This one day, I was at the airport, waiting for my flight to get back home for Ied Fitri, the longest and the most festive national holiday in Indonesia, it’s a holy day for Muslims, the celebration after a 30 day of fasting. I was reading in the book corner when suddenly my eyes caught sight of a rather sticking out looking woman in a unique attire. It was three pieces of clothing usually worn to attend a party, similar to traditional party attire. She wore a nice looking green veil, a bright red heavy blouse (I don’t know what that specific type of upper wear is called in English) and a bright yellow skirt, also in a rather traditional and flashy design and a pair of shoes with lots of cristal ornament. It was so oddly sticking out that I vividly remember the exact image of the clothing. I practically stared at her, she was moving back and forth until she finally took a seat, about 15 meters in front of me. I then looked closely at her surroundings, she had so many items of baggage, mostly in paper boxes. A thought suddenly hit me at that moment. She must be working from far away, and she was going back home with loads of gifts for her family at home. Such routine is common in Indonesia, people from small villages going elsewhere to find work and only come home every couple of years, it’s hard to visit home every other year because Indonesia is huge and the transportation fee is not cost-effective especially at long holidays.
And then it occurred to me, what if it was the best outfit she had, maybe she wore that to impress her loved ones, maybe she had tried her best, maybe what I was mocking at that time was actually her best effort, I started tearing up at that thought (you might think, that’s so extra, but I am that easily touched, I can cry easily about anything else but my own suffering haha). I knew I had wronged her big time. And she wasn’t even aware.
It is so easy to condescend others, sometimes we do it unknowingly as if it is something perfectly normal, subtle mock is too common, and I realize it is never right to make fun of someone even if it’s only in our head, especially when they did us no wrong. I remember being so ashamed of myself. I am still ashamed of myself when thinking about that moment. It’s though good to experience more things, find ourselves in various situations and see our flaws folded out for us to realize and then work continuously to get rid of them, to be kinder, to be a more understanding, more compassionate, less judgmental human being.
e y e s a n d f i n g e r s 