EmmaGoodEgg

The Nature Of Loss And Sacrifice

On Friday evening as the nation was preparing for the first day of Ramadan a national tragedy unfolded on Facebook timelines and twitter feeds, whatsapp chats and texts. The tragedy was a Royal Brunei Armed Forces Bell 212 helicopter that crashed in the rural district of Kuala Belait that evening.

14 army cadets and officers were reported to be involved, and throughout the evening we read of those that have passed, those found and those unaccounted for. As I sit here writing this article on a somber Saturday morning, the crash had taken the lives of 12 cadets and left only two survivors.

An army career, with its prerequisite training is not for the faint hearted. I believe that the young men and women of the Brunei Army who were passengers of that fateful flight would have been prepared for any eventuality as par for the course in their line of work. This is why you join the army. The tragedy is not just the loss of so many young men and women but that this had occurred in peacetime during what appears to have been a routine training sortie.  

It is will perhaps give Ramadan a greater poignancy this year, while Ramadan is a time of reflection, prayer and thanksgiving, we may also wish to think about the loss and sacrifices that have been suffered by others in the service of our nation.

Al fatihah.

@emmagoodegg

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The Great Balancing Act

Friday was my 4-year old daughter’s last day at kindergarten. The teachers had organized a pirate themed end of term party to celebrate. Early that morning, this working mother, who had not sorted out her daughter’s pirate outfit, grabbed a black scarf from her drawer and tied it on her daughter’s head for some pirate pizzazz. To be honest, my daughter ended up looking more like Ibu Fitri from Palembang than Izzie from “Jake and The Neverland Pirates”. Unable to attend the party due to work, I had reports that some of her classmates came to school sporting pirate vests, swords and eye-patches. Arrrr… My daughter brought “Pirate Pizzas” that had been made by the helpers, (as opposed to sandwiches and sushi lovingly made by the maternal kitchen goddess that we are all supposed to aspire to). I try you know, and I am gutted that I missed my daughter’s last day at Kindy. That unfortunately, is the price to be paid by a working mother.

The challenge of being a working mother got Cherie Blair, wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a bit of hot soup last week. Speaking at Fortune’s Magazine’s “Most Powerful Women” Event at Claridges she said “yummy mummies” who give up work and put all their effort into their children are making a dangerous mistake. Mrs. Blair, a barrister and mother of four, urged all women to remain self-sufficient. 
 She further said: “Every woman needs to be self-sufficient and in that way you really don’t have a choice - for your own satisfaction; you hear these yummy mummies talk about being the best possible mother and they put all their effort into their children. I also want to be the best possible mother, but I know that my job as a mother includes bringing my children up so actually they can live without me.”

Incidentally the term “yummy mummy” conjures an image of a design obsessed woman, thin, coiffed and be-heeled, carting her brand-attired toddler to endless expensive lunches. I should say this though, most yummy mummies are stay-at-home mums, but not all stay-at-home mums are yummy mummies.

Stay-at-home mummies all around the United Kingdom (and the world) saw red over their chai lattes and a slew of responses from all and sundry on on-line newspaper articles and their comment boxes denounced the elitist Cherie and sought to provide their views on this oft debated issue for women – should women put their children before career?

Before getting everyone’s knickers into a twist, I think the message Cherie was trying to get across is that young girls shouldn’t grow up thinking the only option in life is to look good in order to ensnare Prince Charming who will then take care of them until the end of days. To put it simply, what Cherie was trying to say is that how can we expect our daughters to aspire to a good education and a career if we as mothers have opted out and chosen to stay at home?

Then there was the article written by Anne Marie Slaughter in the Atlantic Magazine that sought to expose the lie that women can “have it all”. An intellectual giant, a Princeton Professor of Law no less, who has served as senior aide to Hillary Clinton, Slaughter says that only if you are boss of your own schedule can you really achieve any meaningful life-work balance. For most women and men its not so easy to close the shop when the school nurse rings to tell you your child has a temperature. Slaughter resigned at the high point of her career as Clinton’s aide in order to spend more time with her teenage sons. The message she is sending young women is clear, that a career is an asset, but motherhood is an imperative. I do sympathize with this; I also imagine most working mothers who have fulfilling careers can’t wait to rush home at the end of the working day.

It is also a matter of personal choice and circumstances and seeking balance.

