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Egypt: Swingers Use Internet to Arrange Rendezvous

Amira Al Hussaini · 22:03 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → bn · it

There are secrets behind closed doors. But to say that Egypt was shell shocked as news about its first swingers club emerged would be an understatement. And there is a small technicality - the couples first met online before arranging to meet face to face in cafes.

According to Al Arabiya news site a senior civil servant and his wife were arrested for organising orgies and swinging parties as well as hosting wife swaps.

The couple advertised for their activities online, with invites to married couples only. Forty-four couples responded to the Internet ad over a three month period.

Zeinobia, from Egyptian Chronicles, goes ballistic. She notes:

The big disgraceful news made the headlines in all crime pages and sometimes front pages ,it is first time in the history of Egypt to have something like this.
The police arrested the married couple who operated that club and currently search for other 44 married couples who were members in that club.
The man is 48 years governmental official and his wife is 38 years old veiled Arabic school teacher !! Yes the wife is veiled Arabic school teacher , it was a shock to me because I understand or I know that a woman like her should have better knowledge of her religion and her culture , she is raising generations for God Sake !!

In another post, Zeinobia notes that the couples may have met on Facebook:

By the way it seems that this swingers club was a group on the facebook , yes the facebook ,already believe it or not I made a quick search and I found three swingers Arab groups , one a very private group in Egypt ,another one in KSA and the last one in Emirates. The bad use of technology ,what I can say !!??

To understand Zeinobia's dismay one only has to reflect on how online activists use the Internet and Facebook to tell the world about their troubles.

Al Masry Al Youm, an Egyptian paper, ran the story online. So far more than 250 people have commented on the article and here's a cross section of reactions.

Tarek Salaheldin comments:

اذا لم تستحى فافعل ما شئت وهؤلاء لا حياء ولا دين

If you have no shame, you can do whatever you want and those people have no shame and no religion.

Mohammed Ayoub says:

ما هذا الانفلات الاخلاقى الذى يحدث فى المجتمع وكأننا نعيش فى اوروبا وامريكا وليس فى مجتمع اسلامى - اعتقد ان سبب هذا الفجور هو قنوات الدش ومواقع النت الاباحية التى يجب ان يتم عمل بروكسى عليها مثل بعض الدول الاسلامية وربنا يحفظنا جميعا ومن الافضل عدم الافصاح عن مثل هذه المواضيع حتى لا تصبح اشياء عادية

What is this moral degradation in our society as id we are living in Europe or America and not a Muslim society - I believe that the reason for this are the satellite channels and the adult sites on the Internet which should have a proxy installed on them just like in other Islamic countries. May God protect us all. It is better not to cover such topics so that they don't become regular.

And Wael adds:

ولا هى النهاية ولا البداية هى طبائع فى النفس الأنسانية وطبعا بعد اللغاء دور الدين فى المجتمع فلا يوجد أى رادع للنفس الأنسانية وطبعا سمعت عن حوادث سرقة وقتل بدون اى اعتبار لنفس كما لوكنا نعيش فى غابة بل نحن كذلك

This is not the first nor the last. This is part of human nature and of course, after the role of religion has become void, there is nothing to deter people. We also hear about thefts and murders without any consideration for human life - as if we live in the jungle, which we really do.

Adel Al Wardani agrees that such news should not be published:

لماذا لا يحجب نشر مثل تلك البشاعات حتى لا تنتشر ويستسهلها من لا دين لهم ولا أخلاق وإن كان لا بد فيمكن نشر الخبر علي أنها شبكة دعارة دون تفصيلات كثيرة . ده رأيي .

Such horrors should not be published so that they don't become widespread and easy to copy for those with no religion or morality. If the news has to be published, it should be announced that a prostution ring has been caught, without a lot of details. This is my opinion.

What do you think? Should such stories be publicised or just whispered about behind closed doors?

