So much for being humane to your brother...
Its incredibly ironic that barely a day after spending my time writing about how great we Malaysians are as a people, this comes out as a headline news on Sunday.Ray of hope turn out to be nightmare
Inhumane bastards... What kind of society do we live in? What kind of people are we? How can we treat our fellow man like this?
There are some things very close to my heart.. and the care of the mentally ill people is one of them. Its a subject matter that intensely personal and close to my own heart. My blood boils and my heart starts pounding as I read they way these people are treated, locked up, permanently stripped naked, left to urine and pass motion out in the open and not fed or cleaned properly.
Many people will never really understand the heart ache and difficulties of having to care for a mentally ill person; an invisible and unseen illness that deeply affects the lives of the person and their entire family. I am neither a selfless volunteer nor an activist in these matters. But I am one of those people who actually live through it; caring for someone you love and is a part of your family but mentally ill.
The amount of hardship, and the depths of the heartache are so much.. that if you knew before what lay ahead, you would never even dare shoulder the task. It has caused me so much pain, tears and suffering that you never really become quite the same person you once were. It challenges you, it drains you, it eats at you.... it brings out the very worst in you. But in all the trials, somehow, it also brings out the best in you. It shapes you, strengthens you, and builds you up into a much tougher person.
But this is no excuse. Whatever hardship we face as care givers, nothing excuses treating the mentally ill worse that we would our pet animals. I understand these people aren't the family of the patients there. They are just salaried workers, doing their job. But even then, is there no sense of common decency towards your fellow man? Do you not realize that despite his illness, this man also deserves love and respect? He is someone's son, brother, father or uncle. What has he done to deserve such humiliating and indecent treatment? His illness is not his own doing. Who are you and what right do you have to inflict such humiliating actions on them?
Even in facing the difficult task of keeping them safe and away from harm, even from their own selves, their basic decently and dignity should always be kept. The means do not justify the ends in this case. Just like there is a right and wrong way to achieving something, there is a right way, and there is a wrong way in caring for these mentally ill people. Is there no respect for a persons basic rights to decency? Do nothing that will compromise the persons basic right to be clothed, to be properly fed and maintain their own personal hygiene.
You should never take these rights away from them any sooner than you would from your own brother or sister.
I am soOo disillusioned right now...
posted by Compulsive Blogger @ 11:51 pm
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