A few weeks ago an Age Saturday crossword question about Anwar Sadat brought back some memories. While I remember well news of the deaths of John Lennon and Princess Diana, Sadat’s assassination was sitting there in the back of my mind. I recalled footage of chaos at a grandstand, which I suppose I’d seen as an 11 year old when it happened.
This morning I woke to the news that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in Pakistan. I’m not sure what to make of it. Obviously they’ll be a big impact on democracy in Pakistan.
Meanwhile it was sad to hear of the death of a woman the other night in Flinders Street, hit by a car doing an illegal U-turn at speed. I don’t know how many times I’ve waited to cross the street at that spot. Reports say that the 26-year-old driver wasn’t affected by alcohol or drugs. One can only assume that it was the result of him being a completely reckless dickhead behind the wheel.
4 replies on “Death and destruction”
Yes, the death of Benazir Bhutto will be a sad mark in the history of Pakistan. She’ll be a martyr to the cause, and who knows what destruction may still be coming in the fallout from that despicable act. Meanwhile her husband, and children are sadly left to carry on. I’m sure it’d come up before between her and her husband what she would want in the event of her death. But how sad that it’s come to the reality of it. Yes, so sad about that nurse killed. Out for a lovely dinner, and wham, dead in an instant. Something similar happened in Ottawa a few years ago. A Russian diplomat who heavily drank and then drove, killed a lawyer, badly injured her friend. They were just out for a short walk in the winter-time, and had nowhere to run with snowbanks in their way. So sad, so pointless of a death. The man was tried in Russia, and sent to jail for homicide, I believe.
This is a big news story here too. It seems that there would be almost no way to gaurentee her safety in such a hostile place. She was nearly killed a few months ago just after arriveing in back Pakistan. I still remember the exact spot where I was when I heard that US. President Reagan was nearly killed in 1981. The other big story here is about a tiger killing a zoo visitor and injuring two others at the San Francisco zoo Christmas day. Is this in the news in Australia too? It is still unclear how the tiger got out. Only the news media has to gain from this sad event.
Yeah Jed, safety must be very difficult to protect. Yes the SF zoo story made the news here — helped by the fact that there’s not much going on at this time of year, but undoubtedly it’s an unusual occurrence anyway.
Your post indicates to me that each life is valuable – no more, no less. Both deaths are senseless. However, Bhutto knew that she would be murdered and knew that it would plough Pakistan into civil war. She knew these likely ramifications and yet continued.