VOX POPULI:
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
The original meaning of the word assassin is said to be "one who uses hashish." The story about "the old man of the mountain" in Persia who sends out gallant young men as assassins by manipulating them with hashish to kill those he wants to get rid of appears in "The Travels of Marco Polo."
Apparently, something similar is going on in Syria. I saw an interview with a person believed to be a militiaman siding with the government on "Hodo Station," a news show aired by TV Asahi Corp. According to the man, he killed children and women after he was given "narcotic pills." The pills made him feel high and erased his sense of guilt, he said.
He made the comment under the detention of anti-government forces. If it is true, it means the militia is a pack of killers who have been deprived of their humanity by drugs. The United Nations has also confirmed that this militia organization has been involved in the massacre of many citizens.
The death toll of the civil war in Syria is said to have topped 25,000. Among them is Mika Yamamoto, a Japanese journalist who was focusing on people in vulnerable positions. Having heard that a photo of a baby completely wrapped in bandages was shown at her funeral, I remembered the poem titled "Gauze" by Michio Mado.
"Gauze covers wounds and protects life/ With kindness like flower petals that are pure white and bright/ It protects life from hatred of weapons/ No matter how horribly dark and heavy."
I wonder if Yamamoto knew this poem.
The United Nations is making no attempt to carry out its "responsibility to protect" people from humanitarian tragedies. The Security Council is so puffed up with arrogance that it does not even serve the role of gauze. Because of egoism of major powers, lives that can be saved continue to be lost today.
The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 6
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun.
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