My neighbour came to see me once again last week. It’s been a while. He went to bed sometime last week with an almost unbelievable story heavy on his mind. Some thieves in Hong Kong broke into a warehouse in the city and stole 25,000 surgical masks!
The owner had imported the masks from Thailand and was hoping to sell the items on her online shop before the incident, at a time many residents are queuing up to get the product, in the face of the threats posed by the Corona virus. The owner of the shop is afraid the thieves want to take advantage of the situation and exploit residents because there is a shortage of the items.
My neighbour had the same sentiments on his mind just before he fell asleep that night. And dreamt he was in Hong Kong, inside the residence of the thieves where he had the following conversation with the leader:
Why have you guys done such a cruel thing. It’s so insensitive. People need these masks.
Did we tell you we are not going to make them available?
At what cost? How can you hope to profit from the misery of others?
See how you twist matters. Who told you those people trying to get the masks are miserable. They are only restless.
What is the difference?
Look here, they are not the same, my friend.
Please let’s not make this about words. This is a serious matter
Tell me how serious
There is a shortfall of the product
We know about that
People need it
We already told you we know that
But you want to sell it at a premium
Did we tell you that?
Oh, so you want to do a Robin Hood with the masks?
Do Robin Hood with another person’s investments? Is that what you are suggesting?
Not at all. I can never advise you to do that. Ok, you don’t want to sell it at a premium, you don’t want to do a Robin Hood with it. What do you want to do with it?
We are going to sell it
How much?
We are not obliged to tell you that
So what are you going to do?
You will have to wait to find out. But lest you think we’ve done something strange, think again. We haven’t done anything unusual.
What are you talking about?
How many people are without this sin?
You must always compare apples and apples; oranges and oranges
Not in every situation. Some children don’t look like their parents at infancy but with the passage of time, doubts disappear when men see the likeness of the grown children to their parents.
You are saying…
We are saying that stealing surgical masks, which the people urgently need is not different from stealing opportunities, which the people urgently need for their protection and development. We are saying it is not different from stealing funds and every other resource the people urgently need for the protection of their present and their future. And their overall development.
