During my junior college days, I went for a Youth Expedition Trip (YEP) to Yunnan, China. The objective of this YEP was to help secondary school students from a rural area with their mastery of English language. To achieve this, we also assisted in setting up a library with English books.In preparation for the trip, I attended some training sessions with seasoned YEP leaders. One of the most memorable lessons I learnt was the story of “Killing the sacred cow”. Some well meaning Singaporeans had embarked on a YEP to one of India’s villages. Hindus, as we all should know, revere cows. Unfortunately, the participants of this YEP will bring the actual reason to their graves, they were all chased out of the village violently within days of arrival. The villagers had accused them of insulting the cows. The leader who told us bright-eyed youths this story warned us to be always sensitive to the customs of other cultures and to focus on our objective. Our main purpose is to both teach the children and also to learn from them, and not to judge their culture or put them down.
To be honest, I am critical of some policies of the communist government of China. After arriving at the rural areas of China and witnessing the propaganda first-hand, I was even more convinced that I was right about my misgivings. During my entire trip, I suppressed the urge to shout, “As if!” to the cadres I came across (which would have made things worse). My tolerance, in retrospect, rewarded me greatly.
If I had stayed in the narrow, biased and bitter frame of mind, I would not have been inspired by the happiness and positive work attitude of the children. Despite having limited resources, the efforts of their teachers to help every single child were also worthy of praise. In every culture and country, children are indeed the hope for the future. Also, I admire China’s rich culture and history. I would love to explore other provinces in the future.
In inter-cultural communication, tolerance and open-mindedness are of great importance. Politeness and etiquette are universal values that should be upheld, whether you are in the modern city of New York or in the slums of India. It just takes a little more empathy and a little less arrogance (since we were born privileged) to see the good in people. Unless we are confident that we can put our opinions across tactfully, we should avoid the touchy topics such as politics and religion.
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Thank you, Annie, for sharing this with us. I can see that your focus here is on the importance of being tolerant and open-minded. However, your own example of that would have been clearer if you had given a concrete example of what bothered you about your experience in the village. You mention the propaganda, but you don't present that in a way that I can "see." Instead, I have to infer that there was some grave problem.
ReplyDeleteDo you see what I'm getting at?
Thanks Brad for the comment! I was vague because I was afraid of condemnation by China's netizens. It was paranoia that stayed my hand.
ReplyDeleteThe following is as kind as I could put it. China suffers from endemic corruption amongst all levels of communist party leaders and cadres. As I contrasted the life between villagers in a rural village and the bustling development of the urban areas, I could not help but notice the best and the newest buildings were all government buildings (I read the buildings' names). While the urban areas developed rapidly, the schools I visited in the villages were lacking in facilities and resources. The staff also complained the state government was not sending enough funds although they had begged for it. The recent extravagant Beijing's Olympics raised my hackles further (although it occured long after I left China; it's just an example of the misuse of money.)
In rural areas, there were slogans painted in blood red that promotes Maoist beliefs and other aspects of communist rule. I was very uncomfortable with that.
I also visited a temple in Yunnan that is an important cultural monument for Chinese culture. It was a beautiful place. However, as I read the descriptions on those tourist billboards, I realise the temple was destroyed by mobs during the cultural revoluton. Precious artefacts were lost or irreversibly damaged. I can't help but see the irony that the temple was rebuilt so that they can charge exorbitant fees for entry.
However, I couldn't utter a single word about these issues or argue my point throughout my entire trip. I could only bob my head up and down when the teachers and students uttered support of Chairman Mao with a resigned face. They couldn't protest because they might be persecuted. I stayed for slighly more than 2 weeks. Most of the people I met would never leave their village. There were many other issues I could rant about but I think the above are sufficient for elaboration.
I was a much less mature and angry youth then. If I had not controlled my extreme urge to say something everytime I feel something is wrong, I would probably had caused my entire group to be chased out of the village. Or worse, arrested by the police for uhm, defamation? In the end, I had fun with the youths and learnt a lot about them and myself just by controlling my tongue.
Perhaps to other people, these are minor issues that they would not be so worked up over. I am a "veteran" of 2 overseas volunteer trips. I am senstive to poverty especially when I could see the ways it could have been prevented. That said, I am acutely aware how lucky I am to be born in a developed country. The toilets in the village school still give me nightmares.
Oh my god! I wanted to write a short one in response. I ended up writing a long essay without thinking... I really should have chose a topic I was less sensitive and passionate about. My apologises to my blogging buddies who have to read this.
ReplyDeleteOh, I see....(nightmares about toilets...)
ReplyDeleteYes, I've read a lot recently about how the Bird's Nest does not have any events scheduled for this year. A total boondoggle.
This addition makes for a very detailed and interesting explanation, Annie. That makes the initial post clearer. Thanks!
Good to hear that you have done some overseas volunteering works. The first part of your post shows the importance of being sensitive to different customs and traditions. I totally agree with this as this would probably prevent any unnecessary tension and misunderstanding between the locals and the foreign visitors. By being open-minded and tolerance to intercultural issues, you have demostrated in your yunan trip that you are able to forge new ties with the locals and create many happy and meaningful memories. In addition, it is quite inspiring to hear that the childen have such positive outlook to life although they are living in such harsh conditions. Your blog entry has made feel more appreciative of what i have in Singapore. Thanks again.
ReplyDelete