A question of loyalty versus compassion.

During Trump's second inauguration as US President, a bishop made a direct appeal to the President to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and undocumented migrant workers. Trump, in his campaign speeches, promised to go hard on illegal immigration once he took office. Previously, the Biden administration had a lax stance on immigration. Trump also declared that there are only two genders in the USA: male and female, unlike the spectrum of over 68 gender expressions advocated by liberal thinkers. 

The decree would automatically make millions of immigrants to the US illegal, and the woke generation is fearful that there would be a witch hunt against the LGBTQ+ community.

This issue regarding immigrants coming to America is not new, as far as the world's biggest economy is concerned. It has been ongoing since the Cold War. America has itself to blame for its predicament. America, being the self-proclaimed leader of the free world, took it upon itself to curb the spread of communism, especially in its backyard. Central and South American countries have been in turmoil for a long time. To ensure that left-leaning leaders do not take over, the US placed despotic, US-friendly puppet governments. These leaders were opposed by their own people, and over time, a resistance guerrilla army emerged. The people were caught in the crossfire between the military forces of the government and the rebel militia. As economic activities came to a grinding halt, the citizens, especially the rural population, began to flee.

Suddenly, the US had a problem at its borders in the 70s and 80s. Thousands of refugees from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala started flocking to its borders and sneaking into the US. News of illegal immigrants from El Salvador succumbing to the elements as they traversed deserts hit the headlines. They were escaping US-supported death squads in their country. Many churches in the US, led by a Presbyterian minister, Rev John Fife of Tucson, Arizona, took it upon themselves to aid and harbour these illegal aliens as they made their way into America.

The way they looked at it was like this. During WW2 Hitler's Germany, millions of Jews are brutally killed because of the apathy of many Germans, including their religious leaders. Christianity, being the saviour of the underdogs, as evidenced by events during Jesus' lifetime, had a moral right to defend the oppressed and the persecuted. The dilemma was whether to flaunt the law to attain a higher purpose or to conform as good citizens. It was not just a question of nationalism versus belief but of being human.

In the 1980s, these stories were of national interest. All parties, political leaders, the general public, and the legal system took an interest. Rev. John Fife and members of the Sanctuary Movement, which by then included over 2,000 churches and had spread to Canada, were charged with abetting the entry of illegal immigrants into the country. A public debate ensued. On one side, there was the faction supporting the Government's desire to maintain law and order, as they had been doing for ages. Then there was the other side, who blamed the US, which had started the whole fiasco in the first place. There was a compulsion to provide a safe haven for the victims.

Probably bowing to the pressures of public sentiment at the time, the accused were let off with a slap on the wrist. They were not imprisoned but received suspended sentences and probation. It was considered light for a crime against the State.

(P.S. In the rush to build and control a waterway that bypassed Cape Horn, America supported a Panamanian resistance group fighting for independence from Colombia. Not to mention the Banana Wars in South America after the US acquired the country following the 1898 US-Spanish War. America instigated various resistance groups to protect its business interests. With such a long history of meddling, it is no surprise that trouble comes back to bite its southern end. To complicate things, in the name of preserving American business interests, Greenland may be 'invaded' via gunboat diplomacy!)

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It was a lovely day!

At 'starting point'

Have you heard the latest news around town? The National Heart Institute (Institut Jantung Negara, IJN) is offering free stress tests. Unlike other medical procedures, this one is not conducted in a hospital; it is carried out on the streets. Yes, IJN organised its annual premier cycling event, IJN Ride. All you need to do is sign up, choose your category, and ride. If you have anything suggestive of a heart condition, IJN will take it from there.

So, there it was. IJN Ride For Your Heart on 19th January 2025. The 115 km ride was scheduled to start at 7am. So there we were, waiting at the starting line in Anyara Hills, Semenyih, a new housing development. And waiting. The announcer had run out of announcements to make in his not-so-proficient English. The VIP was still not there to flag the participants. Despite being the State's Chief Minister with police outriders and controlled traffic for him to pass through, he thought it fashionable to arrive late. I guess he wanted to stamp his authority. When he finally arrived, ten minutes late, the participants gave him a befitting welcome. When the announcer, in his highly accented English, asked the participants to warmly welcome the VIP, they responded with pin-drop silence accentuated by the screaming of cicadas. 

Just barely 400 metres after flag-off, there was a casualty. Two cyclists had crashed into each other's path. Shaken but not stirred, they were all right. It was a lovely day to ride. For someone from an area with a temperate climate, their idea of a beautiful day is the sight of the sun over the horizon and sunlight shining through their hair. Not in Malaysia, it is not. The sun showed its full glory by 10 am, and from then on, the temperature reached scorching late 20 degrees C. The idea of engaging in strenuous sporting activities at high noon is indeed a duel mostly avoided by Malaysians. But then, the world needs lunatics to set standards on sanity.

