The latest news that shocked the whole Sg will be that of the 5 warriors who perish in the name of DragonBoat. Who will ever expect 老天will be bringing them away from their family, friends, teammates, country at such a young age. It saddens me to read the stories related to them, the news coverage provided by our local media. It didnt impact on me so much intially when the news broke out. To me, it was just another by the way thingy. Someone going out to rep the country, then went missing. I thot these pple were fit young men who could survive the ordeal. The next day was the start, that gave me 1 x Jiat liat Jiat Liat..New reported 17 pple has been rescued, the other 5 are still missing after 24 hrs.
Woh, in my mind was 不会是正的吧。。他们可能飘到比较远的地方。。应该没事的。。I started following the news closely.. Day 3, 1 body was found. 完蛋了。。 可能大事已不秒。News started reporting on the 5 missing men. their details etc.. so young, promising young men with good future..hai.. Day 3 nite came, they were found. I guess it is the end of the guessing and praying. The news is final. These five men were all gone. Hopes were all shattered. Comments in friendster for them to come back safely were redundant . Blogs were set up in memory of them , hundreds and thousand entries started flowing in. As u read thru each and everyone of them, u can actually visualise how they are in their own life.
Entries in Jeremy Blog
http://profiles.friendster.com/4882469
Living it to their fullest as a Caring Mr Nice Guy for Jeremy, a Musician for Ruben, a Straight As boy for Wei Zheng, a Respected PE teacher for Stephen and lastly a gungho engineer for Boon San.
I have heard from my friends that this sport was not really in the good books of some organisation and was facing the fate of disbanding again and again. But yet these fine men, loyal to their passion for the sport, staying strong to their belief , pursued on .. Yet their passion was a costly one.
Looking at each of the casket and their cheerful faces in the papers, sometimes i still cant believe that they r gone. Tv coverage showed how sad the parents were.
Jeremy Mum quoted what the son told him when he was at Cambodia- He asked the mum what she wanted, mum said no need, Jeremy told mum to think about it, he will call back again to ask her when he is at the airport on Monday.. come to think of it.. Tat final call will never come again..
http://www.straitstimes.com/Video%2BNews/Singapore/STIVodcast_3131.html?playid=3131&type=Singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_181367.html
On Ruben blog www.compositious.blogspot.com, he said, he had this instinct :
'Closer and closer. I heard it today, and yesterday. Its getting worse. What I feared so much, feels so good. To not give a damn, to give in to it. Maybe it preparation for going into unfamiliar territory. If anything would happen there, he would be able to ensure any threat would be nullified. Its so hard to fight against instinct sometimes. Yet sometimes instinct is the only thing that will keep you alive. But it can also strip you of what makes you human. This trip will be a fight in more ways than one..
'The short talk I had with coach before disembarking worries me
Should he have said it out, things wouldnt turn out this way.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Video%2BNews/Singapore/STIVodcast_3120.html?playid=3120&type=Singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_182007.html?vgnmr=1
Day 5-6 were days of mourning and for family and friends to pay their last respect and spend their last moments with their lost loved ones.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Video%2BNews/Singapore/STIVodcast_3122.html?playid=3122&type=Singapore
DAy 7 was the final day, the hardest to swallow, the day that no one wanted it to come. A final memorial service was called for the five warriors, 1000 people flooded Mandai with flowers, their well wishes. Within them, were people whom may never ever crossed path with these 5 young men before. Out of the 2 hrs of Memorial Service, these are the word that made the most impact.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Video+News/Singapore/STIVodcast_3144.html?playid=3144&type=Singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/Video+News/Singapore/STIVodcast_3143.html?playid=3143&type=Singapore
I saluate Mr Vivian for this part of the speech:
'There's nothing that I can say or do that will fill the painful emptiness in your hearts and I also know that your lives will never be the same again.' 'I want you to know that your sons have touched so many lives in so many ways. They were the best that Singapore could offer and they wore our flag proudly. And Singapore is proud of them.' 'It is now our turn, those of us here now stand by these families and to make sure that they will not journey alone. I can promise the families here that we will not forget your sons or their legacy. And from now on every dragon boat that sails with a Singapore flag will sail in honour of each of these fine young men.'
Ruben's dad:
On coping with the pain of Rueben's death, a distraught Mr Kee said: 'I tell you we cannot cope with the pain. Some people try to comfort us and say Reuben is in heaven. My faith tells me he's not in heaven, don't be shocked.' 'He's not in heaven yet, because if he's in heaven and if he's looking down now seeing his father crying, and his mother and grandmother so upset, he will not want to be in heaven. And heaven will not be heaven.'
