Tuesday 29 May 2012

A few words on a tragedy

Like many people, I am shocked and saddened by the fire in Doha yesterday that killed some triplets from New Zealand. This blog entry, written by the mother of another young victim, made it feel even more real and tragic.

Before having a baby, these stories would make me sad of course, but now they are simply heart-wrenching. Similarly, I now feel much more anger at anyone that would hurt or neglect children. I've also noticed that I have gone off violent books and movies in quite a big way since having Amotai. Not that I've ever been one for gore and sadism either in print or on the screen, but my tolerance for any violence is much lower. I used to love Criminal Minds and CSI, but have gone off them both after a plot involving the murder of a small boy. I read crime fiction like it was going out of fashion before, especially while pregnant. Now, the only crime fiction I enjoy is the good old school Agatha Christie, or crime fiction of the (more mellow) Scandinavian variety. With regard to my low tolerance for violence, my best guess as to why is that I want Amotai to live in a good world, and I don't like being reminded that everything is not always rose beds and laughter. Especially in my leisure time. I knew that having a baby would change my life, but it's those changes that aren't related to nappies, sleeplessness, cuddles, changes and other baby-related things that take me the most by surprise. This time last year, I am sure that the news about the fire in Doha would have made me very sad. But now I have a child of my own, the extent of the tragedy feels all the more. My heart goes out to the families of the victims.

1 comment:

Tane said...

It's not until you have a child that I think you truly appreciate how horrible it would be to lose them. To lose triplets is awful beyond imagining.