No sympathy for such people

I used to sympathise with people as a child but it was not too much.  However, growing up, my level of sympathy for the poor, the marginalised and the under privileged in society, begun to increase as I became aware of societal issues.

 Furthermore, as I begun to grow in my Christian faith, I became more and more concerned about vulnerable people in society.  There were times tears have rolled down my cheeks, when watching certain news items depicting loss of lives, gory accidents, people who are going through certain severe challenges of life etc. 

However, there are specific situations that I will never have pity on the person or people involved despite the apparent sad situation they find themselves in.  One such situation is when, someone rides a motorbike without helmet and he is involved in an accident and his gets smashed up and is severely injured or dies.  This is a deliberate carelessness and for such people, I have no sympathy for.

Another situation is the demolition of buildings that have been built on waterways.  Any person who puts up a structure on a waterway, is a very selfish person and for such people, I have no sympathy towards them. 

As I watched the demolition of some structures in some areas ostensibly reserved as a Ramseyer Site, initially I was saddened as the amount of money sunk into those structures by my estimation was quite huge.

  I also thought that they are victims of unscrupulous chiefs and land officials who had deceived them.  It was not after some workers who were working on some of the buildings were interviewed, that I realised that, the owners knew that the land they were building on, were forbidden area.  One of the guys interviewed said that if Government does not protect the land, the reporter will return in three months’ time to find that the owners have rebuilt.

On Monday, while waiting for a friend by the roadside for him to pick me up, along the Accra – Cape Coast Highway, a motorbike rider, without helmet, engaged in a risky stunt. At top speed, he raised the front tyre of the motorbike and was momentarily riding on only the rear tyre.

 If he had lost his balance, it definitely would have resulted in a very serious injury or even fatality. Later that same afternoon, on our way to a town in the Western region, we observed an incident. While negotiating a curve on an untarred road, another motorbike rider, coming from the opposite direction, was at top speed.  The bike swerved to the side of the road and was out of our view.  

My friend, who was driving said we should go back to see what has happened to the guy but I was not in agreement. Since he was driving, he turned around and we went back and fortunately we saw by the tyre tracks that, he managed to keep his balance and drove away.

I am not callous but very principled. I sympathise with those who are in trouble or find themselves in challenging situations, through no fault of theirs.  What I cannot accept is when people deliberately engages in acts that they knew are very risky and yet went ahead and did them, especially people who should know better. I cannot shed tears for such people.

 If such a person becomes ill through say unprotected sex, I will not pay him a visit.  If he dies, I will not attend his funeral because it could have been avoided and that it was a deliberate choice. Tears came into my eyes recently when I watched the news announcing the deaths of a lecturer and his assistant, when a Tanker fell on their saloon car. They did not call for this untimely death, so it is sad.  May we value our lives and act wisely because we have only one life and it is irretrievable when lost. God bless.

By Laud Kissi-Mensah