In Brunei it is heartening to see figures indicating our lady folks preference to work as a means of being self-sufficient. Deputy Minister of Culture Youth and Sports YB Datin Paduka Hjh Adina was in the news reporting how Bruneian women now earn on average the third highest income in the world. Since 1971, the participation of women in the labour force has jumped from 20 per cent to 58 per cent in 2010. Women make up about 50.4 per cent of the civil service.

Admittedly life in Brunei is not the same as life in the United Kingdom, given the cost of living here, it is perhaps easier for a woman in Brunei to pursue a career as well as to have a family life.

YB Datin Adina went on to say that with the increase in working women, men would also need to adjust their expectations and also learn new skills. And that parenting responsibilities should be shared by both mother and father. Well said YB.

While Anne Marie Slaughter’s tale struck a chord in many working mothers, perhaps Cherie was a little harsh on the young women of this generation. It can also be said that the young men of this generation recognize that bringing up children nowadays is not solely the responsibility of the wife. At least in Brunei, most women I know are yummy mummies, working or otherwise, and are very much aware of living a balanced and fulfilled life. It may not be easy but perhaps we should all, both men and women, view a work life balance as imperative.

 @emmagoodegg

Illustration by Cuboi Art.

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Island Living

Lonesome George, the world’s last Galapagos Tortoise, died last Sunday at the Galapagos Islands National Park. He was believed to be about 100 years old. There will be an autopsy to determine the cause of death, but it is believed that Lonesome George died of old age. Obviously taking your time and eating your greens has its benefits.

He was discovered in 1972 in Pinta, Ecuador when the world thought giant tortoises to be extinct, and despite the best efforts of conservationists be bring in mates from other species of tortoises Lonesome George, like his namesake George Michael, remained a confirmed bachelor and failed to leave offspring. The lone tortoise became a symbol for the Galapagos Islands and for endangered species. Thankfully not every endangered species’ story has to end as Lonesome George’s did.

Islands around the world often have unique species that live there and nowhere else. Islands cover only about 3 percent of the entire planet, but is home to 20 percent of known species and 50 percent of endangered species. The Galapagos, a group of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, are well known for inspiring Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution and natural selection from what he observed there.

Our very own Borneo has plant and animal species you can’t find anywhere else on Earth. We share the Heart of Borneo, a 220,000-km² region in the mountainous centre of the island, with an estimated 10 primate species, over 350 bird species, and 150 reptiles and amphibian species. At least 15,000 plants, of which 6,000 are found nowhere else in the world, thrive in swamps, mangroves, lowland and forests of the island.

Borneo has been an interest of scientists for over 150 years, and has played a key role in the discovery of evolution. Notably, Alfred Wallace’s theories of natural selection were inspired by his travels on the island in the 19th century. Wallace was a contemporary of Darwin, his travel journal was published in a massive tome entitled, “The Malay Archipelago”.

Since that time, scientists have busied themselves discovering and naming new species, and they will continue doing so for decades to come - if the forests are not wiped out by deforestation. The island of Borneo has lost approximately half of its forest cover in the past 50 years to oil palm plantations, pulp and paper, logging, and fires. Our wildlife is amongst the most besieged in the world.

A Reforestation Project in Sabah serves a number of threatened species in Borneo, amongst others the Borneo Pygmy Elephants and Clouded Leopard. There should be global awareness, cooperation and action on an international level to stop species loss and deforestation.

It is all too easy to forget the importance of wildlife in our urbanized life, but take for example the tiny bee. Farmers depend on them to pollinate crops. If crops are not pollinated, they don't produce fruit and vegetables. Almost 70% of everything we eat is either fruit and veggies or their by-products. Without the simple bee there would be starvation on a global scale.

Indeed, islands can act as a real world Research and Development lab for discovering and ensuring the survival of threatened species. There are plenty of new threats on the horizon, like climate change, invasive species and habitat loss. These are the challenges we need to engage in if we are going to help other species avoid Lonesome George’s fate.

@emmagoodegg

Photo from the Brunei Times.

