reedak
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2014
- Messages
- 752
Subtitle: If you know danger is coming, why wait for it?
Narrator: The priest arrived at a large wooden building in a tribal region. He learned from a native outside the building that it was a tribal court that was about to settle a dispute between two villagers. The priest was given permission to sit in for the court hearing as it was the tribal policy to show all people, especially outsiders, of fairness and transparency in all trials.
He found dozens of people including the judge, witnesses, relatives and friends of the disputing parties inside the court. The parties to the lawsuit -- each consisting of a tribesman and his spouse -- sat in opposite corners far away from each other. The priest learned from the court proceedings that the dispute was about a fire that started in the evening three weeks ago from the defendant's barn at one end of a tribal village but soon spread from house to house and finally to the plaintiff's house at the other end of the village.
The fire killed dozens of villagers including the defendant's mother (aged 80) and three children (aged 7, 9 and 10) and the plaintiff's father and mother (aged 93 and 90 respectively) and four children ( aged 5, 6, 8 and 9). All the four members of the disputing parties were bald as they had lost all their hair in the big fire. Their bodies and limbs were partially burnt. The moustaches and beards of both men were no more to be seen in their faces which were wrapped partially with bandages.
Even though the two were always at each other's throats, the plaintiff still called the defendant "his good friend". The plaintiff was accusing the defendant of covering up at the very beginning of the fire.
The judge ordered two policemen to carry in a drum or steel container (of capacity of 200 litres) which contained some firewood, and placed it before him.
Judge (to the defendant): Did you sound the alarm about the fire?
Defendant: Yes, when I found the hay was burning in my barn, I alerted all residents by shouting "Fire! Fire!"
Judge (to the plaintiff): Did you hear him sounding the alarm?
Plaintiff: No!
Judge: But did you know his barn was on fire at that time?
Plaintiff: Yes.
Judge: How did you know it?
Plaintiff: I went outside of my house to see what all the commotion was about. Then I saw his barn was on fire in the distance.
Judge: Since you knew his barn was on fire, you and your family members should have ample time to run to safety especially you were staying far away at the other end of the village.
Plaintiff: He should have sounded the alarm earlier.
Defendant: In fact, he should be one of the earliest to know my barn was on fire. His son was playing near my barn. When I found him, his clothes were burning. After extinguishing the fire on his body, I asked him to run home at once to alert his family and other villagers about the fire. There was no time to find anything to cover his body.
Judge (to the plaintiff): Had your son alerted you to the fire?
Plaintiff (wiping his eyes): No, the last time I saw him in my house, he was already burnt to death.
Judge: Was he wearing any trousers?
Plaintiff (crying): Your Honour, whatever on his body was burnt to ashes. His body was as black as coal.
Defendant: He had a lot of time to bring his whole family to safety. Instead, according to some villagers, he was standing outside his house, not only watching, gesticulating and laughing at my misfortune but calling me a "sick man".
Plaintiff: Lies! Lies! Fake news! Fake news!
Judge: You seem to implicate him in starting the fire to burn your house and family. Have you any evidence to implicate him in committing an arson?
Plaintiff: My good friend and his family should be held responsible.
Judge: You still call him "your good friend"? Woe betide anyone whom you call "your good friend"!
Plaintiff: They should be held responsible! They hurt the villagers very badly. They hurt themselves also.
Judge: It is not uncommon for whole villages and slums around the world to be burnt to the ground. So far nobody has been charged for a fire that started from his home unless it could be proved to be a crime of arson. All the people in the village were aware of the raging hay fires in his barn, and they, especially you, should have ample time to run to safety. Furthermore, such factors as the dry weather, strong wind and close proximity of houses have to be taken into account in the tragedy.
All this while, you seem to implicate that he was committing arson to bring destruction to your home and family, but you offer no evidence. If he really intends to kill you and your family, why should he start the fire in his own house? He could have set fire to your house without further ado.
Plaintiff: The fire should have stopped at his barn. More family members of his should have been killed by the fire instead of mine.
Narrator: The judge ordered a policeman to ignite the firewood in the steel container. To the amazement of everyone, he turned to it and asked the fire why it did not stop at the barn.
Plaintiff: Your Honour, are you kidding?
Judge: Because the fire is the real criminal. If you know danger or the fire is coming, why wait for it?
Narrator: In a fit of rage, the plaintiff rushed out of the court, crying foul at the judge's act and accusing him of being the defendant's puppet. He claimed that the judge was doing a sad job of covering up the defendant's initial bad handling of the fire to let it spin out of control.
