A Safety Reminder for Cohort 5

Delaqroux Inc Updates

You might think that this would have been a note for the oncoming exam. Well, no it's not but it's still as important as hell. So if exam's your main priority at the moment, you might wanna skip this note (though i really recommend that you give it a read at least after the exams). Otherwise, please take some time out and read.

A member from our cohort has been followed by some guy while she was walking alone along Epping Rd at around 6.30pm. There's some chances that this is just a case of paranoia but if something tells me that it could be for real, i rather bet my ass on being paranoid than being sorry. But listening to the story from her, i wish i can believe it is a case of false alarm but my gut is telling me it could be some loon of a girl-stalker guy for real - not to mention the stories i heard on what've happened along Epping rd, a 25th November newspaper article about some unpleasant cases at Epping, and the public's call for more police patrol cars along Epping (pretty close to Marsfield). So it could have been some lunatic or it could just be a coincidental guy following the same trail as you, but seriously, how many of us really take into consideration about our own safety when we're actually putting ourselves at risk without even realizing it?

So yeah, the nag begins here; i'm made aware that some of us, cohort 5 (the girls mainly), still made it a habit on walking alone right after sun down. You may insist that you might have just been walking on a very short distance at that time but if one of us here was being followed by some loonwhile the sun is still up and she was walking just a short distance as well - i really, really advice you not to take chances on walking alone when it's dark. If you would say that you dont always walk alone - you have a few others with you; i do agree that that's a good point but walking with just another girl or two in the middle of the night, i still think that isnt much of a prevention measure. If you gonna say you've been doing this walk-alone-at-night all this while and nothing happened, well, God-bless on your luck so far. But, seriously, please think about your safety more than just simply getting to places you want to go regardless of what time or situation you're in. Go ahead and throw any other refutes you have at me but if you can recall a news link posted by Flo about some Malaysian female student in Melbourne getting mugged and beaten at 12pm, you might want to consider a point i'm trying to make here.

So, please, it takes some very hard lesson to kill an old habit and in this case, i never would want anything to happen to my friends just coz they cant shake off the habit of walking home/somewhere alone. For those living away from others, please have the emergency line phone numbers right in your head at all times. If you really need to walk after dark, please have at least a guy or two accompanying you - not just another girl or two. And i do read an article that says girls have this habit of walking while talking on the phone, and the article dont recommend this even for the slightest bit. Walking while talking on the phone, having an MP3 earphone in your ears, walking at a relaxed pace, walking while humming or singing etc. exhibits hints of vulnerability. You're suggesting to the eyes around you that you are not aware of your surroundings (and chances that you probably are) and thus, suggesting you're an easier target for some loon to target you. Finally, if you can remember a recommendation made by some dude during our predeparture briefing on self safety - telling you to stop and pretend that you're tying your shoelace when you notice you're being followed; i dare say that is the shittiest dumbest stuff i've ever heard. Stopping is just gonna narrow down the distance between you and your follower, UNLESS you stopped while there are people around and wait for the guy to walk past you. Otherwise, if you do know there is an area close to you with more people around, just hasten up your pace and change your route off from the lonely street to the more crowded area altogether.

On a last note, please at least take some time to read articles, buy safety equipments or watch videos on some sort of self-defense measures if you can get your hands on any. Get some friends to practice it with you, or just sit down for a tad bit and discuss on what kind of measures you can do to keep yourself safe (i know you guys do tazkirahs and stuff all the time and i'm sure you can make one space to have some discussion on this matter). Listen to other's experience and advice and dont ever take them lightly (like this blogpost as well). Please be safe wherever you guys and girls are and just remember, the world is only a safe place to be when you know how to keep yourself safe at all times. That is all. As a final word; touch wood.


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