Crystal Thoughts From Rwenkoole To London: The unsettling seatmate on board!

Crystal Thoughts From Rwenkoole To London: The unsettling seatmate on board!: So many gruesome things have been happening lately in the airspace.   Many travellers are beginning to think twice before...

The unsettling seatmate on board!

So many gruesome things have been happening lately in the airspace.  Many travellers are beginning to think twice before they opt to fly.  On 8th March 2014, the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing; to date its whereabouts continue to defy the edict of technology and human wisdom. 

Four months later another Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17.  Just the other day, another plane went missing; Air Algerie Flight AH5017 left Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and was bound for Algiers.  Somewhere midway the flight, it went missing and was later reported to have crashed around the Burkina Faso boarder area of Gao.

Meanwhile in June, our own Air Uganda was grounded on account of safety and regulatory glitches involving Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority.

About a week ago, I was on the Addis Ababa bound Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 701 from London and something weird happened.   Right next to me was a gentleman who for some reason was so unsettled during preparations for flight takeoff.  As passengers continued to board the aircraft, he paced from his seat to one end of the aisle and back.  He did this so many times.  When he tried to settle in his seat, he pulled out his mobile phone and made over ten phone calls in a space of five minutes.  He looked disturbed, uneasy, anxious name it!  In short he was just too unsettled.  As he continued to wiggle and waggle in his seat, two bundles of 100 bills of pounds slid from the side pockets of his kaki tour pants – he quickly picked the money and stood up to put it in the handbag that he had earlier placed in the overhead locker.  He took to his seat again and continued with his sudden moves.

I could no longer take it any more; I walked to one of the airhostesses and stated what was happening – which I thought and felt was a bit out of the ordinary. After about a minute of stating my case, Hostess Rahel looked into my face and said, “sir, please take your seat, we are now busy completing preparations for takeoff; we will check the passenger once we’ve taken off from the ground”.

I was very shocked about how lax the hostess was with an issue that touched on the security and safety of all on board including herself. 

With chills in my spine, I sat down, fastened my belt, said my prayers and awaited ‘anything’.  My neighbor remained unsettled, making telephone calls during takeoff, contrary to the on-board safety advice. Even before the seatbelt sign was turned off, he had already unfastened and was standing up to pick something from the overhead locker; I warned him that it was still unsafe to unfasten.  Generally his behavior on board could be described as intolerable and disruptive.

About fifteen minutes into the flight, the busybody gradually drifted into slumber.

Hostess Rahel who had given me assurances that she would check the passenger out after takeoff did not do so.

So, what if my fears and suspicions were anything to go by? You probably would not be reading this particular piece written by myself; may be you would be reading about a notorious Flight ET 701 in which a Ugandan called Crispy Kaheru ‘was on board’.

In brief, in this era of terrorism, it’s better to be safe than sorry.  The vigilance of the public on security issues should not be taken for granted.  People’s vigilance must enlist effective response from the respective custodians. 

Lastly, each one of us has an equal responsibility to contribute to a safe and secure environment. 

Look, this is why we must work harder during ramadan

This is that time of the year when their office kitchenette is often found to be filthy, with unwashed utensils and mold forming on the kitchen table sides.  This time round, the whole office has to take a lot more time than just a few minutes to negotiate around the dirty cups, plates and pans in the sink; and dishes, grime and food stuff stashed on the kitchen counter – basically the kitchen is nothing but a mess.

 

Asked why she leaves the kitchen cluttered at this specific time of the year, Rukiyah had just this to say: “nanti, it is Ramadan, so I can not work the way I normally work!”  It being a law firm, her response disarmed her colleagues in fear of furthering a conversation that would ultimately seemingly question a spiritual observance vis–à–vis ‘earthly work’.

 

That aside, Rukiyah’s response is being replayed in many work settings in diverse versions.  At another workplace, Fathia now clocks in later than the official reporting time and spends a greater part of the day coiled under her table – sleeping.  The reason being, she has to conserve the ‘little energy’ in her body as she awaits iftar (to break the fast),nanti it's ramadan!  In this way the production rate of the entire office has to ‘understandably’ fall because ‘we are fasting’! Had this been the same mindset in the United Arab Emirates, for instance, then many of the Kikubo shops here in Kampala that solely depend on products from that side of the world would be closing shop every time we clock into Ramadan.

 

But surprisingly, this is not how Hajji Aziz operates!  Be sure to find Hajji Aziz at his petrol station in Kawempe at 7:00am, full of energy, wearing his ever-pleasant smile; he will not settle in his office to ‘conserve his energy’ waiting for iftar.  He will many times pace out of his office to serve motorists at the pump – thereafter he will dash back to his office and take care of many arising administrative issues.  He does this from 7:00am to 7:00pm without a wane in his energy. Hajji is loyal to this routine all-round the year – but he is also a devout seventy-year old Muslim who takes fasting so seriously and sincerely.  Hajji’s outlook towards work is exactly the same as that of Saudah – my friends’ housemaid.  Notwithstanding the fact that she too is fasting, am told Saudah will be up as early as 5:00am, have her pre-fast meal (Suhoor) and perform her daily house chores with diligence and focus.

 

Now, when I consulted my faithful friend, Google and her cousin, Wikipedia, they both were in agreement that fasting (in this case Ramadan) has numerous health benefits, including: improved brain function, alertness, reduction in stress levels, reduced blood pressure among many others.  My layman’s interpretation of the net result of the benefits listed should at least be a certain level of vitality and verve amongst those fasting.

 

With the exception of certain categories of persons who are exempted from fasting, for those who fast, work must continue as usual.  Actually, during the fasting season, be it Lent or Ramadan, we must strive to work better than we always do because this should be an opportunity for us to perform as many acts of worship as we can.  Good work is an act of worship!

 

So guys, we must strive to work doubly hard during the fasting periods; it's good for the soul, it's good for the body!