12 comments · read »

Malaysia's Jungle Spirits

Daniel Chandranayagam · 21:19, October 29th, 2008 · East Asia

lingua → es · bn · ar · fr

Lush with primary and secondary virgin jungle, Malaysians have long held a respect for the forests. It also helps that myths, whether bearing down from the forefathers or from urban legend, has caused a lot of superstition surrounding the vast jungle of Malaysia.

According to Hungzai.com,

Entering the jungle? Respect the place and don’t “talk big”. Don’t relieve yourself anywhere you like. Don’t call out your friend’s name. Break these traditional taboos and unseen spirits may just wreak havoc on you – for instance, a “voice” may just imitate your companion’s name and lead him far astray from the path.

Or you may end up in an unseen dimension, perhaps even meet a nice old man who invites you to a fabulous ‘mansion’ in the jungle.

Fascination on the matter has grown in recent years, with the sighting of a creature, similar to the North American Bigfoot, in the jungles of peninsular Malaysia. According to Adha:

Ramai yang mendakwa telah terserempak dengan Bigfoot dan mereka menggambarkan makhluk itu bertubuh tegap dan besar, gigi-giginya besar, matanya berwarna merah, bulunya berwarna perang gelap atau merah kehitaman dan meliputi seluruh badan. penghuni hantu puaka rimba hutan berhantu angker batu di Malaysia hutan tropika Bigfoot dikatakan tidak menyerang manusia atau menggangu manusia sebaliknya malu jika terserempak dengan manusia malah sering berpindah kawasan setelah kewujudannya disedari oleh manusia. Ia hanya makan pucuk kayu muda dan akan menggosokkan badannya pada batang pokok untuk menghilang kegatalan pada tubuh. kejadian paranormal mengenai big foot mengenai Bigfoot makhluk tapak kaki besar Makhluk yang dikenali sebagai Mawas, Orang utan, Hantu Jarang Gigi dan Siamang di kalangan masyarakat Orang Asli Johor itu juga hidup dalam kumpulan iaitu satu keluarga yang dianggotai oleh bapak, ibu dan anak-anak… Kisah terawal tentang Big foot mula dilaporkan pada tahun 1811 apabila seorang juruukur Kanada mendakwa menemui jejak kaki luarbiasa yang besar dan dipercayai milik makhluk yang belum pernah dikenali oleh dunia di Jasper, Kanada.

Lembaga hitam hantu bertapak tapak kaki besar hantu tinggi hantu raya hantu hutan [names of ghosts]. Many have claimed to come across with Bigfoot, and describe the creature as being big with large teeth and with brownish reddish black fur on its body. The settlers in the forests say that the Malaysian Bigfoot does not attack or disturb man, but is conversely shy when it sees humans, and always moves elsewhere when it knows man has found it. It only eats leaves and shrubs and rubs its body on small trees to ease its itchiness. The paranormal occurrence of the Few-teethed Ghost and ‘Siamang' among the naives in Johore (the forest in which the Bigfoot was sighted) also live in groups, i.e. a father, mother and their children… The earliest sighting of the beast was in 1811, when a Canadian surveyor claimed he found large footprints which was believed to belong to an unknown creature.

Urban myth aside, Malaysia is rich with legends of ghosts living in the forest.
Oakfall~FirdzZ explains what a Water Ghost is on his blog:

Hantu Air, Puaka Air or Mambang Air is the Malay translation for Spirit of the Water , Hantu Air is the unseen dweller of watery places such as rivers, lakes, seas, swamps and even ditches. It is mainly associated with bad things happening to people which includes drowning, missing, flooding and many more.

The term Hantu Air may sound spooky to Malays but when the term is translated into English it creates a new understanding of the meaning that besets the culture of the Malay people. For a long time the Malay Archipelago was ruled by animism {the believe in spirits} and people tended to associate almost anything with the spiritual world including nature.

Some people believe that the spirit will haunt places associated with water during or after it has been discarded by its previous owner. The unguided and lost spirit will soon roam the place. When it is hungry, it will feast on anything including humans.

