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| "The Musicians" (1991) by Fernando Botero |
At several points in the book, the workers are inspired by the phrase "Hum ek hain!," which he translates as "We are one!"
This phrase means so much to the workers because of the sacrifices they have made with and for each other and their families. They have endured adversity and persisted together.
Have you ever been a part of a group that developed a profound sense of togetherness by overcoming adversity together?
How did your experience compare with the experience of the Indian workers?
Only answer this question after you have read part six, chapter eight and all of the preceding chapters.
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ReplyDeleteTwo and a half weeks ago, I spent time visiting my family in Mexico. They live in a small town of a couple hundred people in the middle of a mountainous area (with no cellular connection) in central Mexico. I went on a half day hiking trip up one of the mountains with my family. We didn't have any special clothes or gear. The terrain was rocky and steep, and there was spiky cacti at every step. At one point, we didn't know if it was possible to get to the top, because there was no marked trail this whole trek; We considered turning back. However, we persevered. Against uncertainty, my older brother, my sister in law, and I made it all the way to the top of the mountain, overlooking the small town. It was a surreal experience being up there, only the three of us, in the middle of nowhere, with no cellular connection, cuts on my arms and sunburns on our bodies, looking down at the progress we spent hours hiking at. Life felt so simple, yet so bliss then, and it was then, that I felt so much closer to my family.
ReplyDeleteI think at its root, both us and the Indian workers overcame adversity, and thats what brought us closer. Although their scenario is insurmountable compared to mine, adversity is what brought everyone together. Whatever level it may be, it makes people feel like family.
-Rafael Charqueno
I have been a part of many sports teams throughout my life, however the one I remember being closest to be my senior year high school cross country team. Cross country is a very difficult sport and is built on overcoming adversity whether it be mental or physical. My previous years of cross country had been very individualized, and it was mainly up to the individual to push through instead of as a team. My senior year, I was the only senior, there was one junior and one sophomore, and the rest were freshman. I like to say it was a new leaf. From the start of the season, you could see the difference from the previous years. We focused much more on being a team rather than an individual. We ran together, stretched together, ate together, etc. These activities helped create bonds between us that lead us to push ourselves further than before. Overall, it was one of our better seasons and we overcame a lot of adversity together.
ReplyDeleteOur experience was very different than the Indian workers for obvious reasons. We weren't being forced to work, we weren't separated from our families, we weren't withheld food, but we did face challenges. We faced challenges together, and just like the Indian workers, we chose to face those challenges together instead of individually. This led us to develop a more family-like bond, like the one seen at the end of the book where all the workers rejoiced together in celebration.
I would say that I have most definitely been apart of a group like this. In my opinion most people that have been on teams learn how to work together. The specific group that I was apart of and we overcame the most adversity would have to be my 2023 Ada Football team. I would compare that team to the experience of the Indian workers in a way that we both realized that it would take all of us working together to overcome adversity and reach our end goal. Toxicity, turning on each other, and overall working individually rather than as a team will only hurt your group. Not only does being together help you reach your goal, but it builds a family. You grow close with the people you fight for, and to me that makes it special.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I have most definitely been apart of a group like this. In my opinion most people that have been on teams learn how to work together. The specific group that I was apart of and we overcame the most adversity would have to be my 2023 Ada Football team. I would compare that team to the experience of the Indian workers in a way that we both realized that it would take all of us working together to overcome adversity and reach our end goal. Toxicity, turning on each other, and overall working individually rather than as a team will only hurt your group. Not only does being together help you reach your goal, but it builds a family. You grow close with the people you fight for, and to me that makes it special.
DeleteOk i have a very long one compared to the rest here but it is loong story
ReplyDeleteTLDR: met very bullied person, showed meme, became friends and had soft tacos
So, I have not had many people like this, but one friend who I think of as a sister, we met when she was essentially being outcasted by 90% of the people at the school we went to. See most of the kids at the school we went to were very, for the lack of a better word, bratty. If you did anything incorrect once or accidentally angered one of them, they would hound you and turn you into basically an outcast.
Why? I don’t have a single clue I stayed away from the people who did that, in fact I didn’t even know this was happening. Anyway, one day she is sitting in a random corner of the playground crying and I see it and just walk over, little disclaimer I am really bad with the emotions of others, sit down next to them and just pull up a random meme video on my phone and show it to her to try and cheer her up, which worked which is surprising to me. Some random number of minutes we just start talking about random stuff that neither of us can remember now. She told me this years later that I was apparently the only person who actually talked to her in the entire week she was there. We ended up becoming best friends just goofing off and doing Esports, she hated playing against me in Halo.
This in no way compares to what the Indian workers went through, but I like to think that the size of the hardship doesn’t need to be compared, within context... no your dropped coffee does not count. If someone is being discarded, no matter who they are, it is a horrible feeling to go through, treating someone, that has done no wrong, lesser than a rock is unacceptable no matter the circumstance.