COMMENT | From my desk at the Sisters in Islam (SIS) headquarters in Petaling Jaya, I have a direct line of sight to the many chambering law students who operate our Telenisa line. On quiet evenings like this, however, I am able to listen to some of the calls that are picked up by our after-hours answering machines.

Listening to these calls often breaks my heart. No matter how many stories I hear, I still get anxious every time the phone rings. As the beep goes off, I am immediately filled with worry and fear and dread for the person on the other end of the line.

Often, you can tell by the voice of the person if they are younger or more elderly. You can also tell if they have been crying. And you can tell if they have rehearsed what they wanted to ask over and over again.

More importantly, you can tell if they feel safe or endangered at that very moment in time.

For so many people in despair, SIS is that last bastion of hope when an extremely judgmental world has caused everything else to come crashing down on them.