Superstitions arising among the locals tell of this evil spirit dwelling in watery places where it sometimes disguises itself as an old tree trunk, a beautiful lady, fishes or other animals in order to attract unassuming people into its trap. When caught the human will be eaten or perhaps drowned to death.

There is a ceremony that is still popular among the local older Malays called Semah Pantai especially in the East Coast of Malaysia. It is a ceremony whereby fishermen and seafarers honor the sea spirits and at the same time ask for blessings and protection when they venture out to sea to catch fish.

Malaysian Water Ghost

At the Penampakan Gambar Foto Hantu blog, which specialises in photos of ghosts, you can even find photos of what is said to be a ghost in the forest, like the one below.

Ghost in the Malaysian Jungle

Perhaps the most famous of all forest spirits, who are said to live in a dimension which humans can't see. Occasionally, the dimensions overlaps, which explains sightings. According to X Trackers:

One best option is not to engage in this entities, because without a proper guidance and knowledge we could endanger ourselves and families. If God Willing, I will soon post some of by research I wrote “The Law Of Spirit”, so people will have a better understanding of the another world dimension and it's beings within. In it will have topic such as “The misinterpretion of ghost and do they exist?”

Meanwhile, recent school hysteria has been put down to ghostly sightings, including that of the Bunian. Alem says:

memang hard to believe that some people can see makluk halus which were jin, bunian, jembalang and so on..this is a give from god..do you ever heard news about hysteria happen at the new school somewhere in malaysia recendly..base on her(girl that can see things) opnion that place were perkampungan bunian hard to believe kan.. i agree with her coz actually that place memang tempat jin bertendang before development..no1 attent to go there but the school was build at that place for many reason..tambah lagi primary school lagi.. u know kan children memang can see many things… i dunno this is my opinion..so to me other mahlok memang exist..tuhan itu maha kuasa…anything beyond our thinking anything can be…

It's hard to believe that some people can see ghostly apparitions, like djins, bunian, jembalang [type of ghost] and so on..this is a gift from God..did you heard the news about hysteria in new schools in Malaysia recently? Based on her (girl who can see things) opinion, the school was a bunian village. Hard to believe, right?.. I agree with her because that place is a place where ghosts used to war before development… No one intended to go there but the school was built there for many reasons… What's more, it's a primary school. You know, children can see many things… I don't know, this is my opinion… So to me other creatures do exist.. the God is the Almighty…anything beyond our thinking anything is possible…

5 comments · read »

Palestinian Football History

Amira Al Hussaini · 20:57 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → bn · fr

Palestinians made their own football history, being the only team - in the words of one blogger - with a stadium but no country.

Palestinian Haitham Sabbah is bubbling with excitement and pride as he types:

At last, Palestinians now have a new way to express their national pride - through soccer.

Delving into history, Sabbah explains:

The Palestinian team has existed for a decade, but until today the Palestinian squad played its “home games” in Arab countries, including Jordan and Qatar, although Palestine has been a FIFA member since 1998. The reason is simple: for years it has been denied a home ground and it was forced to train and play overseas due to Israeli occupation. Today is no different with Israel still occupying the Palestinian territories, however, as a form of resistance, Palestine’s football team decided to makes history with its first ever international game at home. Palestine - taking on Jordan in their first home game - will be the only team now with a ground, but without a country.

Morocco: Halloween Not Just for Expats Anymore

Jillian C. York · 12:29 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → bn · es

The Halloween tradition is a muddled one; with traditions in an ancient Celtic celebration, Halloween started in Europe and made its way to the United States, where it has been embraced as a holiday for children.

In recent years, however, the American version of Halloween has spread to the rest of the world, with Morocco being no exception.

Madame Monet, an expat in Marrakesh, explains:

Halloween is making steady inroads into Morocco.

