‘Finally’, because it’s been a while.
Alistair (aka Alister) Pereira. Now there’s an interesting conversation.
Is he the brute the media’s painted him out to be? Or is he the victim of an attack against a minority in the country (Catholics)?
Was at a party last night & Alistair was center stage. Many of his neighbours are people we know or good friends of people we know. And they all swear the boys a gem.
Many swear he’s been made a scapegoat because the law has to find someone guilty and it might as well be someone who has no political influence, no great guns backing him. They swear if he was the son of a politician he’d be scott-free and have no negative PR at all. They swear. And they swear some more.
Here’s what I think. Firstly, enough swearing already. Facts are facts.
Alistair Pereira may have been a very very good boy - he has been quoted saying:
Maybe, it was bad luck … In that fraction of a second, I don’t know what happened. I was accelerating the vehicle. I don’t know how the vehicle rammed into them and turned turtle
One of the others in the car adds:
This is our first brush with the law. We did not intend to kill anybody. Many of us drink and drive. We just turned out to be the unlucky ones.
Yes, many do drink and drive. Does that mean it excuses Alistair?
Perhaps you can also say the boys were ‘unlucky’, they definetely did not intend to kill anyone. But if so, how much more unlucky were the victims? Or the families of the victims?
(Picture above taken from Mid-Day)
Facts are facts.
Alistair was drunk that night. And like it or not, intending it or not, he killed 7 people. Period.
The victims were not in the middle of the road. They were not wildly running about the road. They were asleep. At 3 in the morning in their tin shanty huts at the side of the road.
(Picture above taken from Mid-Day- click to enlarge)
And Alistair was drunk. He was drunk & he killed 7 people.
Which isn’t better or worse than being drunk and shooting a guest bartender in the head.
I’m very pro-Catholics and I’d be the first to stand and defend someone if I thought they were being unjustly dealt with because they were from a minority - but let’s face facts people. The boy is guilty.
The Catholic Church has taken a very public stand against the boys actions - a brave stand I think and I’m proud of the Church for the stand it has taken. Rev. Fr Anthony Charanghat, spokesperson for archbishop of Bombay has said:
We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the culprits in the Bandra case too will not go scot-free
Indeed, we must not keep silent when we are right - as we must also admit when there is a wrong.
That all being said, I do feel bad for Alistair, he is after all just a kid. He’ll probably go to prison and get sodomized (God forbid)… I shudder, I fear his life as he knows it is over… to some extent, miniscule though it is right now, I feel for him.
But I feel also for the dead 7 people and their families - their lives must not be made light of because they were poor people. It is sad that there is zero media coverage on them at all. Are the other injured even ok? I guess we’ll hear about them only if one more dies (God forbid that too).
Justice is justice.
Let us not mix religion with justice, or mix emotion with justice and subvert the law when it suits us.
Related Posts:
(01) Getting Away with Murder?
(02) Latest News: On Alister Pereira
Tags: Alistair-Pereira, Alister-Pereira, Controversy, Drunk-Driving, India, India-News, Mumbai, Murder, News
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December 8th, 2006 at 3:22 am
I think everyone can make a stand by refusing to let a drunk friend or relative drive even if they say they are okay and even if they are very close by.
December 8th, 2006 at 10:00 am
I’m looking at this a little differently. I think this case brings out the drunk driving issue to the fore. Lets use it for the foll:
1) To find people who serve liquor to underage kids - make sure they get punished
2) Get a grip on underage drinking - create awareness
We cant deny that alcohol exists and shove it behind curtains. What we can do is try and reduce its evil impacts.
Also, use this opportunity (that right, opportunity - amidst every crisis lies an opportunity) to get some basic rules in place for pavement dwellers (not the prmanent kind who are protected by law - i’m referring to the temporary ones like these poor guys were who are working on the infrastructure projects like roads etc) and make sure that the contractors are bound to give them a decent house atleast for the duration of their employment.
Else, can we say that we have learnt / improved from this incident?
