Hate being away from my girls! Im in Bangladesh for the first time in 23 years to visit family. Its still a second home, although its not quite felt that way until now. Surprisingly its been an eye opening amazing experience. The inequalities are so apparent. The rich are, super rich. In general theyre millionaires, and yes its nice to receive such warm hospitality. Im humbled however by my encounters with the poor and needy. Theres a family with young children that live on site. Minar is a nine year old boy. His family live in poverty. Sadly theres no welfare state and theres certainly nothing like our beloved NHS that so many seek to criticise. Id spoken to Minar a few days on the trot, an act that the locals seem to think is not the done thing... Last night I was going on a shopping trip with my brothers. I invited Minar along and he jumped at the opportunity and came along with a gleaming smile. Hes similar to most other children in that he loves to play with his friends. Although his opportunities sadly are limited. It turns out that he loves cricket and he has ambitions to one day go to college. Once at the shopping centre, I offer him my hand to help him out of the car. Again, as apparently he is of a lower class to me its not the done thing. Im saddened to notice that hes come out bare feet. He tells me that he has to save his sandals for special occasions. Our shopping priorities were changed. We took Minar to the shoe shop and found him a pair he liked. We went to the sports shop and bought a cricket bat, some stumps and balls. Next step was a trip to Pizza Hut. Minar lets me subtly know that hes never been there and hes not welcome. Our driver who we invited along seems to express similar sentiments. I insist on them coming along and enter with them sandwiched between me and my brothers. I stayed at the back to see that they both entered with us. We sat them both with us and ordered some food. Neither of them had ever seen a pizza let alone eat one. Minar saved his food. It turned out that he didnt really want to eat the food alone. He saved most of his to share with his family. We left and head home with them both with a beaming smile stretching from ear to ear on Minar. Its been a truly humbling experience. Yes, we are all different, in many ways than one. Please, lets never forget that in the end were all just Human! Sorry if this has been a bit waffly! Seasons greetings to you all and best wishes for the coming new year!
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 22:41:09 +0000