(This post is made as part of the Blog-a-Thon organised by the We-Believe-in-Second-Chances campaign effort)
It’s Yong Vui Kong’s 23rd birthday. The second birthday now, celebrated, which almost could not have been, if it weren’t for the tireless efforts of those us who love him, and those us who love life.
Though what had been achieved in this struggle for his life thus far is nothing short of miraculous, the Sword of Damocles still hangs over his head, the noose still tightening around his neck.
Indeed, living on borrowed time is no way for a young lad just barely out of his teens to celebrate a birthday. It is something that most of us will never be able to comprehend, much less experience.
It has been gut-wrenching to witness up close, him being caught up in the foul machinations of a system that would stop at nothing to render him as soon as possible, into yet another statistic, yet another piece of data.
All these clutching at straws, just to prove that the ends, justify their means, even if it meant the paying the ultimate price for the follies of one’s youth.
Herein lies the crux of the matter, that at what price, then, will it only be considered too high for the society to pay in pursuit of this false dichotomy that which the mandatory death penalty represents.
For those of us who love Vui Kong and those of us who love life though, the answer is clear.
For us, no price is too high to pay, if only that he might see one more birthday come to pass.
For us, we’ll gladly give of our days and weeks, if only that he might have one more minute of borrowed time.
Because for us, Life deserves at least this much.
Here’s wishing you a happy 23rd Birthday Vui Kong.
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