Help the Aged...?

Waiting for a friend at Oxford Circus yesterday evening was possibly one of the single most horrific experiences in the history of waiting.

Central London at the best of times, never mind rush hour, is an asylum of fast-moving, rude people. I can’t deal with it – neither physically nor mentally.

People push and shove. And they get in my way. Perhaps my lad-back pace is sometimes a little too laid-back for London life?

I often feel as though I’ve been thrust into the bowels of hell where Lucifer and his minions continually pester me. And get in my way when I’m going places.

Don’t get me wrong, I love living in London. I just wish there was less people sometimes!

Anyway – Oxford Circus yesterday evening…

Not only was there a copious amount of people, but also there were also some idiots collecting for charity.

I call them ‘idiots’ because they were dressed in grass skirts and coconut bras. They were also male. And they would not be quiet!

“I’ve been standing here for 12 hours – I’m tired!”

I haven’t been home since 7.30am. I’m tired.

“Give me your coppers and five pence pieces and you’ll go home feeling a little better about yourself.”

No I won’t. I’ll give you five pence to shut up though.

“If you’ve seen anything more hideous today, then you don’t have to give me any money.”

Thank God for that. I see something more hideous every day – my reflection in the mirror first thing in the morning.

Don’t mistake what I mean by this though – I am not an uncharitable person. I just don’t like to be nagged and generally support the same charities I feel passionately about.

Unfortunately, Help the Aged is not one of them.

Why should I help the aged?

It is in my humble opinion that the aged are of no use to society when they reach that ‘aged’ age. I’m not entirely sure what age that is though…

I have great plans to be cryogenically frozen however, and then I will never have to deal with being ‘aged’, or allowing idiots to collect money on my behalf.

In all seriousness though, the prospect of being old scares me; not being able to do things for myself, being feeble, not having my own teeth. God forbid!

And it’s not just the getting old part. It’s the getting older part as well.

I’m only 22, yet I continually examine my face, worrying about fine lines. Who’s the idiot now?!

More so, getting older means acting more mature. Where has my childhood gone?!

It is no longer acceptable to ‘play’. As an adult, it is often frowned upon and I hate that.

Why can’t I play?

The reason children are so content in comparison to adults is because they have ‘playtime’.
They can be silly, foolish, laugh, giggle, paint with their hands, paint with their feet, imagine…

Who wants to give up all of that? Is Help the Aged going to resolve these problems?

Disclaimer: I don’t really hate old people. It’s a rainy day in June and I’m tired. I’ve been sitting at a computer screen all week, so just give me all your money and I’ll stop moaning…

Pulp like to Help the Aged.

Wonders of the World

The world is a busy, busy place. Despite training in journalism and the amount of newspapers I read – not a lot at the minute, admittedly - I often forget that so much can happen in a short space of time.

Part of the world of journalism is to follow the agenda and give the public the stories they want to hear about, whilst selling as many copies of your newspaper or drawing the attention of as many viewers as possible.

In this respect, so much goes on in the world that we just don’t know about. Sometimes too, they are things that perhaps we don’t want to know about.

Children and young adults go missing, shops get robbed, cars crash, human rights are abused.

All such mundane things, right? Perhaps.

Perhaps it’s just too much for us to take in. Should we have to be given bad news all the time? Can’t journalists tell us something good?

What if there isn’t anything good to tell?

Yesterday, walking through the glorious streets of Harrow, I was handed a leaflet from a member of the Tamil Community Centre.

“The most violent place in Asia at the moment is Sri Lanka, and the state has not taken any serious steps to bring it under control.”

These words immediately leap out at me, grabbing my attention and drawing me into Sri Lanka’s story.

According to the International Human Rights Day Statement, published in December 2006 on the Human Rights blog, Sri Lanka is incredibly violent at the moment.

The state blames the Tamil people for creating the violence in the country, who in turn blame the government for the overuse of its military and paramilitary forces. There is talk of a war from both sides.

Despite worldwide criticism of, and various inquiries into abductions, disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture, there is still a lack of hope that the violence will relent.

According to the Human Rights blog, the violence in Sri Lanka has been aggravated by the collapse of the rule of law for a significant length of time.

“The policing system suffers from an institutional collapse; the judiciary is faced with a serious crises; the government lacks the capacity to carry out its normal functions of protection. Meanwhile, the enforcement of strict emergency regulations will only aggravate the violent situation, and there are no local or international initiatives to address the problems plaguing the country.”

The assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs, Richard A. Boucher, said of the crisis:

“We remain very concerned about some of the killings, the killings of aid workers, killings of people at various places in the island that have occurred in the last year or so… We’ve seen reports of intimidation, reports of government power being used on newspapers and journalists; and then, of course, we’ve seen killings and violent acts committed against newspapers and journalists.”

A lot going on everyday in the world. Big Brother, anyone?!


www.humanrightsblog.org