Today (while volunteering) I met someone who had never seen rice krispies before. Someone who had never heard of cereal. Any cereal.
Imagine that.
I know it's not exactly an integral part of our existence but just imagine.
No snap
No crackle
No pop
The thing that baffled me was not so much the lack of cereal experience. If I'd never eaten rice crispies I think I'd be OK . (In fact the only thing rice-krispies are good for is to mix with molten chocolate, cool for an hour or so and then indulge in the chocolaty crispy goodness.) The thing that confounded me was the degree of separation from western culture that lack of rice-krispie knowledge represents.
Now imagine that the person who has never heard of rice krispies has arrived in America. Friendless, homeless and emotionally scarred because of experiences that drove them to leave their family, friends, home and familiar breakfast food. Neither permitted to work nor entitled to benefits. Able to speak 5 languages but none of them English. Expected to navigate an immigration system so abstruse and dense that I, (a person who has grown up with rice-krispies) lost considerable amounts of sleep, saline and sanity because of it.
And if they fail to navigate that system - if they fail to attend appointments for health assessments, biometrics and immigration interviews - if they can't afford to get to the appointments or are so overwhelmed by this country they're scared to leave the house, then they become an 'illegal immigrant' and are immediately thought of by the masses as the scourge of society.
There are people who flee to the west who have never before encountered stairs.
That blows my mind.
I've taken two things from today:
1. I've remembered why I'm passionate about helping refugees and asylum seekers. I've remembered the importance of extending warmth and welcome to people who have experienced the worst of this world and then find themselves in a foreign world - technically 'safe' but in reality exposed and disoriented and lost.
2. I've seen my situation in its true perspective. I am lucky. Blessed. This experience of mine is not easy, but it could be worse beyond all imaginings.For all the times I am homesick, at least I know that my family is safe from harm. For all the times I miss chocolate digestives and sausages (and I do miss them, very very much), at least I have the means to buy food (ice-cream gets special mention). For all the times I long for the familiar, at least I speak the language.
At least I know what rice-krispies are.
Absolutely. Have you seen the movie The Namesake? Rent it - it's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIn it, a newly married Indian woman arrives to her husband's apartment in the US and the first morning walks around trying to get her bearings. She finds rice krispies and pours herself a bowl, looking surprisingly confident considering we viewers know she's new to the culture. Then she pours chili powder over top and begins eating it dry.
Makes me chuckle every time.
Great post! The immigration process is scary for most everyone, no matter what the circumstance. So it's important to be welcoming and helpful to those who seem a bit lost and lonely.
ReplyDelete