Violation

What was supposed to be a family night out turned out to be a harrowing experience. The sight of that ajar gate was the first inkling I had that my night was going to be hellish. I could practically feel the blood draining from my face at that moment. But I had to be strong for my mum and not give in to the avalanche of emotions yet. There were other important things to see to, and I guess the shock hadn't quite set in yet.

It was only the following night, after I wasn't with my mum anymore that the full shock of it all finally hit me. After all, I didn't have anything to distract me from thinking bout it anymore. Your home should be the one place that you can feel safe and secure, but a single act of greed on the part of strangers can take that all away from you. How do you explain that feeling of violation, of knowing that strangers had trespassed on what was yours, of knowing that they went through your personal things? I had already gone through the experience once before, which was more terrifying because I was actually there when it all took place, and it took me ages to actually get back some semblance of security. For it to happen to me again, this should be enough to put me in a state of paranoia.

What is our society becoming? Some feel so proud of their gated communities with 24-hour security guards, saying that it is a symbol of a civilised society, but in actuality, to live in fear so much that you require around the clock protection, this is a sign of a degradation of civilisation. In today's time, everyone learns to be mistrustful of their fellow man. Even a sincere act of kindness is looked upon with suspicion nowadays.

We can never let our children out to play because of the fear of paedophiles, we can't walk down the road at night without being afraid of anything that moves...heck, we can't even feel safe in our own homes anymore. We keep adding bars, and grills, and locks, all in the hope that it will make us more secure. And soon, all of us will be living in prisons built by ourselves.