Everyone must do their duty

THE EDITOR: Wednesday was a tough day. As a physician, it felt as though the crime had again touched home when we learned of the kidnapping of two colleagues and the subsequent demise of one of them.

The memory of the robbery and murder of Dr Latchman from Sangre Grande in 2018 is still fresh in the minds of many. And yet this is not isolated. Many citizens face anxiety and anguish from the criminal element which has held us hostage in our land, met only with words and promises, but seemingly no action.

Many took to media, understandably outraged. They questioned the order of natural justice as they saw alleged criminals receiving emergency care ahead of suffering citizens. Many people even volunteered suggestions as to what they would do if they were a physician at the institution. All understandable feelings.

Whenever I feel life becoming a conflict, I go to the Bhagavad Gita for comfort. The verse that spoke to me was in chapter 18, verse 47: “It is better to do your duty, even though imperfectly, than to do another’s duty, even though perfectly. By doing your innate duty, one does not incur sin.”

It is the duty of a physician, especially in the public sector, to provide healthcare in some capacity to all.

I reflected further on the spiritual directive. If doctors were to take the duty of criminal justice into their hands, then society will decay. If a taxi driver were to take up the responsibility of a doctor in the hospital, the outcome would be unfortunate.

Everyone must do their duty and do it well. The police need to do their function with diligence and pride. The justice system needs to dispense according to the crime expeditiously and with the intensity required. Our leaders need to do their duty and serve the people on issues that matter (like crime) as though we are their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, or children.

If the parents of “good boys” had done this duty well, they perhaps would have gifted our nation with blessings rather than menaces to society. If everyone would do what they are supposed to do well, then maybe we will not be in the state we are today.

I long for the day when every citizen can feel safe again because there is some sanctity for decency and life in our society.

VEDAVID MANICK

Sangre Grande