The current outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome （Sars）, which has no known cure for victims afflicted by it, has brought widespread panic to Singaporeans and has drastically altered the pattern of their daily life.
The famous saying of President FD Roosevelt that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” aptly encapsulates the present state of mind of a large cross-section of Singaporeans and those in the worst-hit areas like Guangdong and Hong Kong.
How does this much dreaded illness impinge on the collective psyche of Singaporeans and how do they cope with it？
It is, I believe, fair to say that it has highlighted both the nobler and weaker sides of the Singaporean character.
First, the well-deserved accolades. Our valiant and caring healthcare givers, both in the public and private sectors, have borne the brunt of it, especially during the early stage, with not a few of them contracting it and some are still fighting for their lives.
Despite the much higher risks of contamination, they have continued to put their own safety aside, and that of their families too, and have discharged their professional responsibilities to the fullest.
On the unedifying side, numerous fellow Singaporeans have treated their healthcare professionals like pariahs.
Our nurses, who always wear their uniforms in public with pride, had to endure taunts and hostile stares. Some even avoided them like plagues.
There were other overt discriminatory treatments meted out to medical staff, which were utterly irrational and inexcusable.
Fortunately, these unthinking Singaporeans were the minority. Nonetheless, their attitudes have brought shame to the nation.
At the other extreme, a large number of Singaporeans have already totally abstained from social activities with the coming of Sars.
The repeated use of the term “super-infector” by the health authorities and the media to emphasise the transmission of this disease by one particular patient to numerous others was rather unfortunate and showed the lack of sensitivity to the feelings of this hapless victim and her family, especially when she was an involuntary agent in such transmission process and was still fighting for her own survival earlier.
The transmission cycle could have been explained in a more sympathetic way which would still get the message across, and yet not stigmatise this unfortunate victim, who would, perforce, have to live with this traumatic memory permanently.
This outbreak also highlights a trait of Singaporeans, which is that we tend to overreact in a crisis situation, instead of remaining calm and act rationally.
This was abundantly self-evident during the several crises that our country underwent in the past decades.
Hopefully, this is a fallibility of the older generation of Singaporeans, and that it would not be passed on as a legacy to the younger and better educated Singaporeans and the generations after them.
We should do some honest soul searching and learn the object lessons from the current outbreak. This would enable us to tackle other future national crises with greater success and equanimity.
。The writer is a retired lawyer.
非典型肺炎的爆發(fā),使許多新加坡人感到恐慌,并大大的改變了他們的日常生活方式。醫(yī)療人員到目前還沒有研究出能夠有效對抗病毒的方法。
已故美國總統(tǒng)羅斯福的名言“我們需要恐懼的是恐懼本身”,很恰當(dāng)?shù)馗爬嗽S多新加坡人,和身處災(zāi)情最嚴(yán)重的廣東省和香港的人們的心理狀況。
讓人們從心底感到害怕的非典型肺炎,對新加坡人的心態(tài)造成了怎么樣的沖擊,新加坡人又如何面對病毒的威脅呢？
我認(rèn)為病毒的爆發(fā),一方面突顯了一些新加坡人的高貴情操,另一方面也暴露了其他人的脆弱。
首先,我們應(yīng)該表揚(yáng)醫(yī)療人員的勇敢和愛心。病毒爆發(fā)初期,在公共和私人部門服務(wù)的醫(yī)療人員首當(dāng)其沖,不少因此受到感染,一些還在和病毒搏斗。
盡管面對受到感染的巨大危險(xiǎn),他們不顧自身甚至家人的安危,發(fā)揮了高度的專業(yè)精神。
但是,卻有許多丑陋的新加坡人,視醫(yī)療人員為避之則吉的瘟疫。向來在公共場所以身穿制服為榮的護(hù)士,必須忍受人們奚落、回避和不友善的眼光。還有其他對醫(yī)療人員的歧視行為,更毫無理性和不可原諒。
幸好這些只憑本能反應(yīng)行事的國人屬于少數(shù),不過,我們卻應(yīng)該為這些人的態(tài)度感到羞愧。
另一方面,非典型肺炎也使許多國人盡量避免社交活動(dòng)。
衛(wèi)生部和媒體重復(fù)使用“超級傳染者”這個(gè)名詞,強(qiáng)調(diào)某個(gè)病患將病毒傳給許多人,并沒有考慮到病患和她的家人的感受,是不恰當(dāng)?shù)淖龇?。病患本身是個(gè)受害者,也無意將病毒傳開,目前還在和病魔對抗。
病毒如何傳染開來,可以用比較富有同情心的方法解釋,避免給這個(gè)不幸的受害者留下污點(diǎn)。即使戰(zhàn)勝病毒,這段痛苦和難忘的回憶也將會(huì)永烙在她心中。
病毒的爆發(fā)也顯示了國人的另一個(gè)特性——我們在面對危機(jī)時(shí)往往反應(yīng)過度,不能保持冷靜和理性的行為。這樣的反應(yīng)在我們過去幾十年來面對各種危機(jī)時(shí)已經(jīng)顯露無遺。
希望這只是老一輩新加坡人的謬誤,年輕和受過更高教育的新加坡人不會(huì)有同樣的弱點(diǎn)。
我們應(yīng)該自我反省,從這次的事件吸取經(jīng)驗(yàn),以便更從容和成功地克服將來的危機(jī)。
。作者是一名退休律師。葉琦保譯。
The famous saying of President FD Roosevelt that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” aptly encapsulates the present state of mind of a large cross-section of Singaporeans and those in the worst-hit areas like Guangdong and Hong Kong.
