Paying the Ferryman

What is the cost of ‘life’ to high achievers? What is the cost of ‘life’ to those who strive to reach their self appointed goals? What is the cost of ‘life’ to those women who opt for a career before all else?

I do not decry nor am I judgemental about their choice. That is their call and good luck to them. But they must never forget that to get to where they want to go they will have to pay a price – they will have to pay the ferryman (fate?). And the ferryman will demand recompense – this payment cannot be avoided and it is always paid in kind – they will reap their crop, like it or not. They will have to accept the consequences – and there are always consequences for everything we do or think or plan.

If you disregard your well being (body and soul) or someone else's well being, in fact if you disregard anything, to satisfy your own selfish ends the threads that entangle us all in the web of life will, eventually trip you up and bring you down. That is unless you conduct yourself in an ethical manner.

I know that you have heard this all before somewhere in this blog but it astounds me that some people always forget and try and please themselves at someone else’s cost. I have been thinking about this quite a bit recently after seeing the ABC’s 4 Corners programme on TV about one Bilal Skaf and his younger brother who, some years ago now, by mobile telephone, organised the pack rapes of some unfortunate girls in various Sydney suburbs. Eventually caught, Bilal seems, on the face of it, to be in a state of denial. He seems to think that he is above any need to be held accountable for anything he does. He can’t understand all the bother about raping these girls. They were white trash - sluts, and deserved what they got. He has done nothing ‘wrong’ in his eyes.

The Skaf’s mother seems also to be in a state of denial – in her eyes it is all an anti-Muslim conspiracy and her two boys would never do anything that they have been accused of doing. The father was away much of the time working to support the growing family so could not give his guidance and emotional support to the boys. So it must have been her who filled Bilal’s mind with stories about the lax morals of Australian girls – no one else was there to do it. And like many strong willed mothers she wanted the best for her sons and did not want them mixed up with such ‘trash’.

No one ‘deserves’ anything of this nature. This case was an absolute tragedy for all concerned. The Skaf brothers and their accomplices have got their just deserts and the victims and their families can now move on in the knowledge that for at least another twenty-five years the Skafs will no longer be a danger to the public.

It is so sad. The victims will need all the support the community can give for many years to come. Likewise the actions of this boy – he was just a boy at the time – have tarnished the image of Islam and the Lebanese community. It is necessary to distinguish between the fact that he came from a Muslim tradition (which is a noble tradition) and the fact that he organised and was a participant in pack rapes. There is no correlation between the two. Certainly there are good and bad Muslims, just as there are good and bad Christians, but because Bilal is a Muslim this did not cause him commit rape. Christians have been involved in pack rapes as well.

He is a human being who needs a great deal of help – I firmly believe that no one is beyond help or is too depraved ever to feel remorse and try to redeem themselves. But at the moment he is paying the ferryman good and proper.