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Cool Runnings

If I owned a DVD store, (which I don’t, and if I did it would be closed by now, but that’s a different story) the weekend of the 27 July 2012 at the start of the Summer Olympics I’d have these 3 movies on a special promo; Chariots of Fire, Cool Runnings and Munich. All three movies share the same Olympic theme.  I’d do it simply to participate as best I can towards a world event.  Even more so because my country is not only participating in the Opening Ceremony by taking part in the traditional march past, but will also be sending possibly 3 athletes, which includes for the first time, a woman, 19 year old 400m athlete Maziah Mahusin.

Out of the 3 movies, Cool Runnings is a favourite of mine and embodies the true spirit of the Olympic games.  A Jamaican bobsled team taking part in the Winter Olympics in Calgary 1988 is inspiring in its simple message.  An endeavour undertaken to be among the world’s best.  It doesn’t matter that your country is one of those whose athletes reign supreme, or those that are prop up the bottom of the results table, the Olympic games is not all about the medals, but it about participating and experience, striving for excellence in whatever you do.

Our athletes will most likely find it difficult or impossible to meet Olympic qualifying standards, given their lack of international experience. But the I.O.C. has long granted participation under special conditions to athletes from developing nations.

According to Wikipedia in 1988 Brunei’s first participation in the Olympic games was limited to the Opening Ceremony Parade with the lone official but no athletes.  It wasn’t until the 1996 Games in Atlanta, USA that Brunei started competing in Olympics, and then every games since (except for 2008) then with a single athlete.  In Athens 2004, Jimmy Anak Ahar competed in the 1500 meters and finished last.  Time Magazine has a wonderful story from 2004 on the ‘finished but not beaten’ participants of the 2004 Olympic games in Athens and stressed that the Olympics is not just about large countries with juggernaut proportioned sports institutions churning out platoons of medal winners, but the fact that small nations can turn out and strive to be the best that they can be. Times found greater dignity in the unfancied athlete doing his best than in the sometimes shady world of win at all costs. 

The other thing about the Olympics is that it is a great celebration of sporting diversity, athletes come in all shapes, sizes, forms, races and nationalities, all with essentially the same purpose, to do their best.

The best thing for us in competing is the human development, because no matter our results, we would have sent our boys and girls to do their best. It is the simple fact that they have devoted themselves to doing something well that is a shining beacon to future generations to excel. 

I think we should therefore take pride in our own Olympians, they just go to show that just because we are small, it doesn’t mean that we can’t strive. 

@emmagoodegg

Photo from Time.com

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Sustainable Civilization: Not The Hunger Games

The Guardian’s Book Blog recently wrote about a man who posted on one of these gaming forums about how he had been playing the computer game Civilization II for the past 10 years.

The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time". It plays for single players only who create their own civilization in a virtual world.  You start the game in 4000BC with a small settlement and then expand and develop your little settlement into an empire through the ages from the ancient era until modern and future times, building things up, searching and competing for resources with other civilizations. 

In June 2012, the man posted details of his decade long game. He found after years of game play, a world in a perpetual state of conflict, where three major civilizations have been in a constant war. The lives of the inhabitants of these civilizations are not really that much better than when the game started at 4000 BC, living in constant fear of violence and reprisal in a totalitarian dystopia much like George Orwell’s 1984. 

The man says that he is trying to find a way to end the war and to “rebuild” the world. The writer in the Guardian blog wonders whether this is how the game creators programmed the game to end, or whether this is how it will always inevitably end, when the “game” is all about competition for scarcer and scarcer resources.

Which brings us nicely to the World Oceans Day observed last week, and the announcement that Brunei is set to join the Coral Triangle Initiative, a grouping of governments who have committed to ensure that the coral reefs within their maritime boundaries are preserved and looked after.

At first sight the preservation of coral reefs may not look like much of an effort, but to really consider what it means, one will realize that looking after the reefs requires a great deal of commitment and effort, especially considering Brunei’s own efforts to industrialize and develop. The foresight of the Government in signing up to this is thus admirable.

Brunei has signed on to the Heart of Borneo Project to preserve our rain forests, and this has so far succeeded spectacularly. Look at Google earth and you will see the deep emerald green of our forests, in stark contrast to the state of the jungles across the border. But the preservation of the rainforest is relatively easy - you simply don’t touch them.

Looking after the oceans and coral reefs however, is a different kettle of fish. To start yes, it is a question of hands off - one has to insure that unsustainable practices such as the use of poison and explosives in fishing are eradicated. Then there is a need to change other fishing practices, for example to avoid overfishing and to ensure that only fully grown fish, who have had an opportunity to breed, are harvested, to rely and develop on aquaculture.   

