We are all affectedJanuary 30, 2012Dear Sir,The news stories I have read about and listened to concerning job losses and especially “Government under fire” over the misuse of public funds and other articles, remind me of a story by AcademicTips.org which goes like this:“A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said: “Mr Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”The mouse turned to the pig and told him “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”The pig sympathised, but said: “I am so very sorry, Mr Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”The mouse turned to the cow and said: “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”The cow said “Wow, Mr Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember; when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.”Persons who are familiar with The Royal Gazette articles, “ ‘Former’ Immigration Officers arrested” (29/½002); “Customs justifies hunt for overseas managers” (15/1½002); “Bermudians being overlooked within Customs officers” (3/12/2002); “PSC blocks disclosure of documents to tribunal looking into unfair dismissal claim” (20/10/2005); “ ‘A breach of constitutional rights’” whereby a “Black Bermudian lost out to equally unqualified white Canadian for Customs job, hearing told” (11/½006) and “Customs officer loses job appeal” (19/5/2008) should understand where I’m coming from.Where is the compensation for those who have been wronged and who have unsuccessfully sought justice in a system that appears to be tilted against them? After all, currently civil servants are not permitted to speak out about unethical conduct. Those who have been bold enough to challenge the system have been victimised for doing so. This is why it is important to nip things in the bud.Many people may not have realised that something they previously thought was irrelevant to them at the time would escalate into something which now affects all of us. When our leaders/Ministers and senior Civil Servants fail to adhere to ethical standards, we are all affected.JENNIFER CAINESDevonshire