August 22, 2011
It is easy to forget that certain things, such as talking about people who have passed, are culturally relative. In my case, sharing with others about my mom has always helped me to grieve and move my life forward. However, I learned that in Nepal it is not appropriate to discuss people who have passed, particularly in a group setting. This was an important and humbling thing for me to learn. Nevertheless, I received gracious comments from the rest of the participants. Most of them are young activists in the community, and this workshop is something they can go on to teach to others in their own circles.
*****
Tonight I led a workshop for the girls, women and one male staff member of Raksha Nepal. The ladies from Raksha Women’s School were also there. Quite unexpectedly, one of the younger women began crying after an early exercise we did, and despite our efforts to calm her, continued to cry for a long time. I must have hit a nerve on trauma she recently experienced…we were talking about things that we all have in common, and I asked them to step into the circle if they had experienced the death of a loved one.
It is easy to forget that certain things, such as talking about people who have passed, are culturally relative. In my case, sharing with others about my mom has always helped me to grieve and move my life forward. However, I learned that in Nepal it is not appropriate to discuss people who have passed, particularly in a group setting. This was an important and humbling thing for me to learn. Nevertheless, I received gracious comments from the rest of the participants. Most of them are young activists in the community, and this workshop is something they can go on to teach to others in their own circles.
*****
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