But it’s in looking at the larger picture that one understands the deep changes that will have to be made in the way that we live and approach development in order to truly protect the marine environment.  

Coral reefs and ocean eco-systems are very complex and very sensitive to pollution from human settlements. In order to allow reefs and ocean life to flourish, coastal populations will have to think carefully about what goes into their drains, sewers, streams and rivers. The waste that goes into the environment on land will sooner or later find its way into the sea. We cannot continue to simply think that activities on land have no bearing on what happens to the oceans. As such, development has to go hand in hand with environmental awareness.

Then there is global warming. The first casualty of warming oceans are the reefs, even small changes in ocean temperature substantially effects the reefs. In order to really think about looking after the oceans, we need to consider our carbon footprint, to truly encourage the use of renewable energy and to discourage waste and inefficiency.  

In a sense, the sustainability movement follows a great deal of what our Government has been stressing of late - an individual must always consider ones’ actions, and at all times be guided by a sense of equity fairness and compassion (for others and for the environment). Avoid waste and over-consumption. Seek to live healthily.

At the end of the day, maybe if such simple messages can be communicated, there is hope for the environment and humanity yet.  

@emmagoodegg

Illustration by Cuboi Art.

For the online version click here.

Wrestling With Coco

I am wrestling with Coco Chanel, she with her chic black bob, cool elegant demeanor, classic black skirt suit and twin set. Not just wrestling, but, in my mind we are having a full on eyes gouged, manicured taloned catfight. Yes she is the bane of my existence, but also my guilty obsession. It is a love-hate relationship. She is Scarlet to my Rhett.  

Gabriel “Coco” Bonheur Chanel was a French designer, founder of the famous luxury brand “Chanel”. In the 1920s she rose from being a simple milliner to a designer who revolutionized women fashion. By replacing the corset and other frippery with the comfort and casual elegance of simple suits, dresses and trousers, she freed women of the time from the constraints of the home and of fashion that dictated that those who could would not work.

Chanel is also known for chunky costume jewelry in gold and pearls, the musky scent of Chanel No. 5 and exquisite leather goods like the Chanel Classic Flap handbag.

The House of Chanel is one of the most enduring and well-known brands in fashion. Its stores are located in the swankiest shopping addresses across the globe. Its wares are noted for their beauty, craftsmanship, design and elegance. They are also eye wateringly expensive. Part of the mystique to me is the utter aloofness of the shop assistants. I think they have special training on Parisian “attitude” which also includes a sixth sense, so that they can tell at a glance whether you are “just looking” or “dropping thousands”.  It is part of the marketing, the selling of unobtainable dreams.

After her death in the 70’s brand Chanel took on a period of hiatus. The classic items sold reasonably, but it was considered your grandmother’s clothes shop. Karl Lagerfeld took over in the 80’s and energized the brand, giving it street credibility and at the same time not alienating its core clientele, the ones who would regularly spend thousands of dollars on a skirt and jacket.

Chanel fans range from tai-tais, ladies who lunch, Hollywood starlets, captains of industry to office workers and mistresses in tight leather. Chanel is what every grown up girl aspires to.

And that is my problem. I consider myself grown up - career, weekend column, kids in high school. But, I have never bought anything from a Chanel boutique, ever. Not even the perfume.

I have always prided myself on my quirky “alternative” tastes in fashion. My preference is for one-off designs, and outside-of-the-mainstream designers. This has suited me well in the 20 years since school.  

Is it peer pressure? One goes to a function these days, and every one has a designer bag, even the girls fresh from university just starting up their jobs. Work is taking me to London in a few days and my sister-in-law is nudging me on the bargains to be had at Chanel, Heathrow Terminal 3, and the fantastic exchange rates.

Well I don’t know, and this is the reason why I wrestle with Coco. Give in, and purchase a beautiful black leather temptation? Or stick with my alternative, and much easier on the credit card, fashion preferences? 

I would dearly love one day to bamboozle the sixth sense of the Chanel shop girls, it is one of those things that need to be ticked off the list.

But we will see. As Scarlet O Hara said to Rhett Butler, at the end of “Gone with the Wind, “tomorrow is another day…” 

@emmagoodegg

Illustration by Cuboi Art.

For the online version click here.