December 8th, 2006 at 11:50 am
i agree with IC ! those boys were justa hving fun .. absolutely harmless many would say ! but shit happens .. and if shit happens and you are drunk too .. that’s even worse !!!
December 8th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
next time, take a taxi home.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
sometimes a moment of carelessness can ruin ur whole life…and the guy shud be punished as per the laws of the country
….the contractor for whom those laborers were working shud also be punished…these contratcors bring in the immigrant labour coz they are cheap…he can earn more profit caring a damn about the labourers
December 8th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Just curious What is the legal age to drink in India, by law?
December 8th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Mario: You need to be 25 for hard liquor and 21 for beer.
December 8th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
the sad thing is this… if the boy’s parents were politicians or big shots he would have been scot free… what about the rest who have done the same… now tell me.. what if u or i were driving the car… would we be in the same position?? guess u need to answer that…
December 9th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
@ Pensive: For the first time (?) you and I agree completely on something. Who wudda thunk it?!
@ inexile: I think it’s worst of all for the people who lost their lives & their families, don’t you think?
@ Slo: Have a feeling Alistair’s gonna be doing just that…
@ Sherriff: Interesting bit of news - did ya know that the contract work was already completed? And that the labourers were staying there illegally (like most people on the roads today?). In fact, apparently, the others have all just “vanished”… whatever that means
@ Khush: Here’s the irony created by our corrupt nation:
* Is it justice for an Alistair to be convicted while a Manu walks free?
* Or is it right for us to ask for Alistair to be free because Manu is?
I think both should be convicted regardless of their political power or not. Of course, that’s just wishful thinking in this country - but things are looking up & I’m optimistic.
December 9th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
This is our first brush with the law. We did not intend to kill anybody. Many of us drink and drive. We just turned out to be the unlucky ones.
WTF? how do u brush away accountability for yr own actions by stating that its your first brush with the law. Thats like Prothero saying “Good guys win, Bad Guys lose, England prevails”
December 9th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
as for alistair being sodomized in prison he just needs to know “Dont pick up the soap in the shower, else everything is fair game with a little prison love”
December 9th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Its’a big crime! Glad that church voiced against it!
December 11th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
Glad you spoke out on this…it was really appalling to read statements by some the CSF saying that the guy had been victimised or even his mother saying that “She forgives all those who have spoken ill of her son” Wow!! What is this stupidity or what!!
As you say being nice is no excuse to get drunk and kill people even if it were by accident!
When you got warnings screaming out about the dangers and perils of drunken driving and you still dont seem to care a damn…I think you really deserve to be punished!
December 11th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Being a catholic i feel bad for Alister and his family, but when it come to law i feel that he should be punished so that its a lesson to all who drink
December 11th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
And pls. don’t joke about sodemy, scares the heck outta me..
@ Jo: Yes, I too was glad the Church took a public & strong moral stand against it.
@ Alex: Thx for what you wrote.
As for Alistair’s mother, I really believe she’s just a not-so-saavy mac woman who doesn’t understand the press. She was trying to tell the guy that her son isn’t really as bad as the many untrue accounts that have been coming out about him - and I’m sure in her & in Alistair’s defence that some accounts may have been untrue.
So the interviewer asks her what she feels about these people who are saying untrue things about her son & she says “I have to forgive them” - which is true - she does (Also true is the amount of forgiveness her son needs to beg God and all parties for the crime he has committed).
But granted it was HIGLY STUPID, knowing the press’ inclination for shocking headlines, it was just splashed “Alistair’s mother forgives” and everyone was like, “HUH???!” She should, imo, just not comment in the future.
December 11th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
The sad thing is that unfortunately it will not be a “lesson” for all who may committ the same crime - there will be still many who will get away with their crimes because in this country corruption still rules… in fact that was the whole controversy (see the questions I asked Khush in comment # 9)
Mercifully - hopefully - things do seem like they’re moving in the right direction.
