19 Sunday Mar 2017
Posted in Relationships, United States
When a dear friend dies…
Wine shared to hail the New Year
turns tepid water.
Springs of poetic wisdom
lost down a sinkhole.
Summer strolls along the beach
end at the ocean’s edge.
Mementos stoke nostalgia
amid falling leaves.
Rain erases footprints carved
along pathways uncharted.
15 Sunday Nov 2015
Posted in Human Behavior, People, Relationships
Tags
Attack on Paris November 2015, Documentary film HUMAN, European Refugee Crisis, Friendship, Human Loss, Humanity, War on Terror
Unknown Pianist Performs John Lennon’s “Imagine”
Tribute to victims of terrorist attacks – Paris – France – November 13, 2015
This past week has been a difficult one for me. Today, November 15, I said goodbye to a couple and their six-year-old daughter: my dear friends and neighbors for the past six years. They are moving to another state to be close to the wife’s family. A victim of the toxic fumes and dust damaging his lungs, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the husband and father now faces a battle to keep breathing.
Unlike those who sought vengeance and war against the “barbaric” enemy, this man did not fill his heart with hatred for those responsible for taking away the life he once had. Instead, he and his wife raised their daughter with a bounty of love. At eighteen months old, on recognizing me, she ran towards me with her arms open in flight. Since then, she has been my joy and gardening companion. She and her parents welcomed me into their hearts and lives.
Today, my heart is heavy with loss. Though far away, they will remain close to my heart.
On Friday, November 13th, came the news of the attacks on Paris in France, leaving 129 dead and 352 injured. I feel the pain of the people of Paris who have lost a loved one during these attacks. I mourn their loss.
I feel the pain and desperation of millions of refugees from across Africa and the Middle East who have also lost loved ones, as well as their homes and means of livelihood, and have turned to Europe for a safe refuge. The attacks on Paris – allegedly carried out by jihadists posing as refugees – now place their lives in even greater jeopardy.
Following the 9/11 attacks on New York City, our government initiated what has now become an endless War on Terror. How does one fight terror with more terror? It beats me. Over the past fourteen years of terrorizing our enemies with our military might and raining bombs, we have created what I consider our “Terrorist Beast.” Created with deception, lies, and greed, this Terrorist Beast feeds on our hatred and acts of violence in its hunting grounds.
France’s President Francois Hollande called the recent attacks on Paris an “act of barbarism.” How easy it is for us to demonize our enemies as barbaric! Warfare is barbaric, no matter which side wields the weapon. Will France and its allies continue to feed this Terrorist Beast with more bombs and boots-on-the-ground?
Lest we risk losing touch with our shared humanity, I highly recommend that you set aside time to watch the three-part series of the documentary film, HUMAN. It’s producers give us a remarkable opportunity to listen to and reflect upon what it is to be human as expressed by other humans across our diverse planet.
The fate of humanity rests in our hands. Let us not allow the powers that be to continue stoking our fears and sabotaging our lives.
05 Sunday Jan 2014
Posted in Guyana, Human Behavior, Relationships
Capoey Lake – Essequibo – Guyana
Photo by Marco Basir (Guyana Times International)
Have you ever noticed? We forge our most enduring friendships during our years of childhood innocence. During our high school and college years, we also develop close friendships with others who share similar family backgrounds, interests or ideals. We trust our best friends with our secrets. We accept our best friends with traits that others may consider intolerable because we see their beauty and goodness. We give and receive without keeping score or weighing the advantages.
As a high school teacher and an undergraduate, majoring in geography, at the University of Guyana, I met and became friends with Alex (fictitious name), a history major. A passionate political activist, he was influential in firing my interest in Caribbean political history and the struggle of the working class.
After my career as a high school teacher ended, Alex rescued me from my secretarial job at the Georgetown Head Office of a multinational oil company. He told me about an opening for an Assistant Librarian Trainee at the University of Guyana Library. I applied and got the position.
When I left Guyana for Brazil, I lost touch with my friends. Over sixteen years later, after migrating to the United States, I learned that Alex was a family man and had built a successful career in Guyana. His political activism had not abated. Desiring to reconnect with my old friend, I obtained his e-mail address. My e-mail message was brief. Lots of time had passed since we last spoke. He might not even remember me.
Alex’s response was taut. “Hello Rose. What can I do for you?”
Although separated by time and distance, I still hold certain friends close to my heart. Alex is numbered among them. While a friend may create waves in our life, we may be just a ripple in theirs.
What can I do for you?
This simple question from an old friend speaks volumes about who we are as individuals, our relationship with others, and the society we live in. In our capitalist world, we are far too often viewed merely by our usefulness to others: as voters, consumers of goods and services, workers, or the means to some undisclosed purpose.
It is no wonder, then, that we view the actions of others with suspicion. When old friends contact us, after years of separation, we assume that they’re looking for a favor from us.
I never responded to Alex’s e-mail. Some friendships are short-lived, acting as catalysts in our lives. I am thankful for the time shared with Alex.
02 Sunday Jun 2013
Posted in Brazil, Family Life, Relationships
Source: amigafieltotal.blogspot.com
During my second year at Ceará Importers, Cristina* joined the Personnel Department. She shared an office with me and the assistant accountant.
A single woman in her twenties, Cristina was a devout Roman Catholic and active member in her parish Church. Soft-spoken, she measured her words when speaking with others. Attentive and diligent in the execution of her work, she soon won the respect of all staff members.
Cristina and I became friends. My sons and I first went to her home for a nephew’s birthday party. Located in a working-class neighborhood on the periphery of Fortaleza, her family’s three-story house was long and narrow. During a tour of the house, she pointed out the sub-divisions for her, her parents, and four married siblings with their children. The communal kitchen and dining room were located on the ground floor.
The most-recently married brother had built his house in the extensive backyard. When she got married, she told me, her family planned to add another flat above the bungalow.
I marveled at the way this extended working-class Brazilian family had pooled their resources to support one another.
At Ceará Importers, on the assistant accountant’s resignation, Cristina referred a friend from her Church group. With the necessary qualifications, he got the position. When the Personnel Department needed another assistant to handle the demands of a growing workforce, Cristina found a neighbor, an older woman, with the required experience.
A few years later, Cristina’s best friend Lucinda* became a new addition to the Accounts Department.
Then our lives changed in 1999. After five years of expansion and success, Ceará Importers suffered a severe blow from Brazil’s Central Bank. The five-year-long fixed parity of the US dollar and Brazil real had come to an end. At that time, the company had six retail stores in Fortaleza and franchise stores in major cities in Northeast Brazil.
Cristina’s position placed her in the front line of the downsizing that followed. I recall the day the first batch of retail store workers gathered in the Head Office compound to receive their final paychecks and other monies due by law.
Months later when Lucinda’s name appeared among those on the cutting list, Cristina stepped in to save her best friend. Lucinda’s husband had recently lost his job, leaving her as the sole-provider for him and their eleven-month-old infant. Cristina asked her boss to instead reduce her own salary. The personnel manager spared Lucinda for a couple more months, by which time her husband had found another job.
Cristina left the company some time after my departure. Holding key positions, the other two friends she had brought to the company survived the downsizing.
A faithful friend is beyond price,
no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly,
and his friend will be like himself.
Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 6:14-17
* Fictitious Name
Three Worlds One Vision 