Being Addicted To "Dying" Rather Than Rising Above "Death"

http://johnglock.com/tarot

Meeting and talking with people is like opening a box of chocolates. Except that you don't know how fresh that box is, no matter what the age of the people are. But sometimes, just the experience of having a box of chocolates is more important than what happens afterwards. Such is the experience of having hopes and dreams which is peddled to the women and young girls in social situations which seem bleakly unchangeable. In rural areas of Indonesia, where there is almost nary an experience of hope, of making a change, then hope doesn't exist. People who live in the rural areas, who farm for a living, are mostly there not by choice. They would also have the least means and access to change. Sadly, in a "grown-up" world, instead of being nurtured to grow, some things die.

Memories For A Great Hero

Arya Stark-GOT quotes by *paloStark
http://palostark.deviantart.com/

Memories are sometimes what we have left at the end of the day. It's one part of our self which we cannot control - memories come and go as they please, like a parade of foreigners trespassing in our daily life. For many migrant workers, these can be bittersweet, even painful visitors. On the other hand, a journalist and daughter of two Holocaust survivors Lily Brett answered the question of what it is to be human, as "to have compassion" for not just the people around you, but other people as well. Sometimes it might mean even having compassion for one's self, especially one's estranged memories.

A New Spirit Out Of Darkness

www.devianart.com

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.

Gerakan ARRAK: Merealisasikan Undang-undang Perlindungan Buruh Migran

Apakah yang dapat kita lakukan untuk sesama kita yang miskin, lapar, dan tidak memiliki tempat tinggal? Sudahkah kita memberikan sesuatu kepada mereka yang miskin, makan kepada mereka yang lapar, atau tumpangan kepada mereka yang tidak memiliki tempat tinggal?

Sebagian orang setiap hari hidup dengan tanpa memiliki kekhawatiran akan hari esok, tentang uang, pekerjaan, makanan, dan tempat tinggal. Sementara itu, setiap hari di jalan-jalan terlihat mereka dengan mata seolah tanpa binar, mulai dari anak-anak yang seharusnya sekolah sampai nenek-nenek atau kakek-kakek. Mereka meminta-minta, mengamen, berjualan koran, berdagang asongan, atau menjajahkan payung ketika hujan datang.

A Paradox of Humanity

It seems important to point out a very human paradox in the migrant worker issue. There is quiet desperation which publicly we would never guess if we meet with the migrant workers themselves. But at the same time, they can be full of humanity, life, even cheer. It is hope that allows this paradox to happen, hope in a brighter, better otherness, and often underlined by faith. Like how Ibu Noon[1] in some ways cherished her time in Jordan, while at the same time suffering quite a lot too, working for long hours, and sometimes being ordered around frivolously like a slave at the whims of the extended families.