Miraculously, the sun shied away through the ride, all 115 km of it. Either it was one of those gloomy days, or the shamans employed by the organisers must have done a good job. Yes, it is an open secret (or maybe an urban legend) that Malaysian sports bodies have shamans (bomoh) on their payroll to control the weather during important sports events. In the 1970s, when Malaysia was flying high as a football nation, it was discovered that we performed exceptionally well when the pitch was wet. This was attributed to the pathetic training pitches and the players' experience learning to play soccer in their youthful years in paddy fields. So, the bomohs were summoned to perform their 'rain dance' to invite the heavens to pour. That resulted in significant victories for Malaysia in the Merdeka Tournament. Seeing our country bag double-digit goals against minion teams was a common sight.

The ride covered a route commonly used by cyclists around the Klang Valley. Cruising along the flat terrain of Ulu Semenyih, we were guided to the sleepy town of Broga, which in its days had seen much resistance given to British colonial masters. The ride paved us to Lenggeng, another town forgotten in the annals of time. The national highway and the appetite for the general public to get from point to point B in a jiffy essentially sealed the growth of this town. Still, life goes on. Not to be confused with another town in the State of Perak, which still garners attention from the users of the East-West Highway to Kota Bharu. Curious minds flock here to view the complete skeletal remains of the oldest man in South East Man, the Perak Man, at Lenggong Archeological Museum.

At Lenggeng, we took a turn to climb over the Two Sisters, as they may be fondly referred to. It is a bi-peaked formation that is part of the Titiwangsa range. The sisters were quite unforgiving, starting with a 10% climb. It covered about a 5 km distance followed by a free-wheeling decline, only to tackle another 5 km climb heading towards Kuala Klawang, the driest town on the Peninsula, in the district of Jelebu. Another free-wheeling afterwards. 

Kuala Klawang @ Jelebu

By then, we had covered about half of the total distance. After a short banana and bun break, we were good to go.

The next half of the journey included the much-dreaded Kangkoi-Peres climb to Hulu Langat. In essence, it covered a 13 km unforgiving trail, with the road mostly going uphill, punctuated by a couple of deceiving short breathers. The undulating roads created the illusion that the climbs were ending, only to reveal another ascent. It started at the 75 km mark. We expected it to be blazing hot by then. Surprisingly, it was a tolerable 27°C thereabouts, with no sun 'breathing' down our necks. Still, it was no pleasure cruise!

The 'we' I have been mentioning throughout the event consists of me, myself, and my inner demons. I had to train for the race on my own after a fellow partner-in-crime withdrew due to family commitments. It was a test of self-motivation and discipline whilst juggling work commitments and the cranky weather recently. 

The inner demons were mostly curtailed as the external environment was kind. 

These long, monotonous rides make me think. Besides giving me ideas on what to write in the next blog, they also humble me. Finding myself in the middle of mighty structures of Nature that have been around forever reminds me of the fragility of this existence. One minute we are here, and the next you are late (pun intended).

Just like life, we start the race with much pomp and glitz. Along the way, the cyclists break into pelotons akin to all the relatives who keep you company throughout life's path. Deep inside, you still have to manage the day-to-day, just as a cyclist must listen to his body, plan his caloric intake and hydration, avoid potholes, and deal with lunatics behind wheels—motorised and otherwise—who are hell-bent on causing trouble for cyclists just for kicks and the occasional change of gears in anticipation of a climb. Some things work mechanically, like pedalling, while others require vigilance. In other words, you are the controller of your destiny in life, cycling-wise and philosophically. 

Once Genting Peres was conquered, it was a home run, really. Sliding down a 10-km decline from the 85 km mark, the subsequent section consisted of rolling hills. It was back to the starting point, completing a loop of 115 km, climbing over 1,420 m in 5h 25min. 

Even when I hit the finishing line, I had so much pent-up energy that I thought I should have pushed myself more. But then, it is better to finish strong than to drag my sorry self half-dead. What's more, come tomorrow, I have to return to my daytime job.

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Nothing happened in Stockholm?

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/old-town-in-
stockholm-sweden-gm523395133-51237318

Stockholm Syndrome never really happened, at least not how they described it to us. A little background here... Back in 1973, in Stockholm, a convict on parole, Jan Erik Olsson, attempted to rob a bank with a gun. He took four bank employees as hostages. He held the hostages for six days in the bank vault, demanding that the police release his friend, a celebrity criminal, Clark Olofson, from behind bars, some money and free passage. The police did not budge, but they managed to smoke them out by drilling a hole through the vault and infusing noxious gas inside. The puzzling thing throughout the whole fiasco was that the hostages were said to have sided with the assailant. They viewed the police as the bad guys and did not take the opportunity to escape when the police purposely laid the plan for them. It is said that the hostages later crowdsourced funds for the robber's trial. 