I live in Marrakesh, where of course we celebrate Halloween at the American School with class parties. Many of the kids come to school dressed in elaborate costumes. Americans in Marrakesh have celebrated Halloween with private parties and privately-arranged trick-or-treating for many years. But last year was the first time ever some Moroccan kids rang my doorbell and said, “Trick-or-Treat!” We managed to round up some snacks quickly. This year, I’ll be prepared better with a sack of candy, just in case.

She adds:

Moroccan children attending French and American schools have been learning about Halloween for a number of years now, and other kids have now been seeing masks for sale in the stores. Furthermore, movies and plenty of American TV is now rebroadcast on the satellite dishes out of Saudi Arabia, and seen here in Morocco. I predict that within a generation, there will be a subset of Moroccans regularly celebrating Halloween, having parties, and perhaps even trick-or-treating.

The View From Fez also reports that a Halloween celebration is to take place in Fez:

Now Halloween is not a traditional event in Morocco, but The View from Fez hears whispers of a HUGE Halloween party to be held on October 31. We have a brave volunteer who says she will dress up, front up and take photographs. Watch this space.

But not everyone is celebrating. Peace Corps Volunteer Hillary is a little sad to miss American Halloween celebrations:

I do miss home and now with Halloween coming up and not being able to hang out with Matthew, Becky, and James at the bar… do the fun KCAD halloween parties, and be able to wear my usual 3 costumes i buy for this makes me kinda sad, but i know that Halloween here will be a fun time and an experience to see how Moroccans view this day and how similar and different it is to us in the States.. be prepared for stories:)

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Russia: “Help Svetlana Bakhmina” Petition

Veronica Khokhlova · 03:47, October 29th, 2008 · Eastern & Central Europe

lingua → fr · es

As of now, 71,250 people have signed an online petition appealing to the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to pardon Svetlana Bakhmina, a former senior lawyer for Mikhail Khodorkovsky's oil company Yukos, who was arrested in December 2004 and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion in April 2006. Bakhmina, 39, is serving her sentence in Mordovia; she has two sons whom she hasn't seen since the time of her arrest (Fyodor, 7, and Grigory, 11) and is expecting her third child to be born in December; all her appeals for a postponement of her prison term and for an early conditional release have so far been rejected by the Russian courts.

Below is the English-language text of the online petition, which is also available in Russian, Italian, Spanish, and French:

Dear Mr. President,

Please attend to the case of Svetlana Bakhmina, a Russian citizen sentenced to a 6.5 years' imprisonment term. In May 2008, she served half of her term. According to Russian laws, she may be released on parole.

Svetlana has two sons, aged seven and eleven. Moreover, now she is expecting her third child, which is due in December. Now Svetlana is in prison hospital. Nonetheless, the court has twice refused to release her on parole.

Mister President, we know that under the Constitution of Russian Federation, you may pardon Svetlana Bakhmina.

We, the undersigned, urge you to pardon her.

We believe that by doing so you will demonstrate to the people of Russian Federation and to the whole world that mercy and respect of human rights are the corner stones of a strong civilized state.

The online petition seems like a truly international effort: those who have signed it appear to be based not just in Russia, but in Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Poland, the United States, Canada, Israel and other countries as well. Many of the signees have chosen to use the Comments option on the petition to voice their views on the issue; below are some of the latest messages (RUS):

71143. Yablochkin Sergei Victorovich, St. Petersburg, a pensioner:

I think that keeping Ms. Bakhmina jailed in her condition isn't just cruel and extremely pointless - as long as we are still insisting that the goal of our penitentiary system is to CORRECT an individual. I'm afraid that in this situation the result will not be just another miserable mother and a child with a crippled future, but also tens of thousands people to whom no one will be able to prove from now on that they live in a civilized country.

***

71192. Lomov Aleksandr Igorevich, Moscow region, Chernogolovka, an entrepreneur:

It does not matter where a person used to work: Yukos or not. The law has to be stronger than this!

