Tribute to Johnson D’Souza

Tribute to Johnson D’Souza

Scripture says…
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Nowadays road accidents make us think, why so many young children are losing their lives so easily. It really breaks my heart when I hear about two-wheeler accidents and young children dying in India, particularly in Mangaluru. I feel very sad for the loved ones of the deceased and injured and my heart goes out to the parents, siblings and their friends.

As a kid, I attended many funerals in my town but I don’t recollect attending the funeral of very many young children those days. I have a good memory and I remember that every house had children, parents and aged grandparents. Most of the grandparents lived a long life until the age of 85 or beyond. They grew old, got unwell or bedridden and finally passed away. They lived their full life and left this mortal life happy and satisfied.

But now almost every day we hear of our younger generation being taken away from us abruptly and road accidents are to be blamed. Our country has no proper driving rules or regulations like other developed countries. And if there are, people hardly follow them. Roads are lacking in proper signs or lanes for drivers to drive carefully even if they want to. The lanes are narrow and are two-way, and all vehicles including cars, trucks, autos, etc. all drive on the same roads, which causes overtaking and accidents with oncoming traffic. Drivers freely drink and drive, nobody wears seatbelts, and helmets are not commonly used by bikers.

Although we have all the luxuries these days with the latest and greatest technology, but it seems like human life has no value. Fifty years ago owning a vehicle was considered a luxury, but today it has become a necessity. Roads are filled with vehicles causing traffic jams at every transaction, every house has a four-wheeler as well as a two-wheeler for convenient travelling to closer places. Parents want their children to avail all the best facilities which they didn’t get growing up. This is why nowadays children get everything without any difficulty, all they have to do is ask and they will receive. Having a vehicle has a lot of advantages and also has many disadvantages.

Advantages are… in our busy schedule, we don’t have to sit and wait for buses or trains, we don’t have to depend on anyone for commuting, we can move around easily and save a lot of time.

Disadvantages are… expensive to maintain, air pollution, noise pollution caused by honking, also carelessness while driving causes accidents and deaths.

Drivers have to always remember that they have someone waiting at home and they need to drive carefully and return home safely. So when they get on the roads they have to follow the driving rules strictly for their sake and for the sake of others. Use helmets, fasten seatbelts, maintain speed limit and be courteous.

Other than the drivers and passengers, even the pedestrians are not safe on our roads today. Buses rush to get more passengers. Two-wheelers rush to reach the destination as soon as possible by going through bigger vehicles. Truck drivers don’t follow any speed limits, they don’t even think that there are other smaller vehicles sharing the same road around them. So finally someone somewhere has to sacrifice their life. I cannot help but feel sad and helpless for the loved ones of those who get into these accidents.

Every person leaves the house happily but they never know if they will come back home safe. News channels and newspapers everyday announce about these accidents. Every person hears the news but I’m surprised why no one takes any step to improve our road transportation system. Showrooms continue to sell vehicles, hospitals continue to treat victims, priests religiously perform funerals, and media just spreads the news. But why nobody is wondering why more and more young children, siblings, fathers, husbands, sisters and wives are losing lives for no reason and that we as a society should do something about it? It is our right to help to reduce unwanted deaths – why don’t we think that we are all one family as human beings? Why don’t any concerned authorities take any proper steps to improve our roads? Politicians can take few minutes to educate people whenever they get chances to meet people, news channels can conduct some safety shows, religious leaders can give some safety lessons to people in churches, people can create some common associations or forums where they can share information about road safety regularly. Why are we all quiet and not doing anything about this serious problem of this day? Our children are more valuable than all other things. We can’t see them in coffins during our lifetime. I can’t say accidents will always happen but I can say that precaution is better than cure.

Our children are our future. We can’t tolerate when they get small bruises so how can we see their dead bodies lying in front of us because of these dangerous road accidents.

I dedicate this article to Johnson D’souza who passed away a couple of days back. Although I don’t know him, I have not met him but I am a human being and a mother. I can feel his mother’s pain, and I can only imagine what she is going through at this time. My sincere prayer to Jesus is to comfort her and give her enough courage to witness her son’s farewell.

Johnson was working in Dubai away from home. He had plans to visit his parents and siblings and wanted to be with them during his vacation. How excited he must have been to land in Mangalore airport and be reunited with his loved ones after a long time. How much his loving parents and siblings must have been looking forward to seeing him and were planning to spend quality time with him. Two days after arriving home, when he left home on that morning and met with the fatal accident, did any one of them think that Johnson will never come home again? I can’t even imagine, what all dreams Johnson, his parents and siblings must have been dreaming when they were having their reunion. All dreams have been shattered. I don’t know what to call this… negligence, carelessness, destiny or fate. God is always good, He loves us, He doesn’t do bad things to His children but Devil is the one who always gives us sorrow and misery. He is actively engaged in destroying human lives. So I pray to Almighty to deliver all His children from all evil.

Dear Johnson, we all know that you are in a better place with Jesus, surrounded by angels and saints. Away from all pain and sorrow. Please console your parents and siblings from heaven above and pray for them. We will all meet one day in paradise, our eternal kingdom. May Your Soul Rest In Peace.

  Jessy D’Sa

 Johnson on Vacation from Dubai killed in Road Accident