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THE MONEY IS YOURS BUT THE RESOURCES BELONG
TO THE SOCIETY
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A good lesson to remember.
Germany is a highly industrialized country. It produces top brands like
Benz, BMW, Siemens, etc. The nuclear reactor pump is made in a small
town in this country. In such a country, many will think its people
lead a luxurious life. At least that was my impression before my study
trip.
When I arrived at Hamburg, my colleagues who work in Hamburg arranged a
welcome party for me in a restaurant. As we walked into the restaurant, we
noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young
couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans
of beer on the table. I wondered if such a simple meal could be
romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy.
There were a few old ladies at another table. When a dish is served,
the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every
bit of the food on their plates.
We did not pay much attention to them, as we were looking forward to the
dishes we ordered. As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered more
food for us.
As the restaurant was quiet, the food came quite fast. Since there were
other activities ar ranged for us, we did not spend much time dining.
When we left, there was still about one third of unconsumed food on the
table.
When we were leaving the restaurant, we heard someone calling us. We
noticed the old ladies in the restaurant were talking about us to the
restaurant owner. When they spoke to us in English, we understood that
they were unhappy about us wasting so much food. We immediately felt
that they were really being too busybody.
"We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we left
behind, " my colleague Gui told the old ladies.
The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her hand
phone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform
from the Social Security organization arrived. Upon knowing what
the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Mark fine.
We all kept quiet. The local colleague took out a 50 Mark note and
repeatedly apologized to the officer.
The officer told us in a stern voice,
"ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME, MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE
SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF
RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES. "
Our faces turned red. We all agreed with him in our hearts. The
mindset of people of this rich country put all of us to shame. WE
REALLY NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS. We are from a country which is not very
rich in resources. To save face, we order large quantities and also
waste food when we give others a treat. THIS LESSON TAUGHT US A LESSON
TO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING OUR BAD HABITS.
My colleague Photostatted the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a
souvenir. All of us kept it and pasted on our wall to remind us that we
shall never be wasteful.
When will SRI LANKA make it a law to fine people who waste food?
NOTE : I believe that there are provisions in Singapore to stop
people wasting food in restaurants, especially at buffets. If excessive
amounts of food are left on their plates, guests can be fined for the
unconsumed food.
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