 2008!

Don't pay heed to anything you might hear to the contrary - it's going to be a great year!

How do I know this? Well, I reckon your situation is what you make of it. If you decide it's going to be a great year, then it will be.

That is not to say that the actual problems around you will disappear just like that. Unfortunately there is no quick fix, no magic formula that will transform the juggernaut that is our country's problems into a beautiful pumpkin. What will change however, is our desire to do something about it.

I recently received a beautiful email from Jaclyn who wrote from UAE where she now works. A Malaysian who grew up in Brunei, she returned for college and university and then worked for 5 years in her homeland.

In those years, she grew to love the people she knew, yet grew more fearful and paranoid of those she didn't. The stories of crime in her neighbourhood stoked her fear of being a victim. Her paranoia grew so strong she slept with her car keys in her hand and the daily return to a dark, empty house was tortuous.

She now works in the UAE where it's safe and crime is rare. I'll let her continue her story:

'I now work in the UAE and it's a 360-degree turn over here.Handbags are left in trolleys in the markets, on the table in an open office, in cars with the doors open and engine running and so on. I walk without fear of being bopped over the head just so someone can take the fifty bucks in my purse and all my credit cards. I was still paranoid when I first arrived and clutched my bag to me, staring menacingly at people coming too close in shopping malls and hid my colleague's handphones whenever they left them on the office tables, but slowly, I came to trust a country that I was just starting to know. It saddens me to think that we don't have the opportunity to feel safe and secure back home.

A month ago, one of my closest friends in KL was hit unconscious while she was walking back to her car just so they could take her bag. She was in ICU for a week in a coma. I was distressed as were my friends who could just keep me informed every now and then to let me know what was happening. This friend was a successful lady who had just gotten married last year, moved into her new house three months ago and started her own business two months ago. She's a hardworking person who always spares time for a smile and a 'hello, how's your day' for all but to those guys who hit her, she was just another RM100 or more, depending on what's in her handbag. She is out of coma and now recovering, praise the Lord, but no one has told her what has happened and she thinks she tripped and hit her head on the fall. The reality of the incident would paralyse her with fear.

Bear with me here, I am reaching the point of my mail :-) From the day of the incident till just before I read your blog, whenever anyone asked me about Malaysia, I would tell them that it was a fabulous place rich in culture and religion, but I would always end with - but be careful as it's really dangerous, hang on to your bags, be careful in crowds and the taxis rip you off. I was proud, yet ashamed of my country and it pained me. But reading your blog brought a sense of peace within me... reading about the genuine kindness and hospitality of the Malaysians in the small towns you cycled through and the truckers. So there still ARE Malaysians who look not at what you have but who you are - another Malaysian, just like them!

I really can't explain how much this meant to me. But let's just say that I'm sniffing little tears of pride for the home country :-) I'm really very happy you had other Malaysians to encourage you and make you feel at home.....at HOME.'

Yes, although Mei and I were indeed a little concerned about my personal safety, the ride went very well indeed. At no point at all did I feel threatened or fearful for my safety - well nothing that cycling on major roads doesn't throw your way anyway.

It was gratifying reading Jaclyn's email. Not just because I had a part to play in her feelings towards her homeland, but also because it illustrates that change can happen - if only in your heart.

And that's a great place to start!
Post to del.icio.us