***

71199. Jarzabek Kazimierz Honoratowicz, Toruń, Poland, engineer, lawyer:

[…] Here's a question: Will President Medvedev manage to act as a knight towards a woman or not? To Russia and to all of you/us, I'm wishing for the answer to be positive. I graduated from a Russian [technical university], then worked in Volgograd and Bratsk for six years. I am always interested in what's going on in Russia, though don't always understand it. Respectfully, KJ.

***

71201. Sukhoverkh Yevgeniy Anatolyevich, Belarus, Molodechno, correspondence student and worker:

Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich [Medvedev] and Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin]! Prove that you have hearts and souls in addition to political ambitions!

***

71214. Dobrynina Yelena Pavlovna, Moscow, financial employee:

I think that the law has to be the same for everyone. Both when it comes to enforcing punishment and [deciding in favor of] a release. Svetlana Bakhmina has the legal right [to be released], even if her circumstances (pregnancy and two underage children) are not taken into account.

Quite a few Russian bloggers have mentioned the online petition on their blogs; some have signed it, others haven't. LJ user bearshitsky is one of the latter; in this post (RUS), he explains why he believes that Svetlana Bakhmina should be freed, but nevertheless prefers an individualist approach to supporting her plight:

[…] I am for Bakhmina's pardon. Even if what she's done [is in violation of some laws], the person who was making decisions and giving orders in Yukos - Khodorkovsky - is in jail and [it's not clear] when he is going to be released.

And three kids, and two, and even one - it's [a big deal]. Children do not live well without their mamas. And in any case, I think that four years of [penal] colony is a sufficient punishment for any non-violent crime.

But I won't leave my signature at any site. In general, I don't sign collective letter and don't take part in any [collective - kolkhoz - initiatives], regardless of who is pushing me into them. That's why my signature is here:

Bershidsky Leonid from Moscow. […]

And here are some views from LJ user bearshitsky's readers:

magda2004:

No, I've signed my name in “kolkhoz.” It's one of those occasions when it's important to “have myself counted.”

bearshitsky:

To have yourself counted by whom?

magda2004:

By a counter :)

Actually, the whole Bakhmina story is slowly turning into a referendum. For a referendum, however, 40,000 signatures is too little. Small numbers is an argument not only against Bakhmina. That's why I want the numbers to grow.

***

polya_yu:

I support pardon, but am afraid to sign. I'm not that firmly established to be appealing for people who have stood up against the regime.

***

gmj:

I think this is right. Leonid has intuitively (or as a media person:) ) realized the following - a letter with 40,000 signatures will have no effect on the regime, because the people [in this regime] have been successfully creating such letters for the past 80 years. But 40,000 individual letters will confound [the regime] - are there really 40,000 people who have [just think of it] an opinion of their own!

LJ user leosat is one of those who signed the petition early on; he's not very optimistic, though (RUS):

[…] Needless to say, petitions have no practical meaning. They couldn't care less about our opinions.

In [Bakhmina's] case, […] what's outrageous is the lack of unbiased approach to the circumstances that could facilitate the person's release. She has mastered a trade [in accordance with a requirement for inmates], something that [Mikhail Khodorkovsky has failed to do], her records are excellent and she has no outstanding penalties. According to our laws, this qualifies her almost automatically for [early conditional release]. That she has two children and is also pregnant shouldn't be counted against her, at the minimum. And yet. […]

In the same post, LJ user leosat mentions another online petition, which is available only in Russian and urges president Medvedev not to have leniency on Svetlana Bakhmina:

A site gathering signatures for non-release of Bakhmina has appeared on the web. They've collected slightly more than a thousand signatures. People have different attitudes towards signing petitions and towards the regime that these petitions address. Taking all this into account, as well as the time that [both sites] have exited for [the anti-Bakhmina site is much younger than its pro-Bakhmina counterpart] […], I've made an assessment and concluded that compassionate people on the web outnumber the actively callous ones by five or so. […]

The copycat anti-Bakhmina initiative has so far gathered around 1,650 signatures, and at least some of them are fake. For example, LJ user avmalgin - who considers Bakhmina's imprisonment “a shame for Russia's current regime” - has discovered his own name on it (RUS).

