I was not born the poorest which I will be forever grateful.
They said it was not their fault.
Maybe their stars’ fault?
I do not know.
Lately, I’ve been watching documentaries about poor kids from a poor family trying to survive a month with $20. A family with at least 4 members.
I heard people saying the parents were irresponsible, bearing a child knowing how hard it is to get at least three meals in a day and then adding another mouth to feed.
But, can you blame them?
Maybe.
Maybe it was their reckless decisions.
Maybe the fucked up environment.
Maybe the selfish government.
I have seen tons of documentary showing poverty.
They eat once a day.
Steamed rice and salt.
It was heartbreaking especially seeing these malnourished kids.
It was easy to put the blame on their parents.
The common denominator I saw was their parents were hurting seeing their children starving.
They actually work.
Hard work.
Most of them spend at least 10hrs of work.
Or sometimes even more.
Under the scorching sun until late at night.
Everyday.
If you will talk to them they want the best for their kids.
They want to send them to school.
They want to give them three meals in a day.
They want to clothe them.
But, they felt helpless.
I bet they came from a poor family as well.
Being poor is a blindfold that is hard to remove.
A metaphorical piece of cloth that keeps poor people poor.
They do not see how to get out of that hell.
Their energy is focused on how to survive the day.
Finding a way to make ends meet.
Trying to keep going.
When you are there, it is so hard to get out.
I was once there.
But luckier.
I was first in the middle class.
Then, health stole that status.
We became poor.
Eating steamed rice and soy sauce in a day.
Walking miles to get to school and go back home.
Recycling school uniform.
I am acknowledging that it is way better than my poorest countrymen.
But with that glimpse of poverty, I saw how blindfolding it could be.
I was blaming my parents for being irresponsible.
My environment and government were no help as well.
I did not dream because what was the point?
We were poor.
We needed to survive everyday as a family.
What made the difference?
How was I able to free myself from that blindfold?
I was not born poor.
It was a privelege.
It was an advantage.
I had the chance to open my eyes first.
See the world in a better shape.
Until unfortunate events led me to having that blindfold.
It was there.
I fully know it was there.
It was so hard.
Just one simple step was a struggle.
Walking on a path not seeing anything was so scary.
It was so dark.
I could not see.
The way to go out of the poverty line was nowhere to be found.
But, being in the middle class first gave me an edge.
An opportunity to find where they tied the knot.
A knot that was painful and frustrating.
Why would I go through hardships if there was no light at the end of the tunnel?
It was not easy to untie that knot.
Tempting to just keep it or see again what was behind the blindfold.
Some ray of sunshine other people died not seeing or even knowing it existed.
A light that shows life differently.
A life not worrying about where to get your next meal.
A life not being anxious where to get help when you or your family get sick.
A life to let you experience the joy and challenges of life in a different lens.
A lens that you have a better view.
A lens that give you a chance to choose.
A lens to see how limitless they could possibly be in life.
larswrites 