I met an Iraqi woman on the metro one day. As the women’s cart filled, I was forced to stand millimeters from the door. Standing next to me was this woman and her son. Somehow, we struck up a conversation and she asked where I was from. I told her that I was from America and South Korea. She eyed me and replied that she’s from Baghdad. I kinda got nervous at first because I did not want to offend her. However, neither of us were hostile and instead, we talked about her son and how long she’s been in Cairo. It relieved and amazed me that we as two human beings could interact so easily when the War in Iraq pits “Americans” against “Iraqis” and “Christians” against “Muslims.” And more than anything, the realization that to this woman Americans are the ones who destroyed her city and forced her to move to this foreign place was quickly swept away by the ease with which we talked. The one stop subway ride seemed much longer than the 3 minutes it usually takes and I felt as if time had actually stopped to grant us such revelations.
Perhaps when we are further away from each other as two countries separated by an ocean, perhaps when we have no idea what each other looks like in real life and the other seems less like human being and just some symbolism for the “other,” it is all too easy to hate and all to easy to formulate such notions as “clash of civilization.” But when two foreigners meet at an Egyptian subway, such notions as politics, media, and ideology all become irrelevant.
No comments:
Post a Comment