A few days ago, I was accompanying some visitors to
the rooms of St Ignatius. At the end of the visit, a curious visitor wanted to
know where I was from. When I revealed my identity, she immediately told me
that she had stopped buying any Bangladesh
made cloths. It did not take any time for me to realize the reason behind her
noble (?) decision. I looked at her
and in a soft voice said, “But in the process of not buying cloths made in Bangladesh you are not helping
anyone. You might in turn bring some bad news to some poor people.”
“How could you say that?” she asked rather quickly.
“There are millions of poor people; especially women
have little to eat due to these garment factories in Bangladesh. A densely
populated country, where natural calamities and political turmoil have become
part of the daily life, the only scope to earn the daily bread is these garment
factories. Perhaps you can mobilize the pressure on the owner of the
factories/buyers to improve safety of the work place and look after the welfare
of the workers.”
The visitor looked at me said, “You explained to me
well. I never thought in this way.” Then she left.
Like this visitor, there are many of us who see the
one side of the problem and try to find an immediate solution. We have a
tendency of ‘let it go’ or ‘this is not my cup of tea’ or ‘he/she is capable of thinking for him/herself’ or ‘this is your choice’…the list is
endless.
It is rather universal truth that every problem has
got two sides. Deep down there is a hidden mystery in every problem. This mystery
makes us frightened and we want to keep ourselves away. I often wonder that the
world would have been a better place if we all could spend some time to look
into the mystery of every problem! How do we begin?
Perhaps we can begin with our own life: problem with
my own self, with my neighbours, with my friends, with my colleagues, with my enemies
and ask “why” with a positive outlook!
