Religion is a funny thing.
The people that would like to see themselves as pious and firm believers
are often the ones exhibiting lack of compassion for the person in need next to
them. I mean bigotry, hypocrisy and
prejudice is nothing new to religion, but it still surprises me when I witness
it.
I remember one
occasion years ago now. We had taken my
brother to the seaside for a swim and we were just getting out of the car. The place was crowded since the temperature
was in the high thirties Celsius. My
sister and I were holding my brother, one from each side, to get him to the sea.
But let me go back a bit.
After the accident, my brother couldn’t really run anymore and his
activity was limited to sitting on a chair in our kitchen listening to the
radio and watching my mum cook. Life
went on for us kids, with more lessons and private tutorials preparing for the
university entry exams; we were teenagers now and the sense of one’s self
prevailed all else. So my brother and
his needs were moved to the background.
I mean, after all he didn’t complain and that was that. His health started deteriorating and he
seemed to get sick more often now. But
lucky for us, we did not live far from the sea.
The sea possesses healing powers for the body and the soul
so taking my brother to the water was natural. The three of us, me, my brother and my little
sister are at the beach walking hand in hand. Strange
looks are flying around now from bathers that are not only superstitious but
also curious about what they are seeing.
A mentally handicapped person out of the house? Not hidden away? What about the onlookers’ unease and discomfort? What is going on?
Reality check. Here was someone completely different from
them and alien to their microcosm. The
hands went up covering their mouths while talking to the person next to them,
fingers pointed, and some of them, the stronger practicing Christian ones, even
started crossing themselves. In the
Orthodox faith, you make the sign of the cross when you experience something
unbelievable, something only god could comprehend. Really?
That was my reaction.
Really? Are you, ignorant
simpletons, afraid you might ‘catch’
handicapness, so you are quick to get god on your side? My mother would probably disagree with my
interpretation of their actions, being very religious herself and thinking the
best of people, but I was not convinced.
Taking my brother out turned into a staring contest which led to his
longer confinement to the house itself.
If you are not seen, you don’t really exist.
Ignorance, lack of education and an absent state have all
played their role.
But I do not accept
that as an excuse.
We are all thinking human beings, so why don’t we act like it
then?
