“Without music, life would be a mistake.” Believe it or not, but Nietzsche did say that! Cool, right?
Actually, I don't care who said it; after watching a video explaining that we use misquotations all the time thinking that some inspiring character said it and we stick to it; but resources and research showed that we use quotes that we are not sure who actually said. Anyways, that's not the topic. I am here to talk about the power of what we think are the “Insignificant Actions”!!
And for those working in the “social sector” you’ve probably felt that every now and then, thinking how lame it is we think we’re changing the world, but the problems and the stories we hear every day about how inhumane this world is, the rates of poverty lines, the percentage of child and woman trafficking and political systems screwing up people lives and dragging them down, all this just keep us daunted, sometimes.
I work as Business Development/ Marketing fellow at Dhriti foundation, Samudrika Program. Basically, we focus on designing different economic opportunities for women survivors of sex-trafficking in India, these women were rescued by Indian Police and they live in a governmental shelter now waiting for a court order deciding when they can be released. We share our experience in the field of micro-loans with them; so we taught them how to make accessories and home decor designs using eco-friendly paper beads. Then, we market these products through different channels. Not only that, but we tend to build-up their self-esteem, their existence, their hopes by adjusting them to the professional environment they have to be ready for once they leave the shelter, in order not to go back to the economic dependence out of being sexually exploited.
The women live in the shelter, with less variety of activities or chance of connection to the outer-world, they just wait for the day they would be out to see their families. Despite the fact that it's hard to convince these women in the early stage of the program that this is a convenient path for them to choose to be able to help their children or families once they get out, but the slight sense of hope we see on their faces for 4 hours every day is just keeping us and them going. It’s, like, their sense of survival is on.
I go to the shelter about 3-4 times during the week, and sometimes every day. Needless to mention that I don't speak Hindi, and the women don't speak English, so the communication between us is one hard barrier to cross. I am trying to learn Hindi while I am still here, and I keep pushing myself to know what actually they are saying, and it’s very hard but it is getting better. One day, we were sitting around the table which is filled with beads, glue, toothpicks, colors and everyone is really concentrating on their work; when the girls started to ask me about what kind of music on my phone (most of this coming conversation was via sign-language) and I said regretfully “No Hindi Music”. So they gave me the semi-sad semi-smiling face and then they said “Only English?” and I went “Yes, and Arabic??”. Then, one of the women said “Shakira..Shakira??” I laughed, and still my answer was “NO :(” Then we were wrapping up and I just couldn’t stop blaming myself “How come I have been in India for 5 months and still have 0 of the zillions of famous Bollywood songs on my phone?” I, mean, here they are asking me for a stupid little thing and I can’t do it. Then, I gathered the girls and placed the phone near their ears to listen, and the next thing I know was putting Edith Piaf’s” La Vie En Rose” On!! Suddenly, one of the girls who always have the grumpy face on started “Woo-hooing” and swirling and swirling on the melody of the song; and then girls started laughing and the next thing was each of the girls holding each other’s hand to help each other swirl faster. Ahhhh! We all laughed, and it was so embracing seeing them all smiling. Not the kind of smile about hope, love,…etc. but the kind of smile that life is so short and here they are practicing the slightest of actions because they deserve it. To make them for a 5 minutes just forgetting that they are imprisoned, not only from the shelter, but from the cruelty of the system that dragged them to the bottom of the pyramid, considered as “under-privileged” and the natural response from the society to them being Girls is the sexual abuse/exploitation.
But this short period of time that they danced and laughed, was not only surprising for me, it was the kind of moments I just read about in books, or see in movies; It was a moment that I “should regret not capturing it” (that’s what my best friend told me, that his professional photographer side talking)
I have been trying to extract their stories out of them, just to know why is it they decided to work, for whom? For what? I wanted to know that, but I guess that’s not the issue, they talk all the time about their problems, their stories whether to each other, to the counselors working in the shelter, or to other organizations that provide such services in the shelters. After this dancing incident, I couldn’t care less about what I can’t get out of them; instead I just focus on what I can give them, and how to do that in a different and creative way. I, mean, some of these women are 20-year-old mothers, so don’t push the sadness and tragedy out of them,i was telling myself because this will not fix it, just try to replace that. Psychologically, that small actions we can take because we’re in power, is what can make others who are less privileged reach out to what this life can give them.
Just keep doing what you can, stand your ground for what you believe in; because maybe someday you would be able to give some people another chance of considering their lives. It’s not easy, AT ALL!! But the persistence of our actions can help get others somewhere sometime.