2 comments · read »

Korea: Rise of ‘No Reason for Murder’

Hyejin Kim · 01:26 · East Asia

A South Korean man who was not satisfied with himself and society attacked a gosiwon and killed six people in an arson attack and knife in the middle of Seoul.[En] His hatred against this society, mistreatment since childhood and long term odd-jobs, led him to kill innocent people who stayed in the gosiwon and who also might have hardship as a matter of fact. Gosiwon, a facility packed with tiny single-room accommodations, was originally used for students preparing for civil service examinations. Gosiwon literally means ‘a place to study for state exams' [En]. Gosiwon, which are usually used by college students after graduation are places for dreaming of success in the future. In isolated and tiny space, they lock themselves for 6 months or several years so they can focus on studying until they pass civil service examinations to be lawyers and high government officials. It symbolized hardship, but for success. However, they are now becoming lodging places for all types of people, from migrant laborers to laid-off salary workers, seeking somewhere to stay with cheap rent and no frills. In Seoul, there are 3,451 gosiwon buildings and 108,428 people reside in them [En].

The murderer also stayed in the gosiwon. His thorough plan of this crime shocked Korean society. Concerns about potential copy cats are disconcerting to people.

Many netizens analyze this crime as one of the significant problems of modern society.

사건을 일으킨 장본인은 사회에 대한 불만때문인 것으로 알려졌다. 최근 들어 경제적 문제와 사회에 대한 불만으로 자신과 이해관계가 전혀없는 사람들에 대한 살인이 늘어가고 있는 추세다. 이것은 우리나라 뿐만 아니라 선진국이라는 이웃 일본, 미국을 비롯한 서구사회에 일반화되고 있는 추세다. 앞으로도 현재의 경제시스템과 사회구조가 계속되는 한 묻지마 살인이나 방화는 계속될 수 밖에 없다. 돈은 삶의 수단이자 도구일 뿐 인데 오히려 그 것의 노예가 되어 있는 한 살인과 방화는 멈출 수 없다는 것이다.

그 돈의 대부분을 1% 소수가 소유하고 남은 부스러기를 99%가 나눠 가지려고 아귀다툼을 벌이고 가난과 배고픔이 당사자의 무능력과 게으름때문이라고 가난한 자를 막다른 골목에 몰아넣는 한 또 어떤 일이 일어날 지 아무도 모른다. 이번에 화재가 난 고시원은 그 가난한 99%의 사람들이 고단한 삶의 전쟁터에서 눈물젖은 빵을 먹으며 하루 하루를 견뎌냈던 곳이고 묻지마 살인을 한 사람도 그 99%에 속했던 사람이다. 그리고 99%의 사람이 현재의 질곡에서 벗어나지 못하고 짐승처럼 살 수 밖에 없다면 고시원 수요는 계속 늘어날 수 밖에 없다. 묻지마 살인을 막을 수 있는 길은 부의 분배는 아니더라도 그들을 최소한 사람으로 인정해주는 방법밖에 없다. 그것이 살인과 방화로 죽어간 귀중한 생명들에게 답하는 길이 될 것이다.

The reason why the murderer killed those was due to dissatisfaction with the world. There are more murderers who kill strangers because of dissatisfaction to society and economic problems. As well as our country, other developed countries such as Japan, the US, and other western countries tend to have these kinds of cases. If economic systems and social structure don’t change, these kinds of murders and arsons will continue. Money is the means of living. As long as we are its slaves, these tragedies will not stop.

Most money is occupied by 1 percent and small fragments are divided for 99 percent. And those 99 percent are cruelly fighting for the fragments. The people who are in poverty and hunger are even thrown to the dead alley with blames of incapability and laziness. The gosiwon is a place for those 99 percent who make a living day by day and the murder was also belonging to that 99 percent. If those people can’t get out of their lives, the demand for gosiwon will increase. The way we can prevent from ‘no reason for murdering’ is not just to distribute the wealth, but to recognize them as humans. It will be the right answer for those precious people who were killed by the murder and arson.

