All Expats in One Classroom
Monday, June 30, 2014
I am an Indian, living in Kuwait. Our vigilant harres of the building belongs to Egypt. Our landlord is a Kuwaiti gentleman. A Sri Lankan house-help comes daily to keep our house sparkling clean and keep us, stress-free. One of our dear family-friend is a loving and generous Pakistani family who owns a Photo Studio in our area. I go to work, wherein I am indirectly supervised by the British. The cab driver who takes me to work is a trusted Bangladeshi. The security guard at the work place who gets my handbag screened, while saying the politest Good Morning comes from Fiji islands. Some of the students whom I teach in the evenings are from Kenya, Lebanon, Somalia, and Afghanistan. And of course, one keeps bumping into those from Philippines or Nepal or Ethiopia at malls or restaurants.
And, while studying the concept of Globalisation from the text books a few years ago, I thought I had understood it all so well, then!!! How silly!! While living the life of an expat since about six years, I am now beginning to understand the true meaning of globalisation. After coming to Kuwait and beginning life as an expat, it sometimes feels as if one is again in a classroom, in a new school. Some faces gradually became familiar; some continue to be strange; and some bullies, look down at the rest. There are lessons to be learnt every other day. There are joys and pranks and anxieties too. And, aren’t they the same for us all?
Textbooks teach us that the whole world has become one global village. However, life as an expat has taught that even our concerns are the same and our priorities, almost identical. We are all driven by economics to live the life of an expat. We yearn for fulfilling the needs of our loved ones. We want to build a house or take care of the younger siblings. We want our children to get the best education; we want security for our parents, spouse and children. All of us desire a little bit of comfort in life, and that little extra after all expenses are met.
It was not possible to have fathomed a few years ago, that joys and sorrows too would presume the same causes and shades, in the globalised world. The dinars bring smiles on all the faces here; the dust brings frowns. The arrogance of some often hurts; the experience of occasionally being sidelined and looked down upon fills us all with despair. Sometimes, the helplessness is so overwhelming, that one feels like dropping everything and rushing home. For us-- the expats, our homes may be in different parts of the world but the beckoning calls from the motherland have the same intensity. But, we can’t just pack-up and go home... and this helplessness is shared too, by most expats.
The worries of security and safety are lurking in all our minds. Every car-wreck on the road evokes similar anxiety. All of us flinch a little uneasily on seeing a police-car approaching us. What if we are harassed on the road? What if we become the victims of a road accident? What if we have to face the trauma of the death of a loved one? What if we have to make arrangements for carrying a dead body from here? Or, what if we face deportation?
The truth of this globalised world makes one think that not only are all expats living in the same classroom and learning the same lessons and sharing the same joys and happenings, but humankind all over the world lives in the same classroom. If we think for a while, it will dawn that all over the world, the concerns of the human race have been always the same. There are the same few things we all yearn for; there are the same few fears hidden in us all; there are those few dreams which live in all our eyes and there are different prayers for the same goodie-bags which bring joy in our lives. Of course, the forms, extent and intensity changes a bit here and there... All of us want to be safe; to be healthy... to be comfortable... to have love... to be known and respected. In some, the needs and greed may cross the limits and for some, survival is also a dream, but on the whole...
Why the heck do we then carry the load of dislike and vengeance on our minds, not only for the other nationalities, but sometimes, for our own fellow-Indians? Life is the same; so are its struggles. Life span is limited for us all. We are all sure to leave the planet one day. We are all working and slogging for our children and spouses and parents. The concerns are the same—love, security and comfortable living. We are all running in the same direction. Lessons that life teaches us on the way are more or less, the same. Why, then, the dislike or negativity in this classroom?
s
Navniit Gandhi is an academic since 25+ years; a feature writer (300+ articles), and has authored 10 books.
Her 10th and most recently authored, published and launched book is titled: NOT MUCH IS AS IT SEEMS
Her write-ups can be read at
navniitspeaks.wordpress.com
View full profile