Just last week, in this column, I was telling the readers on this Web site that we should go on with our routine in spite of the war in Iraq and the SARS health scare. I said that we should take control of our lives and not let terrorists dictate terms to us. I added that we should not let them unnerve us. I also talked about SARS rather casually.

I admit I had mentioned SARS as if the disease wasn’t going to be a problem here. I was dead wrong! In the space of a week, the Government has ordered the closure of all schools up to Junior College level from 27 March to 6 April 2003 and stopped all extra-curricular activities and competitions in schools. Childcare, pre-school and student care centres have also been asked to close for the same period.

The number of SARS index cases has risen from three to five as at today. A third person has died of SARS. The latest index case reported yesterday (Sunday) is a 17-year-old boy from Bo Wen Secondary School in Hougang. It is believed he contracted the disease while he was in Hong Kong recently. Thank goodness, the Ministries of Education and Health acted swiftly in closing schools last week, otherwise, the disease would have spread like wildfire since schools, being dense gathering areas, are the ideal grounds for the disease to make its rounds.

We can do our part by heeding the Government’s warning against travelling to SARS-infected cities like Hong Kong and Beijing. We should not be complacent and just think of ourselves first. In fact, the fourth index case reported on 28 Mar 2003 is a lady who went to Beijing and Hong Kong the very day the Government issued an advisory requesting our residents not to travel to the cities for the time being. Now that the lady is back, and has brought the disease back to Singapore, we can expect a string of new cases as a result of her inconsiderate act.

I myself found it strange at first that while SARS has been bothering us here, it has not made its way into Malaysia. I have now surmised that we Singaporeans are partly to blame for the spread of SARS. We in Singapore have a higher standard of living than many people in our neighbouring countries - in short, we have a good life. And with the good life, comes trappings, such as holidaying overseas. So we have - if I may use the term - invited SARS into our country.

These are not exactly the best of times, what with the war going on in Iraq. SARS has indeed made an impact on us here. Many of us have kept away from the shopping centres and the food courts. We are even wary about taking the cab, for fear of catching the dreaded disease - the lady who returned from Hong Kong (4th index case) took a cab from the airport to the hospital. The authorities yesterday found the cab driver and have since ordered him to be quarantined.

Besides causing great inconvenience to all of us here, SARS has also had a negative impact on our already vulnerable economy. It is likely that our travel and tourism industries will be affected. What can we do? We can only take things in our stride. The disease has so far been contained, thanks to the quick action of the authorities here. The Government has acted more quickly than the Hong Kong authorities have over there. Let us not cause complications by venturing overseas in these trying times.

Perhaps, one good thing has come out of the whole affair - many of us have been able to spend more quality time with our children at home. The disease has brought families closer, I am sure. 

Today’s the first day of school in the Second Term for primary and secondary school students in Singapore. It was a week’s break for these kids. Yet, in the space of only a week, so much has happened in the world. For one thing, coalition forces are attacking Iraq to liberate its people from a tyrant. And, for another, a new contagious killer virus is on the rampage in Asia and other parts of the world.

So, our kids return to school today knowing that the world has changed so much in such a short time. But, then, the only thing that is constant in this world of ours is CHANGE - there’s always change happening all around us.

This week, we come to terms with the fact that the killer virus Sars has infected 51 people here so far. We hear the health authorities advising parents with children who are having a fever or flu to tell their children to stay at home and not come to school. That’s good advice actually. We want the disease to die its natural course here in the next few weeks. From three index cases, the disease has spread to 51 people in total so far. Thank goodness, there are no new index cases to cause complications here.
 
Many of us have also been keeping away from the crowds. We avoid going to shopping centres in the city area for fear of catching this dreaded disease. But, that’s not the only reason for avoiding the shopping centres. With the war going on in Iraq, we are also fearful of reprisals from terrorists sympathetic to the cause of Iraq’s tyrant and his gang. So, even though we know Singapore is a pretty safe place to be in, we are nevertheless as nervy as those in the USA.

We can’t avoid getting these feelings. Since 911, our notion of the world we live in has changed irrevocably. We know that there are crazy people out there who have no qualms about killing thousands of innocent people to further their morbid cause. So, we stay away from crowded places in town - better safe than sorry eh?

But, that’s exactly the wrong type of thinking. We should never let these terrorists dictate terms to us. We should not let them unnerve us. The Government has taken security precautions, such as implementing stringent checks at border points and the port, and guarding important commercial buildings. We should also do our part by continuing our daily routine. After all, how can we call ourselves Singaporeans if we do not go shopping - I mean, whether we are men or women, shopping is in our blood.

I am not talking nonsense. We should carry on with our lives and not let these terrorists succeed in making us fear for our lives - mindlessly.

Yesterday morning, I read a newspaper report about two teenagers being bullied into giving up their handphones. According to the report, some older boys who were complete strangers accused them of staring and took them to an HDB block where the two were relieved of their wallets and phones.

Now that set my memory abuzz. I recall sometime in the mid 1980’s, one of my friends studying at the Bras Basah Complex in North Bridge Road was accosted in the same complex by two men who accused him and a classmate of staring at them. These men wanted him and his friend to follow them so as to settle the matter.

My friend wanted to clear the air about the purported staring incident and so followed the two men. But by doing so, he fell into the twosome’s trap for this was just a ploy to get the two of them to follow the men to a secluded spot in one of the HDB blocks next to the complex, where they were robbed of their belongings.

To this very day, I can’t seem to believe that my friend, who was a street-wise kid then, could be so gullible. But, that this ruse continues to ensnare even street-wise teenagers speaks volumes for its effectiveness then in the 1980’s, as well as now.

I am sure this ploy will work just as effectively years from now, as I think any teenager worth his salt will surely not want to be accused falsely of staring at others.

I daresay even if we relate such cases to teenagers we know, hoping that they will not fall victims, these chaps will still be gullible enough to fall into such traps. So just what should we do then? 

I am afraid there’s very little we can do, except hope for the best. Perhaps, one day, people will stop staring at others and this excuse will no longer work then - but it’s wishful thinking on my part.