One of the best-known quotes from George Orwell’s book 1984 is “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” This quote is so central to the book because it aptly encapsulates the topsy-turvy state of the world that the book is about, Oceania.
In Oceania, people are asked to disbelieve what they see with their own eyes and simply follow everything Big Brother dictates. Any act of revolution, even thinking differently than that which Big Brother has prescribed, is punished harshly and those deemed problematic simply disappear during the night.
It sadly doesn’t take a genius to draw several parallels between this work of fiction that was meant to be a commentary on totalitarian governance and the situation we currently seem to be experiencing locally.
On December 3, 2022, Jean Paul Sofia was killed when a building collapsed on top of him. Despite copious pressure, our prime minister has thus far dismissed the call for a public inquiry. This has left Jean Paul’s grieving mother rightfully bereft. Almost five months have passed since the tragedy occurred and we are yet to see anything tangible being done in the way of justice.
This fact alone would be odious enough; however, what makes all this even more appalling is that, at the beginning of the week, a man who appears to be Jean Paul’s friend was arrested for doing no more than hanging a poster calling for justice for his friend. In which democratic country could something like this be allowed to happen? There are no, indeed, no words.
Here we are in the midst of several ongoing scandals that have, at this point, spanned across several years and PAC question after PAC question remaining unanswered and, instead of the police actually pursuing what the rest of the civilised world would consider real criminals, they’re out here arresting computer science university students and people putting up posters calling for justice without a trace of irony.
It’s like everyone has taken magic mushrooms and the world has turned upside down so that day is night and night is day- Anna Marie Galea
It’s like everyone has taken magic mushrooms and the world has turned upside down so that day is night and night is day. I can only hope that something has been added to our water because, otherwise, there can be no excuse for how two plus two now equals five.
A democratic society cannot exist without truth, justice, fairness and equality. Chaos will ensue if any of these pillars are twisted or maimed to favour one faction of society over another. The law is not just there to be manipulated to shut up the unlucky few who do not have might; it is there to protect us from each other when things don’t go how they should.
It’s already been five months that Jean Paul’s family has gotten no reprieve: is his death to become yet another footnote that takes decades to resolve while more and more evidence is lost and discarded and his friends are arrested for daring to want the truth?
Does no one care that the accident site was demolished just last week? Has life become so very cheap in this country?
In a country so fragmented and divided, shouldn’t we at least be able to agree that a needless death shouldn’t go ignored?