It's terrifying. The call to lay off, I mean. No, I am not referring to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's speech. Mine is about the sackings that, since September 11, have become all too common in the United States. A few years ago, when I was happily working in India, 'lay off' would probably have meant something along the lines of what Musharraf had said. In India, where finding a job itself is a big job -- as the Big B put it, "Hamare desh mein kaam dhoondhana bhi ek kaam hai" -- being laid off is not exactly a cause for concern. But in the US, among the locals and non-immigrant workers, the thought of joblessness is perhaps more frightening than Al-Qaeda or inhaling anthrax. In the past few months, every news site has carried articles of companies that have unleashed terror by announcing layoffs. While sipping our morning tea here, we read how many have fallen to this new terror -- just like you people, back there in India, read about how many people have been killed by terrorists in Kashmir. And I tell you, this layoff has really ravaged me. Till a few days ago, my organisation seemed to be taking all the right steps to protect us from it. My mind was so much at ease then; and life at work was exciting. We even poked fun at other companies who were not getting their act right. But that was a most foolish thing to do. For, one day the tragedy struck our company. I remember the events. It was a busy day. Around noon, I found an email calling me, among many others, for a meeting. It did not seem unusual. There were such meetings every week. We assembled. The next few moments left me breathless. My heart was pounding. Was this... was this about layoff? It was. As the story unfolded, we came to know it was the last day for 15 per cent of the employees. My first thought was, was I one of the unfortunate? I could almost hear the same question crashing into the minds of those around me. And we waited, terrorised. After a few moments, someone gathered up the courage to ask, "Who are they?" Return to your seat, the answer came, if you find a '*' sign there you are among the chosen... Some sense of humour. I came to know later that the unfortunate ones were not part of that meeting. And yes, I survived the terror -- of that day. But have the terrorists succeeded? Of course, yes! They have instilled deep in my mind a sense of fear -- or a wakeup call, as our CEO likes to put it. Laden had said in his message, "There is fear in the US. From East to West, from North to South". I think he is right. I feel it in my mind and body, from left to right and top to bottom. Life has changed for me since that meeting. Like George W Bush, I too feel like proclaiming: "We have been attacked by evil. Evil people must be punished and brought to justice." Can somebody help us fight this new evil, please? Prakash Vaidyanathan welcomes tips from experts in the field. Illustration: Lynette Menezes Tell us what you think of this diary Be part of an exciting venture! Write a Diary!
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