Sarah James-Cyrus

Sarah James-Cyrus Column

Sarah says...

IT’S 7.13am and, still half asleep, I push through the crowd.

Past the men in the suits and their lingering aftershave and past the giggling teenagers, burly builders and the mother struggling with her pram.

I have a firm grip on my morning fix of caffeine, my heart rate is rising and the train announcements are getting louder.

There’s that unmistakeable beeping.

The doors are closing, so I join in with the fight – the fight to get my seat on that train.

Poised, seated and now relaxed, I open my newspaper.

I read about a child trapped in rubble; no sound apart from the cries she makes.

Adrenaline rushing to her head, until the pain in her leg stuns her.

That same panic I felt running for my train, only a minuscule part of what this child feels when she opens her eyes to darkness. Abandoned, trapped and alone.

What if we took more from the headlines?

What if shocking headlines of violent crimes made us consider how we travelled home after a night out?

Or the sympathy after reading about the Haiti disaster turned into genuine appreciation?

Why does the initial shock on reading about a cyclist killed by a lorry later turn to complacency when we speed or take that phone call while driving?

Reading about young children attacking others should make us contemplate whether we know our children.

Reports of violent crime should make us more cautious, while pictures of children with amputated limbs should fill us with gratitude.

Don’t get complacent and take headlines at face value.

Think twice.