Melancholy - China
Ghosts have a way of invoking our imagination and our feelings. I’m sure many of us have not really encountered ghosts in our lives before yet isn’t it very impressive how vivid our imagination could create the image of a ghost - scary, terrorizing, gruesome and beyond human’s control and comprehension since ghosts essentially belong to the realm of ‘the other’? The point to emphasize here is that although we do acknowledge their existence in our world, the general take is that it is best that ghosts remain separate and non-integrated from us, humans.
The idea of ‘ghosts’ indeed is a discourse in itself. It reveals the intrinsic nature of human - fearful of anything different, unpredictable and anything that can run amok. Thus the concept of ‘ghosts’ is used quite often today, by individuals and politicians alike, not only to reflect one’s own fear against anything different and intimidating but also to artificially and purposely create an atmosphere of terror so as to reinforce the ‘separate-ness‘ and ‘non-integrated-ness’ of ‘ghosts’ from the rest of ‘mankind’. This is conjured that in so doing, unity and integration of the rest of mankind is enhanced in the face of a common enemy - ghosts.
Today, a ‘ghost’ in the guise of ‘Muslims‘ is created almost everywhere around the world. Politicians and the media are quite united in their endeavor to deliberately represent Muslims as queer, intimidating and ‘difficult to tame’ as they are increasingly associated with ‘ghostly’ characteristics and values mentioned above. Take the following quote as an example:
“I would say today, we can integrate all religions and races except Islam [...] “I think we were progressing very nicely until the surge of Islam came and if you asked me for my observations, the other communities have easier integration — friends, intermarriages and so on…I think the Muslims socially do not cause any trouble, but they are distinct and separate.”
Ghosts = Anything 'different' and incomprehensible
The controversial quote above are words by a prolific leader - known for his ingenious nation-building policies. His words comes at a no less than appropriate time - what with the fresh outbreak of unrests in the Muslim world of Cairo and the court trial of Indonesia’s so-called Muslim cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir. In the midst of all these, we still have those concerning the Al-Qaeda, the Taliban force, the Palestine-Israel conflict, the India-Pakistan’s conflict with regards to Kashmir and nearer home, the Jemaah Islamiyah Organization.
Indeed they all seem to have something in common - Muslims are dangerous. But are all these fears towards Muslims justified? Perhaps so. You see if all Muslims look like Osama Bin Laden or the Ayatollah dude - spotting extremely, extremely big, sharp dark eyes, frizzy and curly hair akin to Einstein but perhaps worse, since the same frizzy curls are found all over the face and framing the ooh-not-so-sexy-lips - not only would that image send a baby wailing uncontrollably like as if he/she just saw a real ghost, but even I, as an adult lady, would tremble in fear for the first thought that comes to my mind is that THAT just looks very “chee-ko-pek-ish” (a local slang for a ‘leering old man’).
But what if the percentage of Muslims who look as freaky as Bin Laden is pretty much minute and insignificant? What if most Muslims are not so scary as they have been made to look like? I’m sure thus far no Muslim relatives of mine look anywhere near Bin Laden. In fact some of the Muslims I know of are not even anywhere near the look of Einstein since they are unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) bald and lacked any hair to speak of in the first place. What if there is a deeper agenda? What if the government is faced with a crisis and conveniently used Muslims as a pawn to solve their problems?
Referring to the quote above, it seems like the leader who said it was well-aware of a serious challenge that his nation is currently faced with - the non-receptive attitude among locals towards the rising number of foreigners. Now these foreigners were not ordinary immigrants. They were welcomed and treasured by the government for their perceived talents to boost the country’s growth, especially in the economic sphere. The locals instead blamed the foreigners for locals’ unemployment henceforth, show their hostility through the act of discriminating and segregating the foreigners. Indeed it is troubling how a lack of integration between the ‘locals’ and ‘foreigners’ could harm the very foundation (i.e. unity) of the ‘imagined community’ that the leaders in the concerned country have all along been creating. It was under that pretext that the quote was issued and Muslims in the country, who have faired the worst and contributed the least to the country’s economy, became a convenient common ‘enemy’ within the country so as to reinforce integration between the other locals with the foreigners.
The victims? The Muslims definitely for they now not only are given a new identity that of a ‘ghost’ but with that new identity comes new labeling socially, politically and economically - indeed a hot breeding bed for legalized discrimination. I say from the look of it, the Muslims is in for a speedy downhill ride and with that coming their way, who wouldn’t be surprised if Muslims really live to become dangerous ghosts plagued by social malaise as self-fulfilling prophecy began its work?
Is there a solution to all these? Perhaps yes there is but it would require more work in a formulaic-theoretical (read: science- and math- driven) society. For as long as a society is concerned mostly on the numbers, the graphs and the demands and supply, the people then became less of a human with heart, ready to be machines of the government to maneuver and control. In that kind of society, humanity also becomes somewhat compromised to the extent that people need to be told to be gracious as evident from campaigns such as “Do not Litter”, “Kindness Begins With me”, “Stop Bus Captain Abuse” etc.. What we really need is genuine human beings who control their own mind, heart and actions for them not to be puppets of those in power and for them to be aware and sensitive of their environment.
A good friend, Kavitha, said this to me recently - that “Arts is important as it is the future for humanity.” I say I couldn’t agree more with it. Do you?
