Bassim
VIP Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Bosnian
- Home Country
- Bosnia Herzegovina
- Current Location
- Sweden
I imagined the prime minister taking a bus one early morning, and this text is the result of that thought. Would you please correct my mistakes?
The internet nowadays abounds with rumours and fake news, but the pictures and videos showing the prime minister travelling by the bus caused great consternation and outrage among the public and in the media. On the videos which are spreading like wildfire through social media, the prime minister can be seen standing in the overcrowded bus and holding onto the strap with his one hand, and with another, his black briefcase. It is still not known what caused this strange behaviour, but it did not go well either with his colleagues or ordinary people. Within minutes of the posting of the incriminating pictures, Twitter and other social sites went into overdrive.
Many celebrities and politicians are the target of abuse on the internet, but the amount of abuse heaped this time on the leader of the country was exceptional. People wished him to go to hell, drown in lava, be devoured by crocodiles, and get all kinds of illnesses, which would eat him up from inside slowly and painfully. The leader of the opposition, Mr Foot, called the prime minister’s behaviour unacceptable and demanded an apology. Other politicians went further and questioned his sanity, and asked him to undergo a series of psychological examinations to prove he was mentally fit for his job.
Journalists didn’t waste any time and went searching for the witnesses. They found a few people willing to tell them their experiences of that fateful ride. Maria, 35- year- old cleaner said, “I’ve been using this line for about ten years. I had in the past some unpleasant incidents with drunks and men who groped me and whispered some obscenities into my ears, but today’s experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I went on the bus around seven. Ten minutes later, a gentleman in a dark suit came abroad. He was well-groomed and clean-shaven. At first, I thought he was one of the office workers you see every morning, always dizzy from the lack of sleep, but I felt uneasiness as soon as I saw him. I was so close to him that I smelled his expensive aftershave, which probably cost more than my monthly wage. I looked at him in profile, and it hit me, “It’s him,” I shouted inside myself, “the man who caused so much pain and was indifferent to the suffering of the working-class. What does he do here, without his bodyguards? How dares he? Why doesn’t he travel by his tank of a car which can resist any attack? Why does he try to provoke people by jostling with them? I had to suppress the urge to punch him in the face, and I got off two stops earlier because the anger boiling inside me caused me breathing difficulties as if someone had sucked the air out from the bus. I definitely wouldn’t be able to travel on the same bus with him again.”
Samantha, 27-year-old nurse said, “I got on the bus as usual, and had to stand because there is never a vacant seat at this time of the day. Suddenly, I smelt a scent I never smelt before. I could hardly move in the crush, and when I turned my head, I saw a large head of a man I remembered from somewhere. His gray eyes were expressionless, his smooth-shaven face like an impenetrable mask, his brown hair slicked back. It was when he raked his fingers through his hair that I recognized him. Every time when he comes up to the dispatch box, he makes that gesture before making fun of the leader of the opposition. So this is how “Butcher” looks like, I thought. At my job, we call him Butcher because of his resistance to raise our salaries in the last few years. We went on our knees begging him for just one percent rise, but he was impervious. He laughed in our faces, reducing us to tears. Nurses started to leave in droves. They moved to Australia, Middle East and the US, where they can earn much more. We who stayed are now struggling to cope with the increased workload, and we are at the end of our tether.
As the bus made its way through the congested traffic, I felt my stomach tighten. I had to get off at the next stop or risk throwing up. When I found myself in the street, I leaned on the light post and breathed in deeply to compose myself. I watched the bus disappear into the distance and was relieved I was no longer on it. If I ever see him on the bus again, I am sure I’ll have a nervous breakdown.”
Gary, 58-year-old carpenter said, “Yes, I definitely saw him getting on the bus. At first, I believed it was his lookalike, but then I intuitively knew it was him, which was confirmed later in the news. I saw by the way he was standing and holding onto the strap that he was not an ordinary man. I can sense a statesman, even in the largest crowd. I thought how brave he was. Here was my prime minister taking a bus ride in the crowded bus and doing the right thing. I voted for his party in the previous election, and I knew he would deliver what he promised. When times are difficult you’re with your people. You’re right in the middle of the crowd, you breath their sweat and you share with them good and bad things because you one of them. I hope to see him many times on the bus. If I get an opportunity, I’ll shake hands with him and offer to buy him a beer in a pub. I know he’ll not turn me down. We have so many things to talk about.”
