I went to Crimsonlogic at the State Court for the second time to get a Certified True Copy of a court document a few mornings ago.
After queueing for 45 minutes, the grumpy-looking staff who told me to come queue at 8am the last time, cut the queue off and said they were not entertaining walk-in cases anymore.
I was extremely annoyed because it was my second time travelling for an hour there just to be told to go back without anything done. And I didn’t like the staff as the last time I was there, she told me off for taking a queue number, not knowing that they don’t entertain walk-ins unless you go there at 8am.
Then another lady approached the staff and spoke to her about something before saying “my life is in danger”.
The staff softened her tone and asked if she’s there for CTC (certified true copies).
However, the lady was trying to explain her situation, to which the staff rolled her eyes and gave a “haiz” expression. The police officer quickly intervened and asked the lady to stop talking and instead, listen to what the staff had to say.
The staff explained that if the lady kept telling her her problem, she would not be able to help others. She pointed to the queue and said,”Everybody has problems.”
After she settled that lady, she continued to check with the rest of us what we wanted to do. I told her I had lost a document and enquired if what I wanted to to was to get a CTC. She wrote down my name and asked me to proceed to the office, to which I was greatly relieved.
I experienced a paradigm shift at that moment.
It’s not my first time dealing with legal bureaus. At first, I was angry with the grumpy staff for making my life difficult. When I saw how people were upset with her and arguing with her, I suddenly felt sorry for her.
She was not in an enviable position. Her job deals with disgruntled people who are frustrated with the law. Almost nobody would smile at her. I suppose it’s understandable why she always looks grumpy.
As I was relating to my youngest sister about the account, I also realised we have become so unfeeling towards someone who cried out,”My life is in danger.”
The lady was hoping to get some sympathetic words and assistance from the staff, to which she was met with a cold “everybody has problems”.
I recalled a case in which a divorcee who was asking for help from her abusive ex-husband but received none except a useless PPO (personal protection order).
She was mercilessly stabbed to death despite her multiple pleas for help.
“Everybody has problems”. Do we look around and see that others have bigger problems than ours?
Suddenly, my problem doesn’t look that big anymore.
