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| Aerial view of Machakos bus station |
Sometimes traveling using public transport can
be a nightmare and traumatizing experience. It is usually characterized by
people of different backgrounds and upbringing and it can be frustrating while
aboard. First, while in the stage before the bus can make a departure, there are
lots of peddlers and hawkers selling their wares ranging from cheap toothpaste, pesticides
and insecticides among other things a traveler may need. Worst are those hawkers who bombard you with their wares on
your face and you can’t do nothing about it.
I once had a nerving and chilling experience that left me with a sour taste in
the mouth. I failed to secure a seat in one of the charted buses that offer a
luxurious ride. Henceforth, I was forced to board a country-bus as the last resort
since I never knew I would not get a better alternative means of transport as
there was an emergency I need to go to urgently attend to. What was worse was
the fact that there were very many commuters and the price had nearly doubled.
The passenger seated next to me was sick and I guess he had also taken some
pints before boarding the vehicle. When the vehicle started moving he did vomit
on the floor making the air around reek with his refuse. Luckily I was seated
next to the window and I opened it and placed my head next to out of the window to allow fresh
air to counter the obnoxious smell.
To make matters worse, the seats were sat on were so squeezed and uncomfortable. A lady
with her child was seated next to the man as the seats were three. The man was
seated between me and the lady who was also traveling upcountry. The man
apologized that he was under strong medication and that was the reason why he
was feeling nauseated.
The retching did not end soon. When the bus was in steadfast motion, the man
again threw up on the floor of the bus this time causing the barf to spill to
the floor of the nearby seats. Everyone felt disgusted. It was one of the experiences that I
never thought I would witness. The funk in the air was now causing queasiness.
My stomach felt unsettled and rumbled as my mouth became full of saliva. It was
the kind of bitter saliva that one never thinks of even having a slight attempt swallowing.
Scenes like this are frequent in public transport and it there are even worse
cases. I was once told a story whereby the relatives of a very sick passenger
decided to take him home to go and spend his final days next to his people. The
relatives knew they had a terminally ill patient in the vehicle but still
insisted on the patient traveling. In the middle of the journey the person
kicked the bucket and it being at night there was no way the body could be
taken to the nearest morgue.
The services in public institutions are in a pathetic state. In fact this is
not only limited to traveling. Sometimes back I went to visit a patient in
hospital and I almost turned into one. The smell in the hospital was not any
friendly. It was piercing and disturbing. This was coupled by the fact that I
was also feeling a bit of some stomach upset. The air did drain me and I almost
became dizzy. Luckily I was not alone and some help came in handy.
Later while in a better hospital where I sought treatment, it was clear that
nothing was amiss in my system having gone for lab tests that had negative
results. I vowed to rarely go public to hospitals when I am not at my best.
The situation in most public hospitals and institutions that offer service to
the people need to change for the better. In as much as the conditions may be
deplorable and maintenance a myopic dream, there needs to be a way of ensuring
that conditions are improved to bring back sanity.
Some of the little things we usually ignore can really be disastrous if not
seriously taken into account. We have ignored our environment and the nature
around it. This has been spew to the places we live and the mindsets we have.
It is no longer fashionable to pride in cleanliness.
I have gone in places and saw looming catastrophes in waiting. We harbor
diseases that we can easily fight. People have accepted mediocrity especially
the lower middle class and those in the lower echelons in society. You find
people throwing garbage with a balderdash attitude since they cannot be held
accountable.
That we have lost the green campaign is not in doubt. It will take a whole
generation to accept that standards need to be adhered to. If hospitals that
should ensure patients recover quickly engage in acts contrary to their mandate
and the public condones it, then we are at a loss.
Our systems have been infiltrated because of our love for money. If we can champion the totality of humanity
instead of vested capitalistic interests then we will have made a good head-start. A
society that places money first is on the brink of collapse. Money should
motivate but again if acquired genuinely it will aid in making the world a
better place instead of it having an avalanche of problems that bequeath the
average guy on the streets. I would really marvel if a new dispensation that is
friendly becomes a reality.
