Because of that, I couldn’t eat in the school canteen because I had no money left. I just took whatever they did to me and gave them all of my pocket money.
I was very scared at the time, and it could also be said that I was a “soft boy” who did not dare to fight back. This physical conflict became an emotional and mental conflict to me because it happened every day, not only at the truck’s waiting place, but also inside the school walls.Įvery day, if I didn’t give them the pocket money that my mother had given me, they would chase me around in the field during break time until I cried. They would ask for money and bully me by pulling on my shirt, my trousers and my hair. While I was waiting for the army truck to arrive every afternoon, a group of naughty boys led by Amirudin along with 4 others would block me in the lane near the truck’s location. Everyday, I was bullied and robbed by a group of boys that were mean to me at the time. However, a thing that I couldn’t hide happened to me. But as time went by, I began to understand the meaning of independence that my mother and father were trying to ingrain in me. The 7-year-old me’s heart was very sad and forlorn because every day, he had to walk alone to go to school. At the time, my mother did not send me to the truck’s location, Mom just watched me from afar from our block until the last shadows of the truck disappeared. As children of the army, we would routinely go to school by riding in an army's truck that waits at a fixed location and at a scheduled time. The apartments were 5 storeys high and the blocks around the neighbourhood were arranged according to the military ranking. For me, my life revolved around the military camp. At that time, I was an army’s son who grew up in a military camp in Batu Arang, Rawang, Selangor. Physical and emotional conflict once happened to me when I was only 7 years old. Usually, the conflict that leaves a deep and lasting effect that is often unforgettable or irreconcilable is conflict from an emotional and mental aspect.
These disagreements may occur either during physical interaction between individuals, or disputes due to emotional, mental or psychological clashes. As a regular human being, I, too, did not escape from having to face this kind of situation, in fact it happened many times across the 39 years that I’ve lived on this earth.Īccording to the Fourth Edition of Kamus Dewan, conflict can be defined as a dispute or disagreement between individuals regarding ideas, interests and many others.
Have you ever had to face a situation of conflict with a friend? Whether it’s a conflict with a good friend, a roommate, a schoolmate, a university friend or even a co -worker.