The price of indifference
18 February 2011
BY DAVID KITCHNOGE
An entry in The Crocodile Prize
I heard her cry
She’d lost her child
But I didn’t bother
She wasn’t my child
I saw her begging
She wasn’t educated
But I didn’t bother
She wasn’t my child
I saw her being robbed
She was vulnerable
But I didn’t bother
She wasn’t my child
I heard him swear
She was being abused
But I didn’t bother
She wasn’t my child
I lost her today
She was stabbed
And I made a fuss
She was mine
I pleaded for support
She was precious
But no one bothered
She wasn’t their child
David Kitchnoge, a regular contributor to PNG Attitude, is a manager with Deloitte Corporate Finance in Port Moresby
Hi Lydia - I am humbled to know you liked my poem and want to teach children at CUMA to recite it. Please go ahead and do so. You have my full permission.
Posted by: David Kitchnoge | 19 February 2011 at 02:14 PM
A good poem by David sums up the present situation in PNG very well.
Because of consistent indifference by successive administrations since Independence, the people feel their government does not care for them as a people or nation.
Amidst the daily hardships faced by every PNGean, the feeling everywhere is: it's them or us!
People do not want to get involved if it does not concern them or may affect them adversely. It's somebody else's worry and problem. Don't get involved!
People will ignore you and your problem until it affects them. Then they will cry out for help to bystanders.
You see this in the streets of Port Moresby or elsewhere in PNG. There is no good Samaritan around when you most need one.
People can see what is wrong with the government and the whole country. But no one wants to be indignant about the wrongdoings or be whistle-blowers. They are told (by either subtle or direct threats) to mind their own business, or else...
The inaction is a result of fear for personal safty.
S0 when a grave situation befalls them and they seek help from those above and below them, they get no help.
Pity how PNG has become this way. It was not like that before. The whole country has become indifferent because it is consumed by pure materialism.
The people has become indifferent to others: both towards locals and foreigners.
How can we change our mindset from it's not my problem to it's common concern? Let's all help each other and get it fixed now!
Posted by: Reginald Renagi | 18 February 2011 at 07:53 PM
That is so very true David; and heart breaking.
“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him” - Pablo Casals
Thank you. With your permission I would like to teach our children at CUMA to recite your poem.
Posted by: Lydia Kailap | 18 February 2011 at 06:27 PM