It was a usual day today, when I went to work. Another beautiful morning, lit up with bright warm sunshine.
As I got down from then bus and walked into the building, I noticed Baya, the cleaning lady, cleaning up the place as she normally did everyday. Her capacity to work would amaze me every single time I would see her cleaning up. She and one more cleaning lady would clean up and mop the toilets, the rooms, the kitchen and the garden of the whole building every single day. At any time of the day if I would see them, I would find them working like asses, and yet that smile would never fade away, and they would never wear a frown no matter what.
But today, I noticed that Baya suddenly held her back, and her smiling face changed to that of one in immense pain. Quickly, I ran to her and asked her why she didn’t take an off from work if she was not feeling well! She replied, "I couldn't Misha, they would have deducted my salary, then what would I have fed my children?"
Impulsively, my hand reached my purse; I took out a 500 from it and gave it to her. Her sense of self esteem flabbergasted me, as she refused to take it, even though I insisted she took it and assured that she could pay me back later, whenever she wanted to. She did not take it and there was a look in her eyes that told me no to push her, so I simply went to a medical store and bought her a pain killer. She thanked me and resumed her work.
All the time after that, I felt restless. Only one thought was tormenting my mind-I had heard that that they needed only one cleaning lady and were going to fire one of them today. I was wondering who it would be and for what reasons, as both of them were at par in terms of hard work and dedication. I was silently praying to God all the time after that, that it would be neither one of them.
The day passed, and at about two o'clock, I was walking towards the canteen, when I heard someone acrimoniously weeping. When I looked around, I saw that it was Baya howling her heart out under a tree in the garden.
She had been fired! When I inquired what reasons were given for it, I came to know that they had told her she was a “nigger”, and the other one a white, so she was the obvious choice to be fired. She went on weeping bitterly and all I could do was lend a shoulder and give her a tight hug. I kept trying my level best to console her, but she was hurt too deep within for my words to prove comforting. So, I just played the role of the shoulder she needed till the time she got a bit of a grip over herself.
The fact that in 2007 people are sill dismissed based on the colour of their skin, amazes me. I cannot digest the fact that some people are still not able to understand the simple fact that the colour of a person does not change their inner self or their qualities. We are all human beings. Our colour is what God gave, and what difference can that possible make to the person that we are?
I hope WE the generation of today, can make a difference someday at an individualistic level to uproot this poisonous racism infesting our world.
After all, "Every drop contributes to make an entire ocean."
THINK ABOUT IT!!!!
As I got down from then bus and walked into the building, I noticed Baya, the cleaning lady, cleaning up the place as she normally did everyday. Her capacity to work would amaze me every single time I would see her cleaning up. She and one more cleaning lady would clean up and mop the toilets, the rooms, the kitchen and the garden of the whole building every single day. At any time of the day if I would see them, I would find them working like asses, and yet that smile would never fade away, and they would never wear a frown no matter what.
But today, I noticed that Baya suddenly held her back, and her smiling face changed to that of one in immense pain. Quickly, I ran to her and asked her why she didn’t take an off from work if she was not feeling well! She replied, "I couldn't Misha, they would have deducted my salary, then what would I have fed my children?"
Impulsively, my hand reached my purse; I took out a 500 from it and gave it to her. Her sense of self esteem flabbergasted me, as she refused to take it, even though I insisted she took it and assured that she could pay me back later, whenever she wanted to. She did not take it and there was a look in her eyes that told me no to push her, so I simply went to a medical store and bought her a pain killer. She thanked me and resumed her work.
All the time after that, I felt restless. Only one thought was tormenting my mind-I had heard that that they needed only one cleaning lady and were going to fire one of them today. I was wondering who it would be and for what reasons, as both of them were at par in terms of hard work and dedication. I was silently praying to God all the time after that, that it would be neither one of them.
The day passed, and at about two o'clock, I was walking towards the canteen, when I heard someone acrimoniously weeping. When I looked around, I saw that it was Baya howling her heart out under a tree in the garden.
She had been fired! When I inquired what reasons were given for it, I came to know that they had told her she was a “nigger”, and the other one a white, so she was the obvious choice to be fired. She went on weeping bitterly and all I could do was lend a shoulder and give her a tight hug. I kept trying my level best to console her, but she was hurt too deep within for my words to prove comforting. So, I just played the role of the shoulder she needed till the time she got a bit of a grip over herself.
The fact that in 2007 people are sill dismissed based on the colour of their skin, amazes me. I cannot digest the fact that some people are still not able to understand the simple fact that the colour of a person does not change their inner self or their qualities. We are all human beings. Our colour is what God gave, and what difference can that possible make to the person that we are?
I hope WE the generation of today, can make a difference someday at an individualistic level to uproot this poisonous racism infesting our world.
After all, "Every drop contributes to make an entire ocean."
THINK ABOUT IT!!!!
P.S: that is baya n me in the picture :)
