BATTLE OF THE TWO GIANTS
Give Peace A Chance
There have been some circulation of e-mails containing gory pictures taken during the Japanese Occupation (1941 – 1945) to harbor more hatred among the Chinese, when tension between the two great nations is already at its height.
As much as I try hard to avoid reading/ talking about depressing stuffs like politics, this one tugged closely at my heartstring.
I remembered a story my late grandma told me about her close encounter with the Japanese. At that point of time, rice, sugar and salt were controlled items. My grandma and my first aunt (she was just two years old) boarded a bus to visit my great grandmother. The bus was stopped by the Japanese mid way for a spot check.
My grandmother was worried that they would kill her and confiscate a handful of rice in her bag, intended for her mother. She was pregnant with my mom at that point of time. Being quick witted, she placed some old clothes and piled my baby aunt’s poo (shit) on top of the nicely wrapped, handful of rice. She told a white lie that beneath the clothes in the bag, contained nothing but some old clothes and my baby aunt’s poo. She advised the soldier nicely not to mess with it if he didn’t want to get poo plastered all over his hands.
The soldier fiddled with the bag for awhile with his bayonet, saw the poo, and then let her go. It was a close call. She was so much more fortunate compared to others who didn’t survive the war.
I believed, if the Japanese were really THAT mean, they would probably ripped the bag off, then my late grandma would not be able to live up to a ripe old age of 84, my first aunt and my mother would not live till today.. and I won’t be here, telling the world about it. Probably, she was just damn lucky.
However, it is beyond our comprehension to understand why humans could do such despicable act to cause grievous harm to a fellow human being. Not only the Japanese, the wars of the world told us nothing but despicable inhuman stories of the Serbs, the Talibans, the Nazis, etc and the latest, the barbaric torture of the prisoners of war in Iraq.
We are not in any position to estimate the substantiality of the damage/ emotional/ mental/ physical trauma caused during the war. My heart would break into pieces whenever I read about wars anywhere in the world. It is so fucking useless. Why civilized people still go to war to solve problems?
With regards to the tension between the two great nations, our main concern here is, we shouldn’t be dwelling on what had happened in the past but to learn not to repeat the same thing ever.
Let us pray hard that this inhuman cruelty would not surface again in this world, and our children would perpetually live in peace and harmony.
As much as I try hard to avoid reading/ talking about depressing stuffs like politics, this one tugged closely at my heartstring.
I remembered a story my late grandma told me about her close encounter with the Japanese. At that point of time, rice, sugar and salt were controlled items. My grandma and my first aunt (she was just two years old) boarded a bus to visit my great grandmother. The bus was stopped by the Japanese mid way for a spot check.
My grandmother was worried that they would kill her and confiscate a handful of rice in her bag, intended for her mother. She was pregnant with my mom at that point of time. Being quick witted, she placed some old clothes and piled my baby aunt’s poo (shit) on top of the nicely wrapped, handful of rice. She told a white lie that beneath the clothes in the bag, contained nothing but some old clothes and my baby aunt’s poo. She advised the soldier nicely not to mess with it if he didn’t want to get poo plastered all over his hands.
The soldier fiddled with the bag for awhile with his bayonet, saw the poo, and then let her go. It was a close call. She was so much more fortunate compared to others who didn’t survive the war.
I believed, if the Japanese were really THAT mean, they would probably ripped the bag off, then my late grandma would not be able to live up to a ripe old age of 84, my first aunt and my mother would not live till today.. and I won’t be here, telling the world about it. Probably, she was just damn lucky.
However, it is beyond our comprehension to understand why humans could do such despicable act to cause grievous harm to a fellow human being. Not only the Japanese, the wars of the world told us nothing but despicable inhuman stories of the Serbs, the Talibans, the Nazis, etc and the latest, the barbaric torture of the prisoners of war in Iraq.
We are not in any position to estimate the substantiality of the damage/ emotional/ mental/ physical trauma caused during the war. My heart would break into pieces whenever I read about wars anywhere in the world. It is so fucking useless. Why civilized people still go to war to solve problems?
With regards to the tension between the two great nations, our main concern here is, we shouldn’t be dwelling on what had happened in the past but to learn not to repeat the same thing ever.
Let us pray hard that this inhuman cruelty would not surface again in this world, and our children would perpetually live in peace and harmony.
Comments
fishtail | Homepage | 04.28.05 – 10:09 am | #
We will have to put all these bad memories behind us sooner or later. I believe we should do it sooner rather than later. Dwelling on the past again and again will do us no good.
viewtru | Homepage | 04.28.05 – 10:25 am | #
My mom used to tell stories too – granddad was a cop so she actually saw beheadings – its sad the stories n how everyone survived on yam, root vegs
war is a mans power toy
visithra | Homepage | 04.28.05 – 12:20 pm | #
Prince | Homepage | 04.28.05 – 12:34 pm | #
fishtail: Yes, I heard from the old ladies in my late grandma’s kampung – all of them cut their hair short and some smeared their faces with charcoal before going out.
viewtru: I agree whole-heartedly.
visithra: I wonder what give them the right to kill other human beings.
Prince: No problem, dude. My pleasure. Nice stuffs you have there. As for your dad’s sis, I hope things turn out well for her.. we will never know.
Gina | Homepage | 04.28.05 – 11:56 pm | #
i think the main problem with the japanese is that they have yet to admit their mistakes during the world war II and shown a sense of remorse for thier actions. the reason why the germans are so much better off these days are because they have admitted thier wrongdoings against the jews and have asked for forgiveness. i believe when a person has shown true remorse over their actions only then things would improve and the victims would learn to forgive.
victoria | 04.29.05 – 5:21 pm | #
Victoria: I guess you are right. But it is hard to say sorry, and it is even more difficult to forgive.
Gina | Homepage | 04.30.05 – 1:47 am | #