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I am a Practitioner of 'The 7e Way of Leaders' where a Leader will Envision, Enable (ASK for TOP D), Empower, Execute, Energize, and Evolve grounded on ETHICS!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Daily Lesson from Life 25 November 2008

"10 arrested for acid attacks
The 10 men were suspected of involvement in a Taleban-ordered acid attack on schoolgirls in southern Afghanistan. -Tue, Nov 25, 2008 AFP

KANDAHAR - SECURITY forces have arrested 10 men suspected of involvement in a Taleban-ordered acid attack on schoolgirls in southern Afghanistan and some have confessed, authorities said on Tuesday.

The 10 were Afghans who had each been promised 100,000 Pakistani rupees (S$1,969) by Taleban rebels in Pakistan to carry out the November 12 attack, deputy interior minister General Mohammad Daud told reporters.


Men on motorbikes used water pistols to spray acid into the faces of 15 girls as they arrived at school in the southern city of Kandahar. One of the girls was seriously wounded, with some of the acid entering her eyes.

Gen Daud said the men were all Afghans and had been arrested over several days, and some of them had confessed to the attack.

The men had been given orders by Taleban insurgents across the border in Pakistan, he said. 'They were led by Taleban...they were taking orders from the other side of the border from those who are leading terrorist attacks in Kandahar,' he said.

The attack on the girls, who had been wearing all-covering burqas, drew wide condemnation including from President Hamid Karzai and US First Lady Laura Bush who described it last week 'cowardly and shameful'."

I am normally very optimistic that difference in opinions can be talked through, and that 'agreed to disagree' is possible too. With the reported cases above, I am not sure my optimism is misplaced or not! Maybe I am just being too naive.

Some of the extreme form of religious interpretation is very disturbing to me. I can fully understand why certain countries made the issues of race and religion an out-of-bound area. The issues are so emotive that any rational discussion of it is deemed impossible. As such, it is better not to tempt fate!

The question still lingers: will not discussing and sharing the differences and try to close gap prevent such violence from happening? I have no answer to this! And it is distressing!!

Lessons for me:

1. emotional issue is very hard to discuss rationally unless the participants are willing to be open and stay opened in the discussion. The participants must also be very careful in delivering their points of view in a controlled and reasoned manner. These will required tremendous self-discipline as well as the sincere desire to seek common ground;

2. when emotions run high, it is advisable to stop and cool off. At no time should we try to push our luck on such issues when temperature rises beyond certain stage! Once let off, the lid may not be closed peacefully without loss of lives and properties and damaged relationship deeply. We all have to watch out for that;

3. however, if one side decided that to allow the other sides to carry on the brutality that is unacceptable by the majority of the non-religious human beings, then perhaps the extension of helping hands to extract the victims from the situation where they may be harmed, with their consent, are necessary. When that happens and the other sides come for them, they should be dealt with without any favour given. Stay away and things will be alright. But if they pursue the victims into our territory, it will be war! Sadly, there is a point where senses no longer make sense!

I hope all religious leaders in the war realized that in the end we are all human beings living on this tiny earth. If there are Gods, they probably are co-existing too.

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