We have been seeing all sorts of violence in this country for sometime now. Rape is now rampant; robbery is on the increase, and on top of this, we are now seeing the use of hot water as a weapon of attack. It was Tabara Samba who poured hot oil on her husband the other time. After that, there was a similar incident. Now, a mate has poured hot water on a three-week old baby.

Reportedly, she is as yet not given birth to any child, but her mate who has just been married has got one. It’s unwise at this stage to second-guess her motive. That is for the law court to do. But if her action is premeditated then it is inhuman.

What we are now concerned with is the safety of the baby. The doctors at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) should spare no effort to save the child’s life. After the baby’s treatment, he should be kept out of harm’s way – once bitten twice shy!

On a general note, we should avoid envy in our dealing with our neighbours. We are all endowed differently – opportunities are not the same for everybody, and some people are certainly luckier than others are.So instead of being eaten up by envy because of other people’s successes or good fortune, we should share their joys while working hard to make our own progress.

People who are envious of others hardly progress. They spend all their time and energy in plotting the downfall of their neighbours. If they spend half of that time and energy in improving themselves, they might even do better than the people they envy. We should learn to be content with what we have, enjoy the gift of life and take both the rough and the smooth. It is not everything we desire in life that we get exactly the way we want them.

Let’s get rid of this mindset that brings nothing but sorrow and tragedy.