TO BE CONTINUED
The internet nowadays abounds with rumours and fake news, but the pictures and videos showing the prime minister travelling by the bus caused great consternation and outrage among the public and in the media. On the videos which are spreading like wildfire through social media, the prime minister can be seen standing in the overcrowded bus and holding onto the strap with his one hand, and with another, his black briefcase. It is still not known what caused this strange behaviour, but it did not go well either with his colleagues or ordinary people. Within minutes of the posting of the incriminating pictures, Twitter and other social sites went into overdrive.
Many celebrities and politicians are the target of abuse on the internet, but the amount of abuse heaped this time on the leader of the country was exceptional. People wished him to go to hell, drown in lava, be devoured by crocodiles, and get all kinds of illnesses, which would eat him up from inside slowly and painfully. The leader of the opposition, Mr Foot, called the prime minister’s behaviour unacceptable and demanded an apology. Other politicians went further and questioned his sanity, and asked him to undergo a series of psychological examinations to prove he was mentally fit for his job.
Journalists didn’t waste any time and went searching for the witnesses. They found a few people willing to tell them their experiences of that fateful ride. Maria, 35- year- old cleaner said, “I’ve been using this line for about ten years. I had in the past some unpleasant incidents with drunks and men who groped me and whispered some obscenities into my ears, but today’s experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I went on the bus around seven. Ten minutes later, a gentleman in a dark suit came abroad. He was well-groomed and clean-shaven. At first, I thought he was one of the office workers you see every morning, always dizzy from the lack of sleep, but I felt uneasiness as soon as I saw him. I was so close to him that I smelled his expensive aftershave, which probably cost more than my monthly wage. I looked at him in profile, and it hit me, “It’s him,” I shouted inside myself, “the man who caused so much pain and was indifferent to the suffering of the working-class. What does he do here, without his bodyguards? How dares he? Why doesn’t he travel by his tank of a car which can resist any attack? Why does he try to provoke people by jostling with them? I had to suppress the urge to punch him in the face, and I got off two stops earlier because the anger boiling inside me caused me breathing difficulties as if someone had sucked the air out from the bus. I definitely wouldn’t be able to travel on the same bus with him again.”
Samantha, 27-year-old nurse said, “I got on the bus as usual, and had to stand because there is never a vacant seat at this time of the day. Suddenly, I smelt a scent I never smelt before. I could hardly move in the crush, and when I turned my head, I saw a large head of a man I remembered from somewhere. His gray eyes were expressionless, his smooth-shaven face like an impenetrable mask, his brown hair slicked back. It was when he raked his fingers through his hair that I recognized him. Every time when he comes up to the dispatch box, he makes that gesture before making fun of the leader of the opposition. So this is how “Butcher” looks like, I thought. At my job, we call him Butcher because of his resistance to raise our salaries in the last few years. We went on our knees begging him for just one percent rise, but he was impervious. He laughed in our faces, reducing us to tears. Nurses started to leave in droves. They moved to Australia, Middle East and the US, where they can earn much more. We who stayed are now struggling to cope with the increased workload, and we are at the end of our tether.
As the bus made its way through the congested traffic, I felt my stomach tighten. I had to get off at the next stop or risk throwing up. When I found myself in the street, I leaned on the light post and breathed in deeply to compose myself. I watched the bus disappear into the distance and was relieved I was no longer on it. If I ever see him on the bus again, I am sure I’ll have a nervous breakdown.”
Gary, 58-year-old carpenter said, “Yes, I definitely saw him getting on the bus. At first, I believed it was his lookalike, but then I intuitively knew it was him, which was confirmed later in the news. I saw by the way he was standing and holding onto the strap that he was not an ordinary man. I can sense a statesman, even in the largest crowd. I thought how brave he was. Here was my prime minister taking a bus ride in the crowded bus and doing the right thing. I voted for his party in the previous election, and I knew he would deliver what he promised. When times are difficult you’re with your people. You’re right in the middle of the crowd, you breath their sweat and you share with them good and bad things because you one of them. I hope to see him many times on the bus. If I get an opportunity, I’ll shake hands with him and offer to buy him a beer in a pub. I know he’ll not turn me down. We have so many things to talk about.”
TO BE CONTINUED
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