The current government policies seem to cause more concerns about these kinds of crimes.

끔찍한 살인사건이었습니다. 최근에 일본에서 일어나고 있는 그리고 동시에 한국에서 일어나고 있는 “묻지마 살인”사건이 정말 심각한 수준에 와 있습니다. 정말 슬픈일이지만 사람들의 반응을 보면 무심한 것 같습니다. 그런 사건의 발생 이면에는 살인자의 정신적 상태에 대한 분석이 필요한 것 같습니다. 한겨레 신문의 “디아스포라의 눈”에 실렸던 도쿄 아키바의 살인사건과 한국 사회와의 분석은 [Kr]한국도 이제는 더 이상 이런 사회적인 현상에서 자유로울 수 없음을 말하고 있습니다.

특히 최근에 계속되는 정부의 정책은 양극화를 부채질하고 있고 그런 차별감과 좌절감이 또 어떤 시민에게 이러한 충동을 느끼게 할지 알 수 없습니다.비록 그 사람이 살인마라는 용서받기 힘든 죄를 지었지만 그 이면에 버티고 있는 사회적 부조리함, 양극화 등 우리사회의 구조적인 문제를 전적 배제할 수 없습니다. 이런 사건이 늘면 늘었지 더 줄 수 없는 사회로 가고 있는 현실이 막막하기만 합니다. 모두들 자신을 돌아보고 있겠지만 주위의 소외받는 사람이 없는지 한번 더 돌아볼 때가 아닌가 합니다.

It was a horrible murder case. Recently, we have heard about these kinds of murder cases, ‘no reason for murder,’ from Japan[En]. However, it also happened in Korea too. I am even sadder to observe indifference of people about this case. It is necessary for us to analyze mental status of murderers why they commit these crimes. When you read a news article from Hankyoreh Daily to write about the recent murder case of Tokyo and to analyze Korean society, you can see Korea is not exceptional to this society circumstance.

Especially, policies of the current government instigate polarization in society. Nobody knows some citizens who feel discrimination and desperation might commit similar crimes on a whim. Even though the person committed the unforgivable crime, we can’t ignore structural problems that our society has, such as social irregularities and polarization. I feel deserted to look at our society that could lead more similar crimes. Let’s look around other people who might be isolated in this society.

Not a few netizens share their experiences or impression of gosiwon.

[…] 평동 M본부의 아래층에도 고시원이 있다. 신발장이 밖에 있는데 그 신발들을 보면, 대게 공사판에서 일하는 사람들이 그 곳에 거주한다는 것을 추측할 수 있다. 흙이 잔뜩 묻은 장화, 발냄새가 코를 찌르는 그 곳. 학교 화장실보다도 열악한 공중 화장실을 공유하는 그들. (물론 M본부도 함께 공유ㅋㅋ) 이번에 살인 사건이 난 고시원도 그와 비슷한 곳이었던 것 같다.

사람들이 그 살인범에게 ‘미쳤다’고 ‘죽일놈’, 그리고 ‘죽여도 시원찮을 놈’이라고 욕을 해댄다. 얼마나 기가 막힌가. 그 고시원에 사는 사람들은 다 비슷한 처지일 텐데 왜 엄한 사람들을 죽이고 그랬어. 나도 답답하긴 하다. 그런데, 그 살인범을 사형시킨다고 해서 이 문제가 해결 될까? 아니, 이제부터 시작이다. 모방 범죄는 걷잡을 수 없이 퍼질 것이고, 예전에는 혼자 조용히 자살했던 사람들도 이제는 ‘나도 어차피 죽을 거 같이 죽자!’ 하고 묻지마 살인을 자행할 것이다.

