Lives have no borders, only countries have...!
These days, Facebook walls remind me of various posts which we posted as a Fulbright TEA fellow in 2018 from the US. We often share posts and tag our friends, sometimes we share the pic on WhatsApp and at times we call one another. This is how we relive our memories of the moments we spent together. We become nostalgic. Every year, In January, we come across these posts on Facebook. It sets a new ball rolling - the process of contemplation starts, some of us reflect and share that it appears like a dream we had. Things don’t look real. The more I reflect and engage with these posts, the more I feel, it wasn’t an event which passed, it was a process which began 4 years ago… A process of becoming a global citizen, a process of becoming a concerned citizen!
Read on a few experiences from my treasure!
In July 2020, a war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The countries, which have no other significance for me than to be located as a point on the maps, suddenly drew my attention. My friends live in both countries. I was concerned. I was reading the post from both the sides. In the end, I couldn’t join to celebrate the victory of my friend from Azerbaijan, but the next moment I was in tears for my friend from Armenia, who lost her husband in the war.
In August 2020, Belarusian president faced a massive protest. Alexander Lukashenko refused to vacate the seat and people believed that the president had manipulated the process of election to secure victory. The government forces were harassing the protestors. My Belarusian friend was in the US, but her family was there in Belarus. She was deeply concerned for her family. We were chatting till late night; I was taking the update and was moved. I shared a few posts on FB to stand in solidarity with the people of Belarus.
In another incident in April 2021, in Colombia, the anti- govt protests began. My friends started posting how innocent people were beaten. I was concerned. I was following the posts of my friends from Colombia very keenly. On a personal note, Nicole, the beautiful daughter of my Colombian friend, Yurani Corodoba was born almost a year after she returned from the US. We had been tracking how Nicole was growing up each day. I , even today, at times demand my friend to share the pic & updates of her daughter Nicole. I want my daughter to know how children in different parts of the world grow.
Diving further deep into my mind, another touching incident surfaces. Siberia, which some of us only know as the largest cold desert in the world where the temperatures touch record lows, now holds a different meaning for me. Two of my friends live there. Occasionally, I interact with the students there and have also invited my friend for a virtual-talk with our Indian teachers. Just a few pics posted from that part of the world makes me wonder how people live over there.
Now, this one is what I relive each time I share...This memory is rooted in my 2018 Fellowship days. Even today,, everytime I receive a call from my then-roommate from Cote d'Ivoire, a country located on the west coast of Africa, my face suddenly lightens up. My roomie has been promoted to become a vice-principal. While I complain about the chilly winter in Delhi, he grumbles about the soaring temperature . Of course, we take the account of politics in each other’s country.
From South Africa, my friend is one of the most active friends on social media and he keeps updating us about the socio-political situations over there. Reading his posts, I realize how similar things are. He often shares the newspaper reports about the widespread corruption in politics. We call him our 'number one friend' in the world.
Trust, my friend from Zimbabwe is devoted to inclusive education. His tremendous efforts for the green environment and his love for music attracted the attention of the royal society of Sweden. He is one of the top 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize. He inspires me. His daughter, Nazvino, is almost my daughter's age. My daughter loved to know that Nazvino plays Mbira, which she'd learnt from her father.
Bangladesh seems to be another home for me in the neighborhood. In Bangladesh, I don’t have a single friend, I have a community of friends. The way they are promoting public education is exemplary. Not just the economy, but the education in Bangladesh is also booming. Occasionally, when I receive any tele-query…like the recent one "Hey, Murari, how far is Ajmer from Delhi?", I feel elated. I excitedly describe in detail and also enlist a few extra tourist-spots if they wish to visit.
From the Latin America, I have some amazing friends. Marlene was recently a part of a panel when we were discussing Freire’s book Pedagogy of the oppressed at the fortnightly event #ReadWithATeacher. Marlene’s college friend and a 35-year-old guy, Gabriel Boric, has become the president of Chile. I joined her celebration. For my Peruvian friend, Machu-Picchu is what Qutab Minar is for us. She often shares pics of visiting the place, and I wonder…'Oh! This place is one of the 7th wonders of the world'.
These are just a very few examples and it would not be possible to mention the various ways I connect with people across the globe. Any incident in one part of the globe is no longer simply a news item for me. I know the people living there. They are my friends. The impacts of those events on their lives matter to me. My connection with the world is gradually growing deeper and wider . At the times when humanity faces an existential crisis, we must connect beyond our national boundaries. We cannot deal with global challenges such as global warming, pandemic and rising economic inequalities, unless we come together as a citizen of this planet. In many ways our challenges are common. We also need to find common solutions.
I can't stop without sharing the present state of my mind, when the rising tension on the Ukraine-Russia border gravely concerns me. On both sides, I have my friends. I yearn to know about their well-being. In my own ways, I am transitioning from local to global! For me, this process started 4 years ago...and ever since, I am happily expanding. I feel…Let only countries have geographical borders, not our minds. Let's allow our hearts to reach out!
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