When Is Religious Impunity Going To End?

By Emil van der Poorten –January 17, 2016

Emil van der Poorten

What provoked the title of this piece is a recent event to which I was witness when a man in saffron robes, a Buddhist priest I presume, jumped the queue at a major private hospital while several other obviously sick patients were waiting their turn to see a consultant who proved to be the epitome of professionalism and kindness.

There we were, a handful of patients awaiting the arrival of the doctor we had chosen to see, with the first of our number already in the consultation room, when in traipsed a man in the robes of a Buddhist priest. Even though appearances can often be deceptive, he was certainly one of the healthiest looking people on the premises of that large private health institution!

And, mind you, he didn’t come alone. He was accompanied by two women dressed in what is colloquially known as “western garb” who, on entry into the waiting area, immediately strode up to the young nurse who was shepherding patients into the doctor’s presence according to the sequence of the numbers they held.

Immediately after this confabulation, the nurse went up to the patient she was next due to usher into the doctor’s room and, after some whispering and head nodding, the already evident smirk on the priest’s countenance seemed to grow more pronounced.Read More