Essay

Safety first

By Samantha Loong

"Wait a second, the police in your country don't carry guns? What kind of country is that?" The New York police officer, heavily armed with an enormous black rifle, expressed his shock when a friend of mine told him that the New Zealand police don't carry guns. They never have.

The first time I saw a real-life gun, I was standing behind a police officer in Australia. I didn't notice it immediately, but found myself staring at how loosely the shiny hard thing seemed to sit in its holster. When I realized what I was actually looking at, I took several nervous steps backwards to distance myself from it. Maybe officers feel safe with guns. And maybe Australia's citizens feel safe knowing that their police can shoot to kill. But what exactly makes a country safe?

I felt safe in New Zealand and Japan. And I feel safe in London. But it all depends. New Zealand doesn't have to worry about any nuclear accidents. But drunken rugby louts can be intimidating. And, as recently demonstrated, New Zealand's earthquakes mean business. In Japan, I walked through parks late at night without incident -- but I also had friends who were flashed at, groped on trains or followed home. The reports of people who would suddenly snap and push their fellow commuters into the paths of oncoming trains weren't exactly comforting either. I was also surprised to learn that the very earthquake-prone Japan has nuclear power plants. I guess I had naively thought that surely, a country that has experienced the dark side of nuclear energy would try to stay as far away from it as possible.

And then there's the U.K. When I first told my parents of my plans to leave Tokyo and move to London, they expressed their concern at the amount of knife crime the U.K. reportedly has. But at least there aren't any earthquakes here. And I haven't read about any crazed commuters yet. But oh wait, there are nuclear power plants. And even though there are so many green parks in London, it's considered the most polluted city in all of Europe.

The one thing that's common to all countries at the moment however, is the constant reminder that our safety is threatened by terrorist attacks. We are told to report suspicious packages and suspicious people. And we are made to be suspicious of everything and everyone. Security warnings, the media and people's own prejudices have created this idea that those who look different, especially if they happen to be wearing a head scarf, or have a darker shade of skin, are suddenly, maybe, dangerous.

So like the officer asked: what kind of country is your country? No country can ever be considered 100 percent safe. And people can't ever be considered 100 percent safe either. Is this because our dangerous environment is making us paranoid about safety? Or is our paranoia over safety making our environment dangerous? It's something to think about.

Shukan ST: October 15, 2010

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