Jeremy's Brother Norman said:
In his tribute to Jeremy Goh, his brother Norman described him as the 'live-wire' of any group he was with and said his infectious sense of humour would lighten up any situation. 'You have turned out to be one fine gentleman whom everyone loves, respect and admire. You have touched the lives of many. You are one guy that friends can rely on for a good laugh and to provide a good listening ear to when the need arises.' Calling out the names of the five rowers, his parting words were: 'All five of you will have to take care of each other from now on, just like what you did in life as a team.'
Captain said below:
Extract from Straits Times:Farewell tribute from the team captain By Judith Tan Hardly able to hold back his tears, Mr Yeo (above) closed by saying that all five will live on in the hearts of their team mates as 'brothers forever'. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAIDRAGON boat captain Yeo Chin Hwei paid an emotional tribute to the five team mates who lost their lives last week. In a choked voice, Mr Yeo led his tribute with Mr Stephen Loh, whom he had known for five years. Calling his friend a 'charismatic, sure-footed energiser bunny', Mr Yeo said Stephen 'was one with the attitude'. 'But attitude with a cause - pursuing what he truly loved and what he had always believed in,' he said. Moving on to both Poh Boon San and Jeremy Goh, he told family and friends gathered at the memorial service on Thursday that both were known for their great sense of humour and the penchant to make the team laugh. Boon San, or 'ba-gay' (Hokkien for rabbit teeth) as he was affectionately known to the team, was the 'clown' but under the joker's exterior was a fighter 'who was determined to not only excel in the sport but also in all aspects of his life,' he said. He was the 'comeback kid', says brother of Boon SanHE WAS the comeback kid.National dragon boat paddler Poh Boon San struggled with his studies in his early years, said his elder brother Poh Boon Sen on Thursday in his eulogy for his 27-year-old sibling.
Buddy on Chee Wei Cheng's impact on his friendsCHEE Wei Cheng made an impact on his friends as a young chap who thought about life, was determined to improve himself, and worked hard at it.'I remember the times we spent speculating about our future, talking about our dreams, talking about what we want to achieve and the wishes we have for our families and friends,' said his good friend Chong Ming Liang in his tribute to the 20-year-old dragon boat paddler at a memorial service on Thursday.
Calling Jeremy a 'Da tou xiong' (big headed bear in Mandarin), he said he placed others before himself. 'He would want us to live our lives to the fullest and remove obstacles at all costs,' Mr Yeo added. Describing Reuben Kee as as more than just brains and brawn, Mr Yeo called him beautiful 'physically and artistically'. He said what Reuben had achieved in the short span of 23 years was what some had failed to do in a lifetime. As for the youngest, Chee Wei Cheng, Mr Yeo said his simple and down-to-earth personality had touched everyone 'who had the honour of being his friend'. Hardly able to hold back his tears, Mr Yeo closed by saying that all five will live on in the hearts of their team mates as 'brothers forever'.
This were the phrase that touched me :
'Take some time to remember your mother and your family. When you go home, cherish your mother, hug your mother and say, 'Ma, I'm home' because there will come a day when you move out or something worse happens and you'll no longer be able to hug your mother.'
In Jeremy's blog http://rememberingjerbroni.blogspot.com/, This one moved me :
At the memorial service..." What are you doing? " I asked a female friend." I'm smsing Jeremy... I'm asking him to go in peace...And we miss him... And I'm hoping he is looking after us.... "" I'm sure he will... " and I hugged her...and tears rolled down our eyes...
Sad right..
Enuff said.. This blog entry is dedicated to the above five warriors who left ahead before us. Guys, We are proud of you people, standing tall and strong, You guys might have left us physical but will remain in the hearts of many . Your stories definitely touched the hearts of many pple who loved you or even those who dont know you. Your courage will be respected by us. As Norman said, five of u must live together and take care of each other as you all had before. .Life will never be the same again as you guys will has made a difference in our life. On this note, I salute you. Continue your passion in heaven and go live your dreams!
For the five young ones:
Boon San http://bgpoh.blogspot.com/
Stephen http://energizerloh.blogspot.com/
Jeremy http://rememberingjerbroni.blogspot.com/
Wei Zheng http://rvhs2j2001.blogspot.com/
Reuben http://ntu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6327748991
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