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My writing Journal   Friday, April 18, 2003   SARS, a war that is happening right here in Singapore and the hospitals have become its battlefield and SARS is an abbreviation for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, not another mnemonic for the US-led war in Iraq. From what I gather through the news on the television and the newspapers, this disease was spread by those who visited the Chinese provinces of Guangzhou and Hunan and also Hong Kong. This disease causes the victim to have difficulty in breathing. At first, when I got to know about SARS, I thought that it was just another bout of the normal flu. It did not even cross my mind that someone would actually die because of it! And now the number of deaths in Singapore has increased to 12. I was quite terrified when I learnt about the first death in Singapore caused by SARS. Since then, I tried not to go out of my house except when it was really necessary. Moreover, my paranoid mum forbid to step out of the house during the day, as she feared that the disease could be spread in crowded places. The SARS crisis in Singapore occurred because of the proliferation of this ‘corona-like’ virus. It really makes my hair stand on end just thinking about the deaths. Actually, we can overcome this problem by being considerate. What I mean is that if you have visited places which have been identified as SARS focal points, you should just stay at home and not go around associating with other people. This method could have at least reduced the number of people in Singapore affected with SARS. This point however has also led me to think that Singaporeans should alter their attitude towards work and school. People kept going to work despite having fevers! On a more sombre not however, I wish to express my condolences to the family of the victims of SARS, especially to the doctor’s who died after treating a SARS patient. He thought more for the patient than the consequences that he would face after treating the patient. These are the real heroes of society, those who dedicate their services and are willing to sacrifice their lives despite the dangers they may face. Maybe the school could design a banner to recognize the services of the medical industry (doctors, nurses, etc.) and thank them for their dedication towards stopping the spread of SARS. As a parting note, I would like to say that the SARS situation has induced mixed feelings within me, both negative and positive.