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People sometimes
have more spirit in them than they could ever imagine. One of the migrant workers
that was served by the Shelter Sahabat Insan, Imarni, who displayed such a
quiet and determined spirit in facing up to her reality. Imarni was sexually
abused and became pregnant. Subsequently, as she was discovered to be pregnant,
she was set on fire by her employer, and eventually was deported back to Indonesia, her
wounds not fully treated, and her pregnancy coming to term soon. Since Imarni
was too long into her pregnancy to opt for abortion, her immediate medical
needs were to ensure her extensive burn wounds were dry, and safely see through
her pregnancy until birth. Plastic surgery to correct the deformities and
deficiencies to her body, limbs, and face had to wait till after the birth of
the baby.
In turn, we see
the great depths of depravity that people can exhibit against other people, coming
close to making persons.nothing more than tools or toys that can be discarded
at a whim. Perhaps that is a reflection of the greater state of decay and rot
of our own sense of values and morals, an erosion in how we recognize people as
who they are, and not for what they help or contribute. Politicians are easily
the most visible example, though closer to home, many other examples probably
exist but we may be too complacent or blasé to recognize them.
And somehow, the
idea of a maid orbits so closely to servanthood that it falls off very easily
into exploitation, slavery, and oppression. It does not help that the migrant
workers who leave their country for the first time often do not have a strong
conception of self. Traditions and norms are usually the main structural
supports which inform them about who they are, and what they can do. In a new
culture, an alien country, all of that is open to re-negotiation, though no one
actually says it. Often enough the labour placement agent or the employer
dictates everything. It's no wonder that many migrant workers suffer mentally
illnesses when they return, as this assault on the self can be relentless,
24/7, without stop.
Therefore it's a
miracle that Imarni does not want to harm herself, or her baby. The innocence
of the infant is something which gets lost in the debate about such sexual
crimes. At least in this case, the baby girl was adopted by parents who cared
enough to fly in from halfway across the country to adopt her at birth. Against
all hope, this little baby girl can symbolize a new spirit, a new beginning
after the darkness has passed.
For Imarni, the
pieces of her life can be rebuilt again, starting with constructive plastic
surgery to clean up the badly grown scar burn tissue, and to remodel her outer
limbs so that she can move and be like any other person. She gave up the baby
girl not unlike a symbolic passing or giving away of her past life. But beyond
that, we might never know the extent of her terror and suffering, her struggle
with her past, as she prepares for a life beyond this past period.
Whatever the
suffering, whatever the cost, the closing of a chapter has to be carried out,
and a new one to be scripted and ready to begin. Time waits for no one, yet
Imarni was fortunately gifted the chance to step out of time, out of any
demands except to heal herself, and prepare to step back into time and face the
world once more. And she could only do this with her indomitable, and very
human, spirit.
