IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP BY Latiff Mohidin

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP-By Latiff Mohidin

This poem is about the hardship and suffering by the villagers during flood. There is destruction and loss of property. The villagers have to wade in the flood water, searching for their albino buffalo. The buffalo is belongs to their son. It is rare and therefore indicates value as it is white in colour.

They failed to find it and return home. Even though they failed to find it they did not feel hopeless and despair. At home, they draw comfort and warmth from the hot stove in the kitchen. As they rest in the house, they show their toughness and resilience  as they take their day’s hardship  stride and even jokes as they smoke their rolled ‘cigarette leaves.’

Hardship and toughness of life indeed happened in rural areas but students nowadays can’t stand a bit of hardship and toughness.  

They are too comfortable with their life in city whereby they never on foot when they are going out, they like to enjoy their life such as shopping, surfing on internet, watch movies, going every places whereby there is fully air-conditioned and so on. A bit of toughness and hardship for them will definitely like killing them. Therefore, teenagers should learn from the poems as even they live in poverty, they are happy and satisfy with their simple life.  

Those who busy with their work and work and work and go for money as well feel very stressful life. Even though they have lots of money and property, they did not enjoy their life, they are not happy and satisfy with all the things they have.

Real life situation can be imagined from the poems. It reveals the feelings of sadness in losing the properties.  This reminded me when the ‘horrendous’ flood at my hometown and of course my parents house. It was like a nightmare whereby nobody at home at that time and sudden flood came. Everything just came too fast. I can’t do anything as I need to rescue two cars, two motorcycles and belongings.  For a week, I stay alone upstairs and ate my instant mee every meals for a week.  Cook while feet in the water and only able to look from the rooms hoping that everything will be just fine and begged for the good weather.