Narrator: The priest arrived at a large wooden building in a tribal region. He learned from a native outside the building that it was a tribal court that was about to settle a dispute between two villagers. The priest was given permission to sit in for the court hearing as it was the tribal policy to show all people, especially outsiders, of fairness and transparency in all trials.
He found dozens of people including the judge, witnesses, relatives and friends of the disputing parties inside the court. The parties to the lawsuit -- each consisting of a tribesman and his spouse -- sat in opposite corners far away from each other. The priest learned from the court proceedings that the dispute was about a fire that started in the evening three weeks ago from the defendant's barn at one end of a tribal village but soon spread from house to house and finally to the plaintiff's house at the other end of the village.
The fire killed dozens of villagers including the defendant's mother (aged 80) and three children (aged 7, 9 and 10) and the plaintiff's father and mother (aged 93 and 90 respectively) and four children ( aged 5, 6, 8 and 9). All the four members of the disputing parties were bald as they had lost all their hair in the big fire. Their bodies and limbs were partially burnt. The moustaches and beards of both men were no more to be seen in their faces which were wrapped partially with bandages.
Even though the two were always at each other's throats, the plaintiff still called the defendant "his good friend". The plaintiff was accusing the defendant of covering up at the very beginning of the fire.
The judge ordered two policemen to carry in a drum or steel container (of capacity of 200 litres) which contained some firewood, and placed it before him.
Judge (to the defendant): Did you sound the alarm about the fire?
Defendant: Yes, when I found the hay was burning in my barn, I alerted all residents by shouting "Fire! Fire!"
Judge (to the plaintiff): Did you hear him sounding the alarm?
Plaintiff: No!
Judge: But did you know his barn was on fire at that time?
Plaintiff: Yes.
Judge: How did you know it?
Plaintiff: I went outside of my house to see what all the commotion was about. Then I saw his barn was on fire in the distance.
Judge: Since you knew his barn was on fire, you and your family members should have ample time to run to safety especially you were staying far away at the other end of the village.
Plaintiff: He should have sounded the alarm earlier.
Defendant: In fact, he should be one of the earliest to know my barn was on fire. His son was playing near my barn. When I found him, his clothes were burning. After extinguishing the fire on his body, I asked him to run home at once to alert his family and other villagers about the fire. There was no time to find anything to cover his body.
Judge (to the plaintiff): Had your son alerted you to the fire?
Plaintiff (wiping his eyes): No, the last time I saw him in my house, he was already burnt to death.
Judge: Was he wearing any trousers?
Plaintiff (crying): Your Honour, whatever on his body was burnt to ashes. His body was as black as coal.
Defendant: He had a lot of time to bring his whole family to safety. Instead, according to some villagers, he was standing outside his house, not only watching, gesticulating and laughing at my misfortune but calling me a "sick man".
Plaintiff: Lies! Lies! Fake news! Fake news!
Judge: You seem to implicate him in starting the fire to burn your house and family. Have you any evidence to implicate him in committing an arson?
Plaintiff: My good friend and his family should be held responsible.
Judge: You still call him "your good friend"? Woe betide anyone whom you call "your good friend"!
Plaintiff: They should be held responsible! They hurt the villagers very badly. They hurt themselves also.
Judge: It is not uncommon for whole villages and slums around the world to be burnt to the ground. So far nobody has been charged for a fire that started from his home unless it could be proved to be a crime of arson. All the people in the village were aware of the raging hay fires in his barn, and they, especially you, should have ample time to run to safety. Furthermore, such factors as the dry weather, strong wind and close proximity of houses have to be taken into account in the tragedy.
All this while, you seem to implicate that he was committing arson to bring destruction to your home and family, but you offer no evidence. If he really intends to kill you and your family, why should he start the fire in his own house? He could have set fire to your house without further ado.
Plaintiff: The fire should have stopped at his barn. More family members of his should have been killed by the fire instead of mine.
Narrator: The judge ordered a policeman to ignite the firewood in the steel container. To the amazement of everyone, he turned to it and asked the fire why it did not stop at the barn.
Plaintiff: Your Honour, are you kidding?
Judge: Because the fire is the real criminal. If you know danger or the fire is coming, why wait for it?
Narrator: In a fit of rage, the plaintiff rushed out of the court, crying foul at the judge's act and accusing him of being the defendant's puppet. He claimed that the judge was doing a sad job of covering up the defendant's initial bad handling of the fire to let it spin out of control.
