My Blog

I wish I have the picture of the boy. Then, I can share the picture with everyone. But if I have the picture of the boy in front of me, I probably cannot sleep tonight.

A few years ago, I traveled with some friends to

Beijing

. When we first reached the city, we were unfamiliar with the local taxi system. Afraid of being cheated and to save a few dollars, we decided to walk from the train station to the hotel. In those good old backpacking days, we will go very far to save a few dollars.

Well, we soon regret the decision as the distance was much longer than what we expected, but we were all having fun. Chatting and laughing while exploring the streets of the foreign land.

After we crossed the road, a small girl suddenly appeared from a corner and clinched onto my wind breaker. She refused to let go and kept begging for money. As there was nothing I can do short of pushing her away, I gave her a dollar so that she will let go. The girl thanked me non-stop as we walked away. That was 20 cents in

Singapore

dollar term.

I didn’t feel good though. Despite the fact that it was only 20 cents, I felt that I was robbed more than anything else. During lunch time, we discussed strategies on how to avoid all these child beggars. We subsequently saw a lot of these beggars, but none of us were moved thinking that they were all “professional beggars” who are out to get money from tourists like us.

One night, while we were going back to the hotel, a friend suggested that we go and get some fruits. On the way to search for a fruit stall, a small boy suddenly appeared from behind the telephone booth by the road and got hold of my friend.

None of us wanted to yield to the extortion and we hurried on, ignoring the plea from the boy.

The small boy was less than a metre tall and he was limping as he tried to catch up with us. However, he stubbornly refused to let go and struggled to hold on to my friend. After a while I realized why he was having so much problem.

The boy was crippled and both his knees were deformed, causing both of his legs to be twisted sideway like a crab. When he walked, he had to struggle to balance himself.

We managed to shake him off after a while, but none of us felt good. Especially, the girl who he was holding on to. We started talking about the boy and said that maybe we should give him some money. Afterall, he is handicapped and barely ten years old.

After we bought the fruits, we took the same route back to the hotel. This time, we kept our eyes open for him wanting to redeem our impassionate deed. When we were near the telephone booth, we saw the boy.

He was across the street, hiding behind a tree and waiting for a passer-by. Beside him, was his mother who was holding on to his hand.

What I saw that day, I think I will never forget.

An unwary tourist walked passed them, and the woman started running after him, dragging the boy with her. The small boy struggled to keep up, and when they were close, she flung him towards the tourists and hid herself in the shadows. We were all too shocked by what we saw, that we ended up walking back to our hotel in silence.

I was extremely upset that night. The woman is just making use of the poor little boy to get money from tourists. Anything that he gets, probably go to her.

I do not know if he was born deformed. I do not know whether I hope that he is or he is not. And I don’t know which is worse.

I do not know if the woman is the boy’s mother or someone who is unrelated to him. And I do not know which is worse.

The other day I was having buffet with my friend at Ritz Carlton. After ten at night, I was taking desserts from the dessert counter. Tired and dreamy after a day’s work, I clumsily dropped a few grapes on the table. Normally, I would just take and eat them. But the buffet was already closed and as I looked at the leftover food all around me, I didn’t see a point to do that.

As I stare at the grapes, I suddenly thought of the boy. The crippled boy who ran after us in a forgotten road in

China

. The boy who we refused to help. And the boy that we did not know how to help.

842 million people in the world go to bed hungry. Hunger kills 25,000 people every year. That’s one life in less than 5 seconds.

I wish I can walk the different corners of the world. Then, I will be able to see the faces of hunger and poverty. But if I have to face hungry children looking at me for help, I probably cannot sleep for a very long time.

~ Written in honor of all the people who devote their life to solving the world hunger crisis ~

When I first took up diving, I was like a little boy collecting toys, eager to go explore the different diving paradises around the world.

One of the first spots I visited was Redang. When we landed on the island, it became very obvious why the island is so famous. Endless stretch of white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, clear blue sky, beach volleyball courts, people sun-tanning by the beach, divers sitting at cafes waiting for their next dive… Anyway, if you have been to dive resorts, I am sure you will get the picture. A perfect paradise.

Even without getting wet, one can see schools of fishes just by looking into the sea from the boat.

Back in the good old days, the hotels were all wooden houses built on sand. Every four diver shared one little wooden chalet. Big trees that were too difficult to be chopped away are everywhere, with squirrels running all over the place.

After my first dive, we were sitting at the wooden hut by the sea having our nice tropical drinks when my peers asked me to check out the snorkeling spot just by the corner of the bay. Those who have been to Redang before claimed that if you are lucky, it is possible to see baby black-tip sharks hiding in the shallow reef, away from the treacherous open sea. The thought was really exciting. We took our stuffs and headed for our mini exclusion.

Well, if you were with us back then, you will be screaming like all of us. Just that you can’t really scream while you are in the water. The coral reef was just 3 to 5 metres from shore. The marine park was covered with bright and vibrant corals, with schools of parrot fishes, trumpets, surgeons, clowns, triggers etc etc etc etc swimming around the reef. The most amazing part is that the coral reef is slightly less than a metre deep. From the surface, you can see everything at the sea bed vividly. It was not long before the first black-tip appeared. I think I probably saw more than 10 baby sharks in that snorkeling trip.

When I returned to the dive shop, I told all my friends, "WOW! This is the best snorkel site I have ever tried!" Everyone agreed.

Two years ago, I planned my second dive trip to Redang. This time, with another group of friends. It was really exciting to go back to the paradise again after 3 years. On the bus trip, I was describing the amazing marine park to all my friends enthusiastically. Many of them were new divers and they all looked doubtful when I told them that a person got to be blind not to see the sharks.

The island has become quite commercialized. The hotels were replaced by concrete multi-storey buildings with swimming pools and huge facilities. The trees and squirrels were gone, but the crystal clear water and white sandy beaches still promise a great diving experience.

We headed down to the shops to check out the diving and snorkeling immediately. As we walked to the snorkel site, the place was filled with tourists. There were at least fifty people congressed over the marine park. Most of them are clearly not experienced in snorkeling, wearing life vests and carrying floats.

When we headed into the water, my heart sank. What used to be an amazing marine system is now just an endless pile of dead and broken corals. There were still quite a lot of fishes around, nibbling on the algae on the broken corals. As the water was shallow, most of the tourists who are not used to snorkeling chose to stand up and walk on the sea bed. It was clear why the corals were all dead.

We managed to see the sharks though. Most of the new divers found the snorkeling good. Many of them have not seen black-tips before. I kept telling them that this is nothing compared to what the place used to be. After a while, I started to feel a bit depressed and stopped complaining about the tourists who are not taking care of the reef.

Today, when I think about Redang, I get flashbacks of the scene with the teenage girl standing on top of the dead coral, calling out to her friends to come and check out the sharks. I see images of people wearing life jackets and yet standing and walking over broken corals searching for fishes.

In years to come, what used to be a vibrant and colourful marine park will be forgotten by the tourists. Leaving behind a park littered with dead corals which is unable to sustain the marine life that have slowly died with the reef.

And when I think about how magnificent the place was when I first saw it, I am always swarmed with sadness. A feeling of loss and helplessness.

Nothing can be done to bring the back my “Best snorkel site in the world”.

The marine ecosystem is very fragile. Once it is damaged, it will take many decades for the reef to recover.

Please help to protect our coral reefs.