We live in an age where many people are fleeing their native lands and seeking refuge in other countries. The causes for the creation of so many refugees are many, the most common being wars, economic hardships caused by climate change, and fears of persecution either as individuals or as members of some minority community that is being targeted by the majority community with the government either not doing anything about it or even condoning the abuses.
While I am technically not a refugee, I left Sri Lanka with my family because I fell into the last category. As such, it gives me a small window into the refugee mindset and know that leaving one’s country and all that is familiar for another land where one has to start afresh, sometimes not even knowing the language, is a very difficult decision, not made lightly. Hence refugees should be treated with compassion. But sadly that is often not the case. It is easy to view refugees as somehow threatening and many politicians have used them as an easy target to inflame nativist tendencies in the population to create hostility to the refugees.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was a Bengali polymath, writer, poet, artist, and composer among other things, the first non-European to win the Nobel prize for literature in 1913. He was a humanist, universalist, internationalist, and anti-nationalist. He even rebuked Gandhi after the latter unwisely called an earthquake that hit Bihar in 1934 and killed thousands a ‘seismic karma’ for the way that the Dalits (members of the so-called untouchable caste) were treated.
On NPR recently I learned about his touching short story Kabuliwala that can be read here. The word Kabuliwala (or sometimes ‘Kabuliwallah’) means ‘Kabul person’ and the story is of an impoverished fruit seller who is an Afghan who comes to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to try and make a living. When a small child calls out when he passes by her house, he is strangely struck by her, talks to her, and ends up forming an unlikely friendship with her. Her mother fears and disapproves of this foreigner, thinking he has possibly ulterior motives, but the girl’s father accepts the Kabuliwala coming by their home with little gifts of fruits for her. The reason for the Kabuliwala’s interest in the girl is revealed at the end of this touching story when he returns to see the child after being released from prison after eight years.
You can see the power of Tagore’s writing, his ability to evoke strong feelings in the reader using mundane details. The story brought tears to my eyes.
The NPR story points out that Kabuliwala is about how refugees suffer from the loss of loved ones left behind. The story is ultimately about combating xenophobia and and forms part of the school curriculum and thus is well known to the people of India, especially in Bengal, where the influence of Tagore is justifiably immense. The story is credited with helping in the acceptance of Afghan refugees displaced by the endless wars that that country has suffered. It provides a much-needed antidote to the anti-Muslim, Hindu nationalist forces that prime minister Narendra Modi encourages.
Here is a clip from a TV show based on the story. You do not need to understand the words to appreciate it.
Here is a full 1957 Bengali film with English subtitles. I have not as yet seen it so cannot comment on its quality.
His music is also very powerful. I was (still am) very moved by his setting of a verse from the Svetasvatara Upanishad, without understanding the (Sanskrit) words at all. Sharmila Roy’s voice helps a lot, too.
Rob,
Thanks for that link. It was beautiful.
Beautiful. And, universal. Fear of the “other” seems to rob us of our humanity.
Mr Singham wants to conflate immigrant with refugee, although he admits he was not technically a refugee.
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Healthy societies have solid standards for citizenship; wokesters like Mr Singham conflate said standards with xenophobia. How dare you NOT embrace refugees without question!!!
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Xenophilia is a much more accurate indication of societal dysfunction than xenophobia.
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Xenophobia, distrust of the foreigner, is the natural state of all life forms. If a wolf of pack A enters the territory of pack B, pack B wolves will challenge the pack A wolf. Fight may ensue. If a foreign body (inert or living) enters your body, your immune system will do its most to reject the foreign body. When a stranger approaches a mother with child, the child usually clutches tighter to the mother. If the child distances from the mother and welcomes the stranger, something is not right: is the home situation so terrible that the attention of strangers is welcome?
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Does Mr Singham wish the US to become a nation of Blanche Dubois (“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”)?
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The foreigner is not an altruist. The foreigner is not supposed to be an altruist. Anyone depending on the altruism of the foreigner is setting itself as a fool. A clear-headed citizen understands where its interests lie; if the foreigner’s interests are compatible with yours, the welcome mat is put out, if not then the foreigner is kept at a safe distance from the citizenry.
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Rabindranath Tagore wrote a story (Kabuliwala) involving 1 refugee and 1 family; the story is realistic and capable to pull emotional strings of the readers. Rabindranath Tagore cannot write a credible sentimental story involving 1000 refugees in a town of 1000 families: there are many more ugly stories than beautiful stories amongst the refugees. Clashes are inevitable between 2 groups of people and xenophobia is not the root cause of these clashes; differences, disagreements, resource finiteness are the root causes.
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Tellingly, Mr Singham describes Rabindranath Tagore as internationalist and anti-nationalist. Internationalist = Communist. Anti-nationalist = favoring societal dissolution. Humans are essential social beings and thus anti-nationalism of any sort is nihilistic.
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Nations with minimum social strife (Iceland, Norway, Swtizerland) are quasi-monolithic ethnically. Singapore, with 80% chinese, 10% malay, 10% Indian, can only run via authoritarianism. In Canada there will always be friction between Quebec and the other provinces.
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Morality has at least 2 levels: personal and societal. One morning, the owner of a diner sees a beggar at the door; the owner gives the beggar free breakfast. Next morning, the owner sees 100 beggars at the door. Personal solutions scale badly to societal levels. Does this mean that the diner owner suddenly has a hatred for 100 beggars?
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“Diversity is our strength” is an indirect appeal to xenophilia. The Ancients knew better. The story of the Tower of Babel pre-dates Judaism.
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Xenophilia. The ancient tale of the Trojan Horse. Love the stranger. Love the stranger’s gift.