Fatima just wrote to tell me that when she gets older she
wants to be a cop, so she can catch all the thieves.
At first, the police officers’ courage in fighting crime has
been an inspiration to a six year old girl growing up in rural Mayan
communities in Chimaltenango. Breaking the male-dominated world of police service,
I can see the future of Guatemala and indeed beyond will be in the safe hands
of brave women too. The people will sleep safely in their beds at night only because
rough men and women will stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm
them. But dare we ask Fatima, the crime fighting hero, out in the dead of night
dressed up and making sure all is safe!
It was a rush morning at around 8AM commuting 15 miles in
public transport to school in the bustling city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The
night before the dawn, my mom was on call in night-duty at the hospital and
about to finish her work and return home that morning. I had some bus fare in
my wallet, which I always carried in my trouser pocket. My journey had to be
made through a transit service, so I got off at my first stop and
started walking toward my next bus stance.
I was about to get ready my cash for the bus ticket, and realized that I lost my wallet inside the crowded bus I traveled before. Even
to this day, I can't remember whether it was accidentally dropped where I was standing
and then seating, or else someone has pick-pocketed.
The second leg of my journey was equally long with traffic
jam and noise around right in the heart of Colombo, but I didn't have money in
my hand to get to school that day. Out of panic and desperation, I remember putting
my hand out in the middle of the main road to stop my bus, which was
approaching next stop where I was heading to catch it.
Whilst it was stranded briefly in the midst of Colombo traffic,
I was quick to explain to the conductor that I lost my wallet and have no money
to give, but asked if he will drop me at my mom's hospital. He frantically
asked me as the bus pulled away to get in and gave me a seat too.
When I was very little, some days my mom used to take and
keep me in the staff quarters while she was on duty, but that was about 10yrs ago
(by then), so I had only a vague memory of how to get to her ward.
I got off the bus and thanked the driver and the conductor with
my deepest gratification for giving me a free ride that morning. Then, I followed
my childhood memory path to find my mom. I still remember the flooding of memories
during my short walk through, now considered the largest children’s hospital in
the world and ultimately reaching her ward. My mom was in shock to see me there,
so I explained what's happened. She gave me some cash to take a bus to get to
school.
During our lunch break, I received a telephone call from the
school reception asking for me. The lady receptionist asked me if I lost my
wallet this morning. I was lost for words momentarily thinking how she knew about
this, but then found out that she received a phone call from Mr xxx who worked
in a nearby company and was traveling in the same bus and found my wallet.
He saw my details to contact the school and asked me to come
and see him, so I was given directions to get to his workplace. Astonishingly, it
was only a short walking distance from the school. At our meeting he told me, there
was no money left in the wallet when he found it before handing over. Again I
could not be thankful enough for his kindness in returning the empty wallet to
me that day.
Meanwhile, my mom had returned home and was so upset the whole
day thinking about my encounter. We didn't have a telephone to communicate
each other and she was totally unaware of what followed during the day at
school. So, to her much relief I broke the latest news of the day on my return
in the evening.
Comments
Post a Comment