The world changed irrevocably on September 11 2001. That's when terrorism reared its ugly head and ended the lives of over 3000 innocent people. Since then, acts of terror have made frequent headlines in the news worldwide and though Singapore has been largely unaffected and we feel safe here, we should not be lulled into a false sense of security.
There are pockets of extremism but the government has done a fairly good job of staying vigilant. But what happens outside our shores is beyond our control.
And so, innocent lives were lost once again last week when a group of armed gunmen attacked several locations in Mumbai including two 5-star hotels, taking their occupants hostage.
What's different about this attack? For one, it lasted a couple of days because of the hostage situation, and secondly a Singaporean was among the hostages. That was just too close for comfort. What were the odds of a safe return? I was not optimistic but I was hoping against hope. I didn't know who the person was but as a fellow citizen, I was concerned.
Then the news came that the Singaporean didn't make it, the terrorists gunned down everybody either before or during battle with Indian troops. The person's identity was revealed and it turned out to be a young Chinese female lawyer in the prime of her life, Lo Hwei Yen.
I somehow felt sickened. I know thousands of people die every day, but their circumstances are not always so violent or tragic.
She was recently married, had her whole life ahead of her, was pretty and successful. Such a waste, I can't imagine what her husband and family are going through. Maybe I felt an affinity because she was from an interracial marriage, her husband is half Sri Lankan, half Chinese.
Incidentally, we had some colleagues working on Mumbai projects at the time of the attacks, a few were staying at the affected hotels but managed to escape though they got stranded a while because their travel documents were left in their rooms. Again, too close for comfort.
All this is a reminder not to take our youth, health and relationships for granted. Anything can happen at anytime, so don't be complacent. As Oprah says, "Live your best life."
There are pockets of extremism but the government has done a fairly good job of staying vigilant. But what happens outside our shores is beyond our control.
And so, innocent lives were lost once again last week when a group of armed gunmen attacked several locations in Mumbai including two 5-star hotels, taking their occupants hostage.
What's different about this attack? For one, it lasted a couple of days because of the hostage situation, and secondly a Singaporean was among the hostages. That was just too close for comfort. What were the odds of a safe return? I was not optimistic but I was hoping against hope. I didn't know who the person was but as a fellow citizen, I was concerned.
Then the news came that the Singaporean didn't make it, the terrorists gunned down everybody either before or during battle with Indian troops. The person's identity was revealed and it turned out to be a young Chinese female lawyer in the prime of her life, Lo Hwei Yen.
I somehow felt sickened. I know thousands of people die every day, but their circumstances are not always so violent or tragic.
She was recently married, had her whole life ahead of her, was pretty and successful. Such a waste, I can't imagine what her husband and family are going through. Maybe I felt an affinity because she was from an interracial marriage, her husband is half Sri Lankan, half Chinese.
Incidentally, we had some colleagues working on Mumbai projects at the time of the attacks, a few were staying at the affected hotels but managed to escape though they got stranded a while because their travel documents were left in their rooms. Again, too close for comfort.
All this is a reminder not to take our youth, health and relationships for granted. Anything can happen at anytime, so don't be complacent. As Oprah says, "Live your best life."
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