Just a thought

It's hard to imagine how quickly the national tragedy came in the trail of its initial euphoria. Barely a day after the not-least surprising clinching of the right to host the 2012 Olympics games, the British capital had become the unexpected victim of yet another gruesome bombing attack. Inevitably brought to mind the bombing incident in Madrid about a year ago...

Possible explanations for the attack went through my mind, but I was more worried about friends and some relatives who reside there. Alas Msn on this side was down so contact with those overseas was virtually impossible, but managing to hear from some people was a comfort. And good thing many of my friends who study in London are now back here, cushioned from the current state of danger and chaos.

Had the attack occurred two years earlier or so, my guess is it might have had less of a personal affect on me. But the very fact that now it's so close to 'home' made me aware of the fact that in these troubled times no place is a true safe haven. Speculation of the causes of the attacks aside, the incident had made me seen even more clearly the kind of potential threat the world is now facing, and that we cannot afford to go easy on our defence efforts at all. This time, the attacks had occurred in London during the G-8 summit (in edin)-at a time and in a place symbolically chosen to hurt as many innocent civilians as possible, during a gathering of some of the most influential leaders in the world. In retrospect, the threat could have been equally real towards spore this time round, what with the significant number of important personnels gathered at the Raffles City Convention Centre for the IOC voting purposes. The heightened security there was not exaggerated after all, it seems.

Each incident should serve as a lasting wake-up call for greater vigilance. And we have to recognise that it is not just the duty of the Home Affairs and Defence Ministries, and of the government when it comes to the defence of a nation. It is down to the collective efforts of each and everyone of us, the civilians of the country, to ensure that the future of our nation is safeguarded.