Yet I come from a family of strong women and would not expect women to be otherwise. Then I live in Bangkok and I see so many variations in relationships between men and women. I see ones based on need and how older, western men love having women who hang off their arm - or at least for a short while. It all makes me think about what is really going on here. Then you go back to the old question here - what is real?
Well, today, in another part of my Bangkok, I saw what was real. What I saw was a brave, young, Pakistani woman, who is here with her family as a refugee, come to the refugee centre to do her exam. She is one of my students doing the online university course with Australian Catholic University. She has been so sick and today she came determined to do her exam. No matter how sick she was, she was going to do the exam and she did. What I saw was not just a student doing an exam but a young woman sick and under duress, living in harsh circumstances, determined to finish the task and she did. What I had the privilege to observe was a young woman of great courage. I was so touched. She emulates not just what it means to be a student but to be a person of courage in the face of great trial, to be someone who faces life with a determination and a strength that can only come from deep within oneself, from a true goodness that speaks of what is best about our humanity.
What is real? This is real. Whatever is at play in a Bangkok relationship, may I remember what is real in life and I saw it today in a brave, young woman on International Women's Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment