We live not only in the age of technology. We live in the times confusion, theft, loot and various manifestation of exploitation.
We are talking about education and awareness.
Some experts are trying very hard to define Buddhism in Bhutanese context. It makes sense, but only to certain extent. Efforts, from wherever is it coming needs to find the right context.
Compassion is the fastest-selling cake in a Buddhist world like Bhutan. But what is compassion really?
No one really knows what it is. And this is the very reason why many Bhutanese are getting cheated with many pictures and messages.
Who do we blame, religion or technology?
In a recent case, the Department of Law and Order (DLO) under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs has frozen the account of the fake fund donation drive posted on Facebook page at around midnight on September 18.
This is not new. The problem is with “uninformed” individuals who donate money.
What we need to understand is that such acts of kindness is good, but in the long term, when this become a business for a certain groups of people, the whole social fabric can come crumbling down.
It is about trust among the people.
Bhutan Kidney Foundation verified that the person soliciting help on social media was face. DLG did too. By then many millions had already gone into account of the fraudster who managed to exploit the weakness of the Bhutanese psyche.
Blame the banks? No, we cant. Blame the swindler? No, we cant.
We, who made the donations mindlessly, are to blame. This is an individual case. Looking broadly, what is this going to lead us to?
There are many people who really need help and public support. Many cases are there to look back to where public support made meaningful contributions.
When many imposters come online, the danger is that we could lose one of our greatest values—to help each other in times of need. And that will be very detrimental in the long term.
Agencies responsible have been very prompt in addressing such issues. Only the people in general are making the mistake of walking in at the right time for the right purpose. Or otherwise.
The blame lies with us.