It was later revealed that all these were fabricated. There was even a rumour that one of the hostages was engaged to her captor. The most apparent thing was that none of the media people interviewed the hostages to get a first-hand account of what transpired in the bank. Unverified rumours started flying. Soon, the understanding was that the hostages were brainwashed. In Sweden, pretty soon, the act of hostages building psychological bonds with their kidnappers was labelled Norrmalmstorgssyndromet,  after Norrmalmstorg Square, where the attempted robbery took place.

Outside, this phenomenon was recognised as Stockholm Syndrome. Policemen at academies were taught to take note of this when handling a hostage situation. Hostages cannot be relied upon to cooperate with the police but could paradoxically work with the bandits.

To be fair, Stockholm Syndrome is not classified as a mental disorder in the DSM-5. The FBI's extensive research into numerous kidnappings indicates that only 5% of victims develop some kind of psychological bond with their captors. Additionally, 3% of the general population hates the police, anyway.

The interest in this phenomenon was piqued once again a year later, in 1974, when Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of a famous publisher, was kidnapped by an urban guerrilla group, the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was later caught robbing a bank with the group. She was imprisoned for seven years, only to be pardoned and freed by Bill Clinton.

It gets more complicated after this. Quite the opposite of what is described in Stockholm Syndrome, sometimes the kidnappers grow a soft spot for their victims. In 1996, thousands of party attendees at the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru, were abducted. It is said that the friendly rapport with the kidnappers helped the earlier release of hostages. Anyway, the invited guests were probably high-level diplomats who were well-versed in negotiation skills. The scenario where the perpetrators build a positive bond with their victims is called 'Lima Syndrome'.
 

Kristin Enmark
"I did what I could do to survive!"
https://varldenshistoria.se/kriminalitet/stockholmssyndromet
-gisslan-skyddade-svenska-brottslingar

Contrary to what developed in Stockholm and Lima, hostages sometimes invoke their kidnappers' aversion. In 1980, the Iranian Embassy was seized with 26 captives by terrorists. The hostages were argumentative, loud, and trying to escape. The terrorist quickly shot the loudest one of the lot and threw him out of the Embassy to emphasise his demands with no qualms. This is London Syndrome. The bad behaviour of the victim sparks a negative response.

In one podcast, Radiolab, finally, eight years ago, someone interviewed one of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, involved in the Stockholm bank robbery, to find out what was really happening then. Kristin volunteered to be a hostage after overhearing her co-worker speaking on the phone emotionally to her husband about her children's logistics arrangements, as she would be stuck in the crisis.

It is difficult for a third person to predict how a victim would react in a stressful situation. We fail to see why a person repeatedly finds himself trapped in an abusive relationship. We wonder for how long a battered wife gets stuck with her abusive husband. There must be more than meets the eye. The logical thing for a person on the outside is to get out. It is not so easily done.

https://ivno.over-blog.com/2023/03/les-illusions-le-syndrome-de-stockholm.html

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Follow your heart?

A Hidden Life (English/German;2019)

Director: Terence Malick

This is one of the movies that kept my eyes locked on the screen even after the credits rolled. It presents a long-lasting quandary about divinity and our purpose on Earth.

Most movies that we see usually depict Germans as a whole of homogeneous block that unequivocally supports Hitler and what he was doing to uplift Germany from the clutches of hopelessness. For a change, the main character in this film actually stood against German nationalism in the Hitler style. A devout Christian and a conscientious objector to conscription into the Army, Franz Jägerstätter opposes Hitler's rhetoric of a superior race. In his everyday life, Franz is a simple farmer living happily on the hillside of Austrian country, minding his wife, three little daughters, and the unending farm work.

So when he is called to serve the Army and state his allegiance to Hitler by instituting the Nazi Salute, he naturally refuses. Franz is arrested and imprisoned. Before his arrest, the people in the village were already looking at Franz's family scornfully. After his arrest, his family was boycotted by everyone, save for some who gave support, albeit clandestinely.

In prison, Franz is verbally and physically abused and told to just utter his loyalty to Hitler and get scot-free. Franz stuck onto his guns like a divine decree and endured the gamut - insults and grieve. All through his incarceration, he has an internal struggle with whether what he is doing is the right thing. All these were recorded in Franz's written communication with his wife, Fani. They provide the basis for the film. Franz's soliloquy is echoed in the voiceovers. Franz was finally executed. The rest of the story tells the hardship Fani, their daughters, and Franz's mother endure in making a life for themselves.

The burning questions that went through my mind were these.