How does this much dreaded illness impinge on the collective psyche of Singaporeans and how do they cope with it？
It is, I believe, fair to say that it has highlighted both the nobler and weaker sides of the Singaporean character.
First, the well-deserved accolades. Our valiant and caring healthcare givers, both in the public and private sectors, have borne the brunt of it, especially during the early stage, with not a few of them contracting it and some are still fighting for their lives.
Despite the much higher risks of contamination, they have continued to put their own safety aside, and that of their families too, and have discharged their professional responsibilities to the fullest.
On the unedifying side, numerous fellow Singaporeans have treated their healthcare professionals like pariahs.
Our nurses, who always wear their uniforms in public with pride, had to endure taunts and hostile stares. Some even avoided them like plagues.
There were other overt discriminatory treatments meted out to medical staff, which were utterly irrational and inexcusable.
Fortunately, these unthinking Singaporeans were the minority. Nonetheless, their attitudes have brought shame to the nation.
At the other extreme, a large number of Singaporeans have already totally abstained from social activities with the coming of Sars.
The repeated use of the term “super-infector” by the health authorities and the media to emphasise the transmission of this disease by one particular patient to numerous others was rather unfortunate and showed the lack of sensitivity to the feelings of this hapless victim and her family, especially when she was an involuntary agent in such transmission process and was still fighting for her own survival earlier.
The transmission cycle could have been explained in a more sympathetic way which would still get the message across, and yet not stigmatise this unfortunate victim, who would, perforce, have to live with this traumatic memory permanently.
This outbreak also highlights a trait of Singaporeans, which is that we tend to overreact in a crisis situation, instead of remaining calm and act rationally.
This was abundantly self-evident during the several crises that our country underwent in the past decades.
Hopefully, this is a fallibility of the older generation of Singaporeans, and that it would not be passed on as a legacy to the younger and better educated Singaporeans and the generations after them.
We should do some honest soul searching and learn the object lessons from the current outbreak. This would enable us to tackle other future national crises with greater success and equanimity.
。The writer is a retired lawyer.
非典型肺炎的爆發(fā),使許多新加坡人感到恐慌,并大大的改變了他們的日常生活方式。醫(yī)療人員到目前還沒有研究出能夠有效對抗病毒的方法。
已故美國總統(tǒng)羅斯福的名言“我們需要恐懼的是恐懼本身”,很恰當(dāng)?shù)馗爬嗽S多新加坡人,和身處災(zāi)情最嚴(yán)重的廣東省和香港的人們的心理狀況。
讓人們從心底感到害怕的非典型肺炎,對新加坡人的心態(tài)造成了怎么樣的沖擊,新加坡人又如何面對病毒的威脅呢？
我認(rèn)為病毒的爆發(fā),一方面突顯了一些新加坡人的高貴情操,另一方面也暴露了其他人的脆弱。
首先,我們應(yīng)該表揚(yáng)醫(yī)療人員的勇敢和愛心。病毒爆發(fā)初期,在公共和私人部門服務(wù)的醫(yī)療人員首當(dāng)其沖,不少因此受到感染,一些還在和病毒搏斗。
盡管面對受到感染的巨大危險(xiǎn),他們不顧自身甚至家人的安危,發(fā)揮了高度的專業(yè)精神。
但是,卻有許多丑陋的新加坡人,視醫(yī)療人員為避之則吉的瘟疫。向來在公共場所以身穿制服為榮的護(hù)士,必須忍受人們奚落、回避和不友善的眼光。還有其他對醫(yī)療人員的歧視行為,更毫無理性和不可原諒。
幸好這些只憑本能反應(yīng)行事的國人屬于少數(shù),不過,我們卻應(yīng)該為這些人的態(tài)度感到羞愧。
另一方面,非典型肺炎也使許多國人盡量避免社交活動(dòng)。
衛(wèi)生部和媒體重復(fù)使用“超級傳染者”這個(gè)名詞,強(qiáng)調(diào)某個(gè)病患將病毒傳給許多人,并沒有考慮到病患和她的家人的感受,是不恰當(dāng)?shù)淖龇?。病患本身是個(gè)受害者,也無意將病毒傳開,目前還在和病魔對抗。
病毒如何傳染開來,可以用比較富有同情心的方法解釋,避免給這個(gè)不幸的受害者留下污點(diǎn)。即使戰(zhàn)勝病毒,這段痛苦和難忘的回憶也將會(huì)永烙在她心中。
病毒的爆發(fā)也顯示了國人的另一個(gè)特性——我們在面對危機(jī)時(shí)往往反應(yīng)過度,不能保持冷靜和理性的行為。這樣的反應(yīng)在我們過去幾十年來面對各種危機(jī)時(shí)已經(jīng)顯露無遺。
希望這只是老一輩新加坡人的謬誤,年輕和受過更高教育的新加坡人不會(huì)有同樣的弱點(diǎn)。
我們應(yīng)該自我反省,從這次的事件吸取經(jīng)驗(yàn),以便更從容和成功地克服將來的危機(jī)。
。作者是一名退休律師。葉琦保譯。