A Life For Rice

"It's a miracle no one has keeled over dead", I said when assessing the bedlam resulting from recent rice handouts.

Now the inevitable has happened: an 82-year-old woman died after falling while trying to join the queue. When the crowd began jostling for position, another lady suffered head injuries.

Watching television broadcasts of the fracas, I was astounded by the callousness of the elderly as they pushed, pressed and trampled the fallen. Getting to the rice was their sole concern.

One over-zealous man reached out and gave a hard shove, knocking over half a dozen old folks like dominoes. In another instance, after several seniors had dropped, others passed them by without stopping to assist.

Video clips showed people sprawled out on the sidewalk, as well as a police officer administering CPR to the lady who had collapsed.

Suffice to say the queueing system must end: a sack of rice is never worth someone's life.

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