세상에 대한 증오가 가득한 이들, 내 몸뚱이 죽어 없어져도 아무 미련 없는 이들, 가족도, 벗할 이도 없는 이들, 이런 사람들이 왜 점점 늘어나는 걸까?

첫째도 양극화 둘째도 양극화 셋째도 양극화. 이 상대적인 박탈감이 사람의 피를 말린다.[…]

양극화 사회에서도 나만 돈 잘 벌면 잘 살 수 있을까? Never!

정말 잘 살고 싶으면 양극화를 막아야 한다. 사회의 1%가 되는 것은 아무런 의미가 없다. ‘인생 별거냐!!’ 하며 벌이는 묻지마 살인을 막으려면, 보안이 아니라 양극화를 손봐야 한다.

[…]There is a gosiwon in M Building. Shoe racks are all out of the rooms. Looking at them, you can guess that they’re construction workers. Boots being smeared with mud and foot odor everywhere… They share public bathrooms that are worse than school toilets. It seems that that gosiwon was similar with this.

People call the murderer ‘crazy,’ ‘the guy who should be dead,’ and ‘the guy who is not even worth dying.’ I don’t understand why he attacked the gosiwon. People there are similar with him in terms of circumstances. But is this problem going to be solved after executing him? No. I don’t think so. It was the beginning. Copycat crimes will spread over. In the past, people who would like to give up their lives did alone. But now, they might bring others together, ‘Let’s die together!’

People who are full of hatred toward the world, people who don’t have any attachment to this world and are easy to give up their lives, and people who don’t have families and friends… Why are these kinds of people increasing?

The first reason is due to polarization. The second reason is also due to polarization. Third is due to polarization. This deprivation kills people.[…]

Can you live well if you earn enough in this polarized society? Never!

If you would like to live well, you should prevent polarization. To belong to 1 percent in this society is not meaningful. In order to prevent ‘no reason for murdering,’ what you should consider is to prevent polarization, not security.

Education is also one of the issues that is discussed in relation to this crime.

묻지마 살인사건이 요즘 들어 자주 일어나는 것 같다.너무 무서운 세상이 되어버렸다. 이런 식이라면 어느 누구의 안전도 보장받을 수가 없다. 빈부의 격차가 심해지는 것도 한 원인이 되겠지만, 어린시절의 환경도 매우 중요하다고 본다. 그 시기를 제대로 보내지 못한 사람들에게서 더 많이 나타나는 현상들이다. 주위의 따뜻한 보살핌도 중요하지만 제대로 된 인성교육이 무엇보다도 더 필요하다고 생각한다. 뭐가 옳은 일인지 뭐가 잘못된 일인지를 인식하게끔 또 나쁜짓을 하면 벌을 받는 다는 걸 가르쳐야 한다. 적어도 이 사회에 폐를 끼치는 사람은 되지 않도록 해야한다. 잘못된 행동을 해도 나무라지 않는다면 그것 또한 위험한 교육방식이라 생각한다. 남에게 피해를 주고도 아무렇지 않게 생각하는 것은, 작은 것이든 큰 것이듯 매우 위험한 생각이라는 것을 우리 모두가 깨달아야 한다. 기사를 보면 치밀한 계획하에 이뤄진 범죄라고 하는데… 각박해져가는 세상에 살아간다는 걸 이런 사건을 통해 실감하게 될줄이야.

It’s common to see ‘no reason for murdering’ recently. This world becomes so scary. If the society changes in this way, nobody can guarantee safety. The bigger gap between the wealth and poverty is one reason, but I think that circumstances in childhood are important too. If you don’t go through fine childhood, it is more likely to be exposed to this chance. To be loved by people around you is important, but the right education is more necessary. We should teach what is right and what is wrong and there will be the punishment if you commit bad actions. At least we should teach not to grow up as the person who troubles this society. If we don’t correct wrong behaviors, it is very bad education. We should teach no matter how serious it is or not, damaging others is not a correct action. When I saw the news, I was surprised how carefully he planned. This was the time to let me know what kind of world I belong to.

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