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Hi....I felt the same way as Jeremy when i heard "No more tears"....thoughts of them just drifted into my mind whenever i hear this song...can't help but feel that they were so deprived of 17..18...something that all of us have taken granted for. But I gu ss mabbe it's really like wat Weikai said..everything that happened was fated. Perhaps it's really time for all of us to move on and not keep harping on whether the presence of any of us would have made a difference. Maybe it would...maybe it wouldn't...b t this is something we will never find out so why keep thinking about it and make yourself feel worse? Let's move on together yah. I really hope that everyone will get over this trauma...esp the yr 1s....hopefully it won't have some kind of effects on them in future. But whatever it is we shd never forget the lesson we learnt from this incident and at least for me personally...I dun hink I can ever forget Racheal and Sharon....

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I hope this move will protect our privacy. I won't be removing the entries of the non-batch 12 people since I don't think they are very offensive anyway.
Since you all are talking about that article on comments/analysis I scanned it in read here. I haven't put up the other newspaper reports yet cos no time, and the pages are huge, beyond my scanner's A4 area, so require some effort to scan in. Wait a while more lar. Oh Wan Bao is really a gossip paper. Even up to today it is still having full-page reports of that incident. Can't stand them.

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papers are full of nonsense. did u guys see the article about lifejackets. It's title says that but the article runs off and says 17 is way too many for one raft, and then goes on to say that some people "always give (the river) a wide berth" when they go there. It then concludes by saying rj declined comment on the type of lifejacket used.
I dont noe, am just angry that they pick up nonsense from left and right, put them all together, and sneakily imply that the safety then left much to be desired.
our civil defense not really prepared to be confronted with a situation? isn't that precisely what they're here for? civil, defense??

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I'm sorry if some ppl got my idea wrong, but when I sent out the URL to the other batches, it was in the hope that we would be able to keep in contact despite leaving the school. Some of the things that are talked about are private to us, and concerning O AC. Please, for those of you that are not with us, try to respect that privacy. Thank You.

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I've been getting mail from old friends to check if I'm okay... Nice to know pple do care =) Just that they don't show it very often I guess. Well, knowing Mr Leong is a great ODAC teacher, I'm behind him all the way. Really really hope nothing happens to him. Yup, like Josh I wonder how it could have happened with so many seniors ard & I wonder if we being there would have made any difference. Everyone don't worie too much okie? Smile! =)

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Hm...the writer must have been responding to the newspaper articles, which were not accurate in the first place. Anyway everything tt we odac do involves risks. Dun like risks den stay at home and rot lah.

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There was a letter to forum saying that the activity should have been better organised. The heading was "unecessary risks taken by organisers in ubin tragedy" (ST Feb 11 Thus) His main point was that the rafting should not have been conducted in an area known to have swift undercurrents, since it was anticipated that the raft would break up. He also said "the body of water (is) known to have claimed several lives in the past fe years." Is that true? I found the writer rather pompous. Undeniably, some parts of his letter do make sense. One of the things that disturbed me was how it could have happened, in spite of everyone being around. It made me wonder if I could have done anything useful had I been there. Supposedly we know CPR and first aid. Still... And like Xinyan said, I felt like learning all the life-saving skills so as not to be helpless in an emergency. I can only imagine how terribly frustrating it must have been. I guess our Civil Defense on't really expect to be confronted with a situation. I wrote an essay. Pardon the loh-sorness.

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To all: Take care and God bless u all.

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Hi, though I am not from RJ,I grieved together with you at the lost of Sharon & Rachel. I pray that all of you who are still grieving over their death to let go and to move on.I tell you the truth that Sharon and Rachel are now in heaven with Jesus, so gr eve no more for heaven is a wonderful place. May the Lord my God heal the wounds in your hearts.The Lord bless you all.And to Jeremy, the Lord loves you.

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even though i'm overseas, this news has been a great shock to me, it's as if i was at the scene itself...life is just so unpredictable, and it's really scary how so many bad things have been happening recently... there was a rather bad incident that happe ed to me, and another different one, involving my roommate, that have made me feel really scared of my surroundings... anyhow, i know time is always the best healer of our wounds, but we should never let ourselves forget how precious life is, and how muc our family and friends mean to us... take care everyone...

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Well... I guess I am feeling a little weird. really lost. In one sense, I feel like I'm not really affected, but then again I guess that I am cos I'm not my chirpy little self. Feel very confused about everything... dunno how to react and act, dun feel li e doing anything. I guess right now, it is hard for every one of us to pick up the pieces of our lives. It will be hard to get back where we left off and carry on, but I guess, we have to try. Sharon and Rachel would not rest in peace knowing that we are not returning to our normal life. Not that we will forget them or this incident, but just to get everyone back on track. At least, I guess I am also trying to convince myself.

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Yes...the water was waist deep...Mr Leong was standing..and so did Wen and HQ when they went in... The SCDF were quite a little less confident than we were in administering CPR...but I guess they and us recieved the same training...me, Wen and Bin How...s gh....I guess maybe we need better equipment..Like a full medical kit with Air Viva and such...I got a bit upset...I guess it was the initial trauma...still very sad that we couldn't save them...I just wished they could have experienced more of life...Esp cially hit when the radio in my office plays the song No More Tears from the teenage textbook...They were not even seventeen.........

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Just to keep you informed, these are what I know about how ODAC and Mr Leong are doing:
By far none of the J1s is leaving ODAC. And parental pressure is quite minimal, I suppose the parents understand. The laughters and screams are back to the ODAC board area. People are starting to overcome the grief. ODAC will stop activities for the time being, at least after Feb. The J2s are thinking of organising a little activity in Ubin in memory of them, but it's not confirmed yet.
Mr Leong was rather upset for the beginning, but he is much better now, even had a long chat with the J2s, and his jokes and humour are back. The J2s sent him a card too. I don't know if he will be s aying in RJ.