December 11th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
i just think that drinking and driving shd be banned. there shd be a minimum jail term of 6 mths if ur caught drunk driving, and mandatory 2-5 years if you end up hurting or killing someone. it doesnt matter if the guy is catholic or muslim or taliban for crying out loud, its time to make sure ur responsible for yr own actions. Start behaving like reponsible citizens in society
December 12th, 2006 at 12:12 am
This is why Alistair is an issue - if he had the clout to “pay off” the right people, he’d have the chance to walk. As is, he’s probably going to get @&#!*$@ (as the corrupt guys have to show they’re not corrupt & they use these non-influence types to do that)
Similarly, if you see the Jessica Lall case, murder is illegal (yeah, believe it or not) but unfortunately because of our utterly corrupt nation, even after shooting her point blank in a room full of witnesses, Manu Sharma still is a free man.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I do not understand why many of us try to play the Minority or Catholic card, when something goes wwrong. Just because the rich and power go free, does not make our wrong actions right.
Let us however pray for him that he and others who drink and drive learn from this horrible mistake.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
April 14th, 2007 at 10:18 am
i agree i do feel bad 4 him it couldve happened to so many people n many hav gotten away with it as well.. but that doesnt mean more such examples get away… ppl realise if they drive over stones on th road how drunk do u hav to b to not realise u rode over SEVEN Live bodies whom witnesses heard screaming!!! on th footpath too! n now hes gettin away with it.. jst 6 months!!! n those poor laborers hav to pay such a price 4 their poverty.. th judge apparently let him off coz ‘the case wasnt made properly’. so he gets off??? and he doesnt even seem to hav any remorse either..
April 14th, 2007 at 10:20 am
HE. KILLED. SEVEN . PPL!!!! SEVEN LIVE BODIES!! n witnesses heard em screamin… how drunk Was he to not realise!! i agree ther r loads of such cases n it could ve happeend to anybody.. that doesnt mean they let this particular case get away.. 6 months is all hes gettin!!! those poor laborers pay 4 wat… 4 bein poor???
April 14th, 2007 at 11:30 am
What is the legal status on drunk driving?
Alistair is shown driving away from the police station on the news channel?
Shouldn’t his driving license be revoked?
What is the maximum punishment for forging documents?
What is the maximum punishment due to the clerk in RTO who helps young boys get licenses?
April 16th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Alistair has been singled out for conviction very fast because of his gender and religion. Because he is a male, he is a target for punishment as males are not allowed to claim victimhood. And because he is not a muslim, again he is getting punished. The case of the Oman female happened in July(4 months before this) and she has still not been tried and the milk van driver in mira road has also not been tried. The oman psychologist was let free because of being a woman and the milk van driver was a muslim and hence let free. Ultimately, justice in this country is never fair and special people never pay for their crimes while non special people like males and non muslims are singled out for punishment rather fast.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
@GK : I am a Christian and a male; please do not play the Christian/ Male card; Alister was very lucky to get away with 6 months; we do not know the reasons behind why the Omani lady or the muslim driver were freed; has the cases been closed?
Very often the accussed go scot free baecause of the mess made by the police in representing their cases.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Ed. Comment transfered here
April 23rd, 2007 at 11:48 am
Great another stereotype to deal with “Christian and drunk”. I do feel if the guy was an ordinary muslim or powerful Hindu he could have easily gotten away.
September 7th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
i have a lot of friends amongst catholic community, i dont think its an issue of religion. anyone who mows down 7 people, after being drunk, doesnt deserve sympathy. if it were 7 people of influential society who were walking down the road instead of those people who were sleeping there, the case would have been different. the guilty party needs to be punished. simple. let the normal law of the land prevail.
September 8th, 2007 at 8:06 am
What has happened to Alistair is definitely a clear case of a weak person being crushed to show a farcical implementation of justice and making a farcical show of prevalence of law. A christian male is definitely a target for any action even for a minor misdemeneaour. If Alistair had been a woman like the oman based psycho who mowed down 4 ppl at mahim in July and has not even been tried till now, I am sure he would not have been tried even now. And if he had been a muslim like the milk van driver, he would have been out on bail and resumed his normal everyday life.