In times of crisis...

Eh?

It's true what they say.. your true colors will show when you are in a crisis. The measure of a good leader is not during good times, but during times of crisis.

The last few days have been an eye-opener, to say the least. Not so much about Sudan.. sebab Sudan is of course, still a country in conflict. We all know that. I know that. When I asked for the posting in Sudan, I knew of the dangers. The war at the border.. Darfur..

And the riots in Khartoum? I sorta expected that. I mean, the people must be saints if they don't protest when petrol price went doubled. But I also know that Sudanese are not evil people. They are not on a killing spree..So for as long as you stay away from the streets, in shaa Allah.. things will be ok.

Alah, macam kat Malaysia la jugak kan. If you don't go to Dataran Merdeka during the Bersih events, takde lah risk of encountering the tear gas kan?

Oh myyyyy.. how I'm digressing..

Anyway, I was saying about the 'eye opener' thing. I never thought these things could happen in real life.. but it did.

You see, there was a lockdown at the Complex. Naturally, kan? We weren't allowed to go out at all! Some were already panicking.. wondering if food will be enough for the next few days.

Maybe I didn't feel the need to go all ballistic because I don't have to care for anyone but myself. No rice? No problem. I've got maggi mee. Tired of maggi mee? No problem. I've got biscuits. Run out of biscuits? No problem. I have chocolates.

The thing is, I am alone.

But what if I have small kids and a baby? What with the stress of having the kids at home 24/7, and now add on the worry of not having food for the family... woahhh.. that's a lot to think about, right? Especially since Malaysians are such a pampered society.

Malas nak masak? Ala, just drive down to any mamak restaurant. Most mamak restaurants buka 24 hours anyway. And if you don't have transport? Well, Pizza Hut and Mc Donalds even offer delivery these days.

We are not used to lockdowns. We are so used to the freedom of being able to go anywhere we like.

"Bersih" event in KL? No problem. Can still watch movies at Alamanda, Putrajaya. Heheh.

We are a pampered lot kan?

Tapi tu lah. What if we were not allowed to go anywhere? What if our kids are driving us up the wall and we have to continue cooking for them to keep them quiet? What if we can't do anything but eat, sleep, read and watch TV?

So yeah, the weekend was an eye opener. Because I was glancing through the whatsapp chats. I saw how selfish we can be, when we have limited access to things. I saw how we want to be the superior one for having 'items' when no one else has it.

Yeah of course, at the end of the day, we all say that we will help each other in times of need. But really, push come to shove, it's always US and OUR FAMILY FIRST. ALWAYS.

I don't blame them. Heck. I would do the same if I were in their shoes. The safety of my family will always be priority. ALWAYS. And that was why I left Khartoum at a busy period just to go back for my cousin's tahlil in August.

So I can understand perfectly this urge to protect / safeguard the ones that are dear to us.

Ok. I'm just rambling. This is just an observation.

I think Malaysians are lucky that we never got to the point where it's safer to stay indoors. Heck, I remember during the dry season, I was amongst the many Malaysians who thronged the malls just to enjoy the cool heavy duty air-conditioner.

We never had to worry if we have enough food at home to last for the next three days.

Anyway, I'm getting restless staying at the Complex. At least, I get to go to work and bury myself with emails and letters and presentation packs. At least I get to talk to the drivers and my colleagues and hear the stories on the situation outside the Complex.

Even then, I feel that I need to go out. I miss just having my cake at Spectra or the awesome chocolate mousse at Ozone. I miss lepak-ing with friends for breakfast on Saturday mornings and doing my grocery shopping, which was usually the highlight of the week.

And so, for the first time, I'm really really counting down to the day that I take that flight back home.(Temporarily lah sebab I still like Khartoum.. heheh..) Anyway, can't wait to go back to the land of yong tau foo, satay and McDonalds.. :)

Goodnite everyone... time to sleep.. (and maybe the hours will go by faster when I sleep...) snoozeeee...