Mercy shown by acid victim is an inspiration to us all
11:42am Friday 12th August 2011 in Colin Baker By Colin Baker
There was a heartening story from Teheran this week. Seven years ago an Iranian woman – Ameneh Bahrami – declined to accept a proposal of marriage from Majid Movahedi.
His response was to throw acid in her face, so that no other man would have her if he could not.
She is now severely disfigured and has lost her sight. Under Iranian law, she was entitled to demand retribution in kind.
Last week Mohavedi was moments away from that retribution being carried out by the dripping of acid into his own eyes.
However, at the very last moment Ameneh, who is clearly a remarkable woman, relented.
She pardoned her attacker, when many who had suffered as appallingly as she must have done for a prolonged period of time might well have not been as forgiving.
She explained her change of heart later, saying, “I did it for my country, seeing that all the other countries were looking to see what we would do.”
A salutary example to all of us. To paraphrase Rabbie Burns, the gift of seeing ourselves as others see us is one that might easily and swiftly lead to a rethinking of many practices around the world that most other cultures find repellent.
And we have no cause for smugness in the UK either. I remember several years ago listening to ‘From our Own Correspondent’ on Radio 4.
A rebel tribesman in Afghanistan after threatening to kill a car full of journalists, on discovering that they were from the BBC, invited them to his home where he insisted, under his code of hospitality, that they share his very meagre supply of food and drink.
During their conversation, he asked if it were true, as he had heard, that when our parents are too old and feeble to care for themselves we send them away into institutions where strangers care for them. On hearing that it was true, he was appalled saying ‘And you in the West call us uncivilised?’ Hard though it sometimes is, we do need to try to understand that other cultures are different; and different does not always equate with wrong or evil.
That is why when I visit other countries I always try to conform to the customs of that country whether or not at first glance they seem sensible or not.
I will not for instance ‘jaywalk’ in Queensland again.
Waspilot says...
1:51pm Fri 12 Aug 11
I have recently found myself, like so many of my generation, tasked with the care of my mother. I alone stand between her living in the home she and Dad built and her living in a nursing home. It has been difficult on so many levels...I now have two full-time jobs and no promise of a vacation. The strain is one that I thought I could understand, until I was in the situation myself. But nevertheless, this is preferable to the alternative. Mom cared for my every need for the first 18 years of my life, now it is my turn to care for her. That is a fair trade, certainly. Until such time that her needs exceed my ability to meet them and keep her safe, she and I will face this new challenge together.
Know that reading this snippet in your column provided a much needed and appreciated boost.