I
used to love numbers. They were intriguing and interesting to me. I personified
them, gave them human characteristics so that I could connect more with them.
Number 2 was a pretty young girl that all the other numbers liked, seemingly
because most numbers could be divided by it. Number 5 was the rich snobbish
aristocrat, because only double or more digit numbers could be divided by it
and mostly multiplies to give double or more digits. My favorite and lucky
number was 7 simply because I could not personify it; it seemed to stand alone;
unique. I loved them because they gave precision and certainty. It gave
organisation and confidence. It was exciting solving for them knowing that you
could end up with any possible number; and they were so many, they were infinite.
This was why math was my favorite subject in high school. It was the only
subject that I did not need to completely memorize, I just simply understood
it. I really used to love numbers, but then I left high school.
Leaving
high school was a big change for me. I suddenly became more conscious about
everything; politics, religion, society and even the environment. I followed
the news more, followed the current events happening around the world. I
followed the Arab uprising that occurred in early 2011. I remember watching the
news, and listening to figures been mentioned by the journalists. “20 people
have been killed and 15 others injured in recent clashes between the Egyptian
masses and government troops”. These were some of the figures being tossed
around. I understood that this was bad, but I felt detached from the situation,
it felt impersonal, like I was listening to someone listing out facts.
However,
the recent air crash tragedy made me realise that it is always different when
we know one of the several numbers being mentioned. That’s when we feel the
full impact, that’s when we feel the pain, that’s when it becomes personal. It
also made me realise that numbers don’t do justice enough to the dead or suffering
people. When the news tells of the 33 people that died in a bus crash, it also
fails to mention that aboard that bus was a successful business woman and a
mother of four, or that involved was a family of four returning home after a
joyous vacation. When the news talks of the 50 people that were killed and the
24 others that were injured in the clash between Syrian government troops and
rebels, it fails to mention that among the dead was an extremely skilled artist
who was preparing to go to France to fulfill her dreams or among the injured is
an aspiring footballer who would never kick a ball again because of his broken
knee. When the we hear of the 193 people that died on the recent air crash, the
numbers do not tell us of the student in his final year heading back to school
after a successful summer’s internship or of the young woman going to a new and
different state for ‘greener pastures’.
Numbers are extremely precise but are also
extremely anonymous. They are certain but lack any emotional attachment. They
are rational but lack any form of sympathy. Personalities and identity of the
numerous individuals involved in these disasters are lost or forgotten amidst
the figures and numbers being thrown around. To fully understand the gravity of
these tragedies, we have to look beyond the figures and reports; we have to
look beyond the numbers.
This is dedicated to
all the nameless and faceless people who lost their lives in the recent tragic
DANA AIR crash (Sunday 3rd 2012) , and to all the other people who
have lost their lives in other tragedies and disasters around the world, May
their names and faces always have recognition in the hearts of their loved
ones.
