Thought for the Day from 1LT Stephanie
This email is not exactly chipper. It isn’t meant to spark a debate, or cause a stir. It is meant to make you think; internally. Consider what surrounds you, and what your life is like at this moment in time. I ask you
now, while you read these “thoughts”, that you consider the idea that somewhere else, there is a different turn on life. I do believe that in a life of comfort, where the basics needs are met (and met very well, indeed) we tend to focus on things such as the size of our houses, the newness of our cars, and how perfect and white we can get our teeth. It is a bit deep, I agree.
“There is no clean water, people are killing each other like the animal, and I can’t even go to the mosque to discuss this with God.“
I thought this was an interesting take on the conditions in Baghdad right now. Keep in mind, that Muslims can pray wherever they want, and commune with God freely in their mind, just like Christians. But what his man is saying, is that things are so bad that he can’t even go to a place of peace, of holiness, to pray for his life, his family, his city or his country…. Just like in Christianity, Muslims are encouraged to worship in groups of two or more, for part of the relationship with God lies in the bonds among His people. Imagine, if you will, the internal aguish one would feel if he feared for his life just to go to church….
“…But I am a damn Iraqi, born in this damned country…“
Yet another quote I find interesting, and have heard many times, from many people. Usually they are discussing topics like fleeing, finding asylum, immigrating… And their despair is in the idea that the world hates them, and they are not welcomed anywhere, because they are Iraqi.
“Hong Kong“
My patient kept saying “Hong Kong” while under moderate sedation while we cleaned his burns. “Why is he talking about Hong Kong?” I asked one of the translators. “He says he wants to be in Hong Kong, not Baghdad.” “Why Hong Kong?” “Because, he says, it is very far away from this hell.”
“…1956…”
It is not a year in the past, although it makes a moment in time that is now in my memories. It is the time of death for one human. The doctor declares “Time of death, 1956,” as he pulls of his bloodied latex-free gloves to reference his watch. The rest of the team stands quite, and takes in the moment. The beauty of a truly genuine heart is that it knows not a difference in nationality, or the color of skin. It only sees what is truly important: life. Or in this case, death.