We are social animals and are somewhat skewed in our thinking to be in sync with the thought of the majority. Perhaps because we are all clueless about our real purpose on Earth, we grope along and clutch on straws. We try to convince ourselves that we are indeed doing the right by apeing others. We follow the powerful, the wealthy, and the elders as we feel they are more knowledgeable about things in the world. At the same time, we realise these people are mere mortals like us, equally ignorant of the right path. The leaders also have vested interests. Is it not helpful for a shepherd if his flock is abundant and well-fed? The scary part is that the shepherd would one day lead them to the slaughterhouse.

The almighty, omnipresent and omnipotent in all his wisdom through the Book of John, has wielded to his congregation, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).

Franz saw the events surrounding the war, the superiority of one race over the other, and saluting a man with these ideas as wrong. However, the verse in John convinced him that what he was doing was right, just as Jesus fought against the hypocrites in Judea. Just like the event on Cavalry Hill that changed the world, Franz was convinced that his resistance would have lasting impressions.

A man plants a mango tree, but the generations after him are the ones who reap the benefits the tree offers. They stop to rest under its shade and occasionally sink their teeth into the succulent fruit. Nobody turns around to thank or say a prayer to the planter of the tree. For all they are concerned, the tree just happened to be there! We should do things expecting returns. It is for the generation next.

We are responsible for our dependents if our actions affect those who will come after us. Franz has specific duties as a father, son, and husband on Earth. Is he relegating his duties by being an absent parent? His kids will grow up with the trauma of not having a father, the wife without a companion, and the mother with the ache of burying the son she delivered. Can Franz be so cocksure that he will indeed find his place in the promised land? Is he convinced that what he did was indeed what God wanted him to do? Guess we will never know!

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Not quite a towering inferno...

We were told to be ready for dinner by 6 p.m., so we had one and a half hours to kill before gathering at the lobby. My varsity mates and I, fourteen of us, on our regular bromance outing, had decided to embark on a six-day tour around Sri Lanka. Colombo was our last stop.

                                     

https://borderlessjournal.com/2025/01/14/not-quite-a-towering-inferno/

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In the land of make believe!

Spirited Away (2001)

Written and Directed: Hayao Miyazaki

All through our childhood, my sisters and I had been watching manga without manga was referred to as so. It was then just Japanese cartoon, with characters having big round eyes, cute demeanour and screechy loud voices.

Later, Japanese cartoons developed into separate entities grew wings and started telling more mature stories and themes. The written graphic form became known as manga, and animated forms that appear in games and films are known as anime.

I was recently introduced to Japan's eminent cult figure in the field of animation and direction, Hayao Miyazaki. His film ‘Spirited Away’ has been hailed as Japan's highest-grossing movie for 29 years. It also won the Oscar at the 2022 Best Animated Feature Film. BBC listed it in its 100 greatest films of the 21st century.

Partnered with Disney, this film infiltrated the four corners of the globe. Thanks to the vibrant colours, creative storytelling, and interesting characters, it looks like Alice in Wonderland on steroids. A lost girl, Chihiro, is in a weird world, only to be helped by many characters with Shinto-Buddhist backgrounds around her. She ends up saving the day and learning many valuable life lessons.

One of the reasons to live is to immerse yourself in a land of make-believe.

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An interesting police drama!

Oru Nodi (Tamil, One Second, 2024)

Director: B Manivarman

https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/oru-nodi/9-Xa0ZWs2NU_

Even though the trailer depicts MS Bhaskar, the bald character actor who had graced many blockbusters recently, it was all a business gimmick. He only appears for a short while, and his character is killed off quite early in the movie, but he is shown in brief flashbacks. The rest of the film is completed by newbies and unfamiliar faces. Nevertheless, they all did a decent job. The story, however, could have been made more interesting. At one juncture, I wondered why the police were flip-flopping between one case and another as if they knew they were inter-related. 

To get the story straight, a forty-something lady shows up at a local police station to report her missing husband. Having watched so many police procedural dramas, one can guess what would follow. The lady is bombarded with wisecracks like he had run away from her torture or that he had gone on a drinking escapade. Just then, an inspector walks in to take charge. He gathers that the lady's husband, who went off with a large stash of cash to his debtors, could have been killed by a loan shark. 

In another scene, the body of a young lady is found dead along the village path. The plot twists when the autopsy confirms that she was in her early pregnancy. Police investigations suggest there was a stalker among her working colleagues who was quite determined to win her heart. But she had a boyfriend to complicate things. 

Meanwhile, the missing husband's mobile shows activity. The police spring into action. 

The rest of the police procedural drama has excellent narration. It is a cat-and-mouse story of clues, dead ends, new clues, and plot twists, leading to a finale that ties all the loose ends together. Not bad, not bad at all!

(P.S. Forget police brutality. When an Indian mentions that the police interrogated the suspect in their usual manner, it is a code that they beat the truth out of the victim. I thought this type of evidence had no legal standing!)

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