Middle of Everywhere - Mary Bray Pipher [114]
I could not believe that these terrible things had happened to these quiet, loving people. How could they go on? How could they keep from killing themselves?
But they weren't thinking of killing themselves. They were wondering how they could get bicycles. As we walked outside, Mohamed told me they were taking computer classes at Lincoln Action Program. They walked to these classes far from their apartment. They had heard that after ten classes they could get a free computer.
We looked at our capital building, currently enshrouded in scaffolding for repairs. I told them about the beautiful murals inside. Bintu said, "We will walk there today. We love to see beautiful things."
Postscript
Many things have happened to Mohamed and Bintu since they arrived six months ago. Mohamed has found a mosque and Bintu has found a church. Mohamed has two jobs and sends money to the camp in Africa to help the children. He has his driver's license.
Bintu works as a cook in a local institution. She has made many friends there, including a "mother" who gives her rides to and from work. Bintu calls me mother as well. She is gifted at loving people and has quickly adopted an enormous family that includes Jim and me, the Kakuma refugees, and many other Africans and Americans.
They have had trouble with their apartment. Sewage from apartments upstairs leaks into their basement. They are neat and clean but cannot control the stench from the "black water" that fills their place. Mohamed has called the landlord many times and I have called the city health department, but as of now the problems remain. Until they have more money, they are stuck there.
Bintu remains tormented by her eight months as a captive of the rebels. As the one-year anniversary of her capture approached, she was very distressed and asked me about therapy. On the date of Bintu's kidnapping, I was away, but my husband took her and Mohamed out to dinner. At the dinner they made a solemn toast to those left behind in Africa.
Bintu can be haunted and overwhelmed by her tragic memories. I respect her great suffering but I am also aware that she is moving forward into the future. She has compassion and energy for others and she appreciates what she can. The evil inflicted upon her has not turned her into a hater. Bintu can be one of the most joyful people I have ever known. When she enters a room, her face lights up when she sees her friends. She hugs and kisses everyone. She jokes with us all, calls us nicknames, and teases us in ways that make us feel loved by her, a great gift. Whenever I take her flowers, she kisses the bouquet and says, "I love you, sweet flowers."
Mohamed and Bintu epitomize the human spirit at its best and strongest. No one has lost more than these two people. Even here in America they are without family and countrymen, in a very inclement environment. And yet, they do not complain. They are supporting themselves and sending money to the children in Ghana. When I see them, we laugh and hug. They speak of their hopes for college educations, good jobs, and a reunited family here in America. I am never with them without feeling inspired and grateful that they came into my life. I am honored to share this time and place with them. They are my teachers.
Chapter 10
HEALING in all TIMES and PLACES
The most interesting thing about the world is its fantastic and unpsychoanalyzed character, its wretched and gallant personality, its horrible idiocy and its magnificent intelligence, its unbelievable cruelty and its equally unbelievable kindness, its gorilla stupor, its canary cheerfulness, its thundering divinity, and its whimpering commonness.
—WILLIAM SAROYAN
On Lake Como in Northern Italy there is a beautiful villa whose gardens stretch down to the lake. About one hundred feet out from these gardens, in the lake, stands a brick tower with a terra-cotta roof. This tower