My recent holiday to one of the cleanest and one of the most beautiful places in the world could only give me much praise and envy for my own country.
You go to malls, take the cab, train or bus without hassles or fear of being robbed or taken advantage of by other people who would want to cut long queues.
Close to my dream of a Utopian world except for the uncaring, unfriendly and inhospitable people maybe because all they need to do every day of their lives is to catch up the train or bus in order not to be late for work. Rat race. People walk in fast strides. No dilly-dallying. No time to be a friendly neighbor.
Of what amazes me much is the highly disciplined people. Nobody is allowed to litter, vandal, scatter cigarette butts, no chewing gums, always flush the toilet after use, to name a few and lest one does any of these, one will be fined without further questions a whopping $SG1000 which is more or less Php32,000 in my country. And an ordinary employee here in my country would be earning that in one year?
Under close scrutiny, you can’t see flies, cockroaches, rodents and mosquitoes hovering on air and running around supermarkets, wet markets, fast foods, restos and even in residential homes such as flats and condos. No air pollution.
No traffic. No beating of red lights. No stealing of queues. No pickpockets, hold uppers, gangsters or paupers on streets, you hardly see violators and law enforcers in any corner. The government trusts its citizens so no need to post law enforcers in any corners. Cameras do the job. Everyone is safe twenty four hours a day. Jog in the middle of the night alone and no harm will come your way.
To me, I only feel envy. “I wish to live and work here”, I often whisper to myself while touring the city. Come to my country especially in the cities and you could see a stark contrast. Garbage here, paupers there, squatters here, snatchers there. When walking on a busy street, you have to clutch your bag so tight towards your body to protect your money and all personal belongings.
Relying on too much trust, my daughter lost a digicam and a high end phone to snatchers in broad daylight on a busy section of Baguio City. Little did she know that the once popular and most respected Summer Capital of the Philippines has become a haven for vagabonds and snatchers because so many tourists come here the whole year round and are good prey for earning instant money by selling their loots.
Yes, my beloved country has deteriorated. The government is just as helpless. Honorable political leaders spend more time bickering and bantering on non-sense matters in their sacred session halls. I could only boasts of its beautiful tourist attractions, the gift of Mother Nature. Other than that, there’s not much to brag about.
Written for
Amias' Acrostic Only
