Salina | General | 28 October 2004, 9:49am
I was speaking to a friend of mine, when my eyes caught the TV, where Margaret Hassan was pleading for her life. This was even more shocking to me than seeing Ken Bigley literally crying and begging for his life. It was Ken's sheer despair and total loss of dignity that was evident which shocked me, and now more so the fact that Margaret is considered a native by most Iraqi people. It was really moving and made me think more about these groups. My friend said, "these people are criminals who had a veneer of righteousness, which they now lost". How true indeed. These blighters are nothing but simple criminals all right. Yes, they may have started off with a legitimate ideological claim, even if they implemented it in the wrong way, but what remains now? Why don't we look at the various hostage situations in Iraq and judge.
What my friend said reminded me a bit of Robin Hood, the legendary hero of 12th-century England who robbed the rich to help the poor. He was portrayed as chivalrous, manly, reasonable and compassionate. It also made me think of Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, the famous Indian bandit and for over 20 years the most elusive and wanted man in India, who was recently shot and yet mourned by thousands. I imagine that the story of Robin Hood is very familiar to us all, but basically, King Richard left for the Crusades. His younger brother, the inept Prince John, usurps the throne and turns into a cruel tyrant. With the help of Sir Hiss and the Sheriff of Nottingham Prince John greedily taxes all subjects into poverty and destitute. The people's only reprieve is in the form of the
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Salina | General | 03 October 2004, 12:22am
A few weeks ago I wrote enthusiastically and gratefully about the doctors in Bhopal Medical Hospital and Research Centre and how they stood up against corruption and fought off the deadly meddling fingers of bureaucracy. This week I came across an article in the New England Journal of Medicine which left me with a bitter aftertaste. The article was about various evidence which has emerged that some American doctors, nurses, and medics have been complicit in torture and other illegal procedures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. I certainly don
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Salina | General | 30 September 2004, 10:29pm
Iraq has been international front-page news for some time now and no need to panic, I am not going to mention the handover or Saddam
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