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Howie I know how you feel. When I was there, I wanted to say something to comfort her parents too. But I just couldn't...a bit of guilt, a bit of helplessness. Though I'm not a Catholic nor a Christian, I appreciated the service very much. We really ought not to take people for granted, and regret when they leave us suddenly. This whole incident may just change how I treat people, how I should treasure life, how I should be more alert and sensible to certain things. I won't be able to forget their faces for a long time...esp my last look at them. The agony, reluctance, pain, helplessness....too much for me to swallow. The guilt builds.

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Requested to book out to attend the wake today.... Amazing that i managed to get it... well, it seems that most of us have gone to the wakes oredi and due to my unfortunate schedule, i probably have to go down alone... Well, i did, went to lavender Mrt and walked to Spore Casket.... I had the room all to myself, save for Rachel's parents, the casket and a few attendants... I had a short talk with the parents, (which was just the most difficult thing to do.....) after which i just bowed down and said a short prayer.... I couldn't take it anymore.....Going there alone simply crushed my spirit....there was no one to hide behind, to speak up for u, i had to talk to them, and the mother's tears and sorrow was just too much for me....Fortuantely, Mr Sikorski was very underst nding, and he kinda helped me...(to tink that what i had originally intended was to help ease THEIR suffering...) after which i just left, slumped in the elevator........ yeah, i agree with xy, i'm gonna request to train as a CDO medic in june, it's just something that u take for granted till it's too late..... gotta get off now....feeling real bad....mebbe i'll sleep a lil....

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Well, dun get offended but in my opinion, doing rafting in a pond in Ubin is not something very worthwhile. White-water rafting maybe.

I feel a sense of regret that I didn't even get to know these two girls. It's like, I feel like I want to get to know all the juniors. I guess everyone is worth knowing. I know it sounds silly but...I want to appreciate those juniors who are still here, g t what I mean?

I also feel this incredible urge to, you know, train bulging muscles (yes, pls dun laugh), learn all the life-saving skills possible and get all the zai equipment because it's like, the pros (ptui! ptui! civil defence) can't be trusted.

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I'm not depressd..., just sad that 2 girls actually drowned. Still, I'd rather die doing something worthwhile than to fall off a building, run over by car etc...

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Having the same feeling of "nothingness" as Wen... mebbe I still can't believe it... mebbe I still don't want to believe it... mebbe i've oredi accepted it... so many mebbes.. and yet I'm pretty sure I'm none of these mebbes and all of these mebbes all at once... not making sense am I? ... don't noe wat to feel...

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I've put up newspaper clippings of the incident. Hope these will let the overseas people know more. More clippings from WanBao and XinMing will be up soon
It's a tragedy no doubt. Despite all the measures which could have been taken to prevent this from happening, to me and my religion and beliefs, I take it that it's predestined. What you've done in your previous life, you got to pay back in your afterlife. Perhaps it's an escapism viewpoint, but it did help me feel better. Life goes on for everyone.
We did have enough people who are competent in whatever first aid we could possibly administer. Mr Leong is experienced, Binhao is medic trained, PE teachers know first aid, the army guys are certified to administer CPR. I think we did all that we could.
My mum told me last week, that the year of the tiger is a bit too violent for us. In the beginning of this lunar year, there were mutiple murders and stuffs. Just last week we got 2 boys aged 11 and 2 men in their 40s commit suicide by jumping. And now th s. Pardon my superstition, I urge all to be careful from now on to the next lunar year, when the subtle rabbit comes. Better to be safe than sorry.
From the papers, I gathered that Sharon and Rachel were born on the same year, month and day. Coincidence? I don't know. For those curious to know, Rachel was from RGS, and Sharon from Nanyang. And ODAC won't be closed.
By my faith, I sincerely pray that Sharon and Rachel will rest in peace, and be happy in the world that they are now.

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Dear Wen, i thought u looked quite affected today. u looked a completely different person. i think ur brain is trying to cushion the shock. the water was waist deep??

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How come I don't feel sad? How come I don't feel anything at all??? I got to be emotionally - challenged, or just in shock? But shock's still something, I feel......just empty. Man, this is too unreal. How to believe it happened to us, Singaporean / Raffles / ODAC ( the elitest, bestest, it-only-happens-to-less-prepared -other--people people ) in a waist-deep river that we've used before, surrounded by at least 50 swimmers and plenty of experienced, trained people in an organized activ ty??? Somehow, real life is all too different from training and expectations. All throughout the evacuation, I concentrated on reaching mainland, thinking that if only, if only we could reach professional help, all would be fine. The professional help jus did CPR for a coupla of minutes before pronouncing them dead. And the 3 of us ( Jeremy, Shaffique and me ) at the mainland just took it calmly. And Mr Leong just told us, they're gone. How unreal.

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the fact that we dont know first aid for nuts

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Only thing we can do now is try to make something good out of this thing. I've been thinking about some stuff, and I'll probably suggest it to shiling after things have settled down.

(1) If the watergate is not there for some useful purpose, mebbe we can ask the authorities to take it down.

(2) Suggest to the authorities to build some first aid/medical facilities on ubin.

(3) Ask the civil defense to review their training (??!!)

(4) Review rjc odac. Somehow we've neglected the technical part of odac for other things, get more funding to get more proper equipment and get better first aid equipment

(5) Stress the importance of the buddy system and accounting for the whole group

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I can't sleep... It's a terrible thing to happen at BTC

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Was quite shocked when I heard the news.
Am really sorry that something like that happened.
I just hope that things don't go downhill from here
Take care, everyone.