What kind of a world are we living in?

16 year old school boy killed by gym instructor! Screamed the headlines. The roar was deafening and the pain immeasurable. What could be the reason for this senseless killing?

The abductors were known to the victim. They met him at the local gym he went to. One of them was even a twice over Mr Delhi. "All for a few dollars more"? Abductetd a mere forty meters from home! Are our children safe anywhere?

What can we do as parents and responsible citizens to make this world a safer place for our children?
Educate them. Worry not about the effect such education can have on their innocence. It is needed to equip them with the knowledge that there are times to raise alarm and times to fight back. They need to know that such elements that can harm them may be atlarge and nothing can replace them.

Train them. The children need to be well trained in the art of self defence. Any such art not only strengthens their body, it also trains their mind towards resilience and focus. In a country like Israel, where each citizen goes through the army training, no one can touch a woman or a child and get away with it without punishment. This type of training also instills a discipline and law abiding population.

Be alert. Adults need to be alert, too. Someone who saw the incident could have thwarted the attempt. It can happen to anyone. My children. Your children. Anyone. If you see anything extraordinary, trust your own instinct as much as you want the children to trust theirs. Do not be afraid to raise alarm or even rush to the defnce of a threatened citizen- man, woman or child.

Demand accountability. If even half of our working population in India just started doing their own work , our society would be remarkable. If we want security agencies to provide security, we should not accept any less from our Government and from the police. We should, at the same time, also take responsibility for our own micro environments and ensure local safety in zones of influence aound us.When you demand, have the sense of responsibility to give in equal measure- both co-operation and social justice and accountability.

Stand together. We have suffered for ages because we were busy fighting each other. This allowed outsiders to invade and stay on so easily and for so long that we lost our own sense of self worth and strength. It is now time to start small groups of togetherness that can start a movement that spreads like a forest fire- slow to start but with a very little effort and very little wind gets out of control.

WE NEED TO MAKE OUR LOCALITY, OUR CITY, OUR COUNTRY A SAFER PLACE .
And only we can do that. Not our police. Not our government.

If each one of us is able to encourage just three to five people to respond to the situation with courage and resilience, and each of those is further able to do it with as many more, we will have started a movement that will be unstoppable.

I will. Will you? And you? And you?