"Because I don’t want you to grow old and die"

Last night as we were going to bed my daughter said to me, “Mama, I don’t want to grow up. I don’t want to go to office or become a doctor (these are the things she says she wants to do when she grows up). I want to stay as I am right now.” I thought most probably she is sick of going to school and so I asked, “Why baby?” “Because I don’t want you to grow old and die”, was her prompt reply. I was absolutely overwhelmed with her answer and my eyes welled up because she said it with such seriousness I could see she absolutely meant it.

It’s amazing how much kids know about the process of life and also the amount of love all children have for their parents. You could be the ugliest person in the world but your child will always say that you are beautiful. You could be missing a nose for all they cared, and you would still be perfect. You could give them the worst spanking of their lives and still be sure to be forgiven. You could be the most hated person in the world but your child will love you irrespective. That is the innocence and the beauty of the love that a child has for its parents.

But as all god things come to an end it is absolutely shattering that this love will also come to an end. I know that this amazing love, this unquestionable surety with which she loves me isn’t going to last forever, that there might even come a time when she might start to hate me. I shudder at the thought, but for now I am HAPPY to bask in her love…….for as long as it lasts.

CHILD ABUSE

I was just watching a show on TV called Satyamev Jayate, which is a new show being hosted by Aamir Khan. I was just surfing through and since there was nothing on I just decided on watching it and it was actually quite good. Today’s topic was child abuse and I was amazed to learn about the statistics and even more about the perpetrators. A few people came forward to share their experiences and it was very brave of them to relive their most horrid memories just so that they may be able to help so many others.

 I am a parent and this is a real concern for me. There are children all over the world, as young as a few months old, who are being abused by, in most cases, someone close to the family. Although this is not a new topic for me, it is still and I think always will be a great concern for me.  Of course I have taught my daughter not to talk with strangers and she even knows the emergency police line, but this is Bhutan and emergency response system, well!, that might take hours. So the best thing to teach my child would be how to avoid such situations. But how do we avoid it in the first place?

It fills me with dread to think about the thousands of kids who are being abused and choose to keep silent, firstly because they are too young to understand whose fault it actually is and secondly because they are afraid of what the consequences might be. In some cases even the parents are so ignorant that even when a child has been brave enough to confess about an abuse, they are too afraid to do anything about it just because of what others might think. But is there really something to be ashamed of? How is it the fault of an innocent child? It is only and only the perpetrator who should be ashamed and brought to justice. I can think of a few punishments befitting this crime but I don’t think the Government would agree to make them legal (if you know what I mean…).

These things are happening in our country also and I wonder how we can stop this. I know the incidences are not that much but it’s there and if we can do something now we might be able to make a difference. I don’t know what kind of laws are in place to combat these issues but I think I need to know and so I will. It would also be great to have a ‘Child Line’ in Bhutan that every child is aware of. These things are not in my power but I won’t just be giving up. If these are things that I can’t do then I shall do what I CAN do and contribute in my own small way……so should you!

On the third of May, we had to attend a meeting at Gasa to discuss the Key resource areas for the Gewogs and Dzongkhags for the 11^th FYP. It was raining like everything depended on it and the road was so bad my legs had turned to jelly by the time I reached Gasa. And then there was no electricity due to some landslides for a WEEK. It’s amazing how dependent we are on it, cooking, entertainment and even work.  I thought I was going to go crazy after sometime because I had nothing to do, literally. So I went to the school library, got a book that i had already read and read it again. Even with a sparsity, both in numbers as well as choice in reading materials, the library does help a lot in a remote place like Damji.

When I went to Gasa again yesterday to attend a meeting with the auditor general the road was much better, all credits going to the fact that there has been no rain after the last horrible downpour. Although I wouldn’t necessarily call my journey anywhere near pleasant, I was fortunate enough to see a wild Takin on the way.  It was just standing by the road looking well fed and healthy, just taking in the morning fresh air or enjoying the view I think ;)   I would have loved to take a photograph and upload it here but neither did I have a camera nor do I have the expertise to upload it on my blog.

If we ever cared to look around there are lots of things to see and enjoy in Gasa. But everybody spend all their time, myself included, complaining about the rain and the road and the leeches etc., that we ever really take the time to look around. Just the ‘green’ is a sight during summer, then there is the wildlife-varieties of beautifully colored birds, Takins, wild dogs(which might not necessarily be good but…), deer and the occasional bear. If you love wildlife and don’t mind trekking then Gasa is the place for you and who knows you just might get a peek at the very rare snow leopard and red panda, which Gasa is said to be the home of, if you are lucky. I don’t know how I went from my unpleasant ramblings about my everyday nothings to promoting tourism but I guess that’s what happens when you don’t know what you are writing... hehehe

Of late, my habit of writing something down and then discarding it later has started again so today I just decided to type it directly to prevent that. Why I do that is beyond my understanding and control. Anyways I will sign off now because I really have a problem with when and how I should end my write ups. Ciao till the next time.