"There's a WL line - 'They're poor but they're happy' line. They do have nice smiles and good senses of humor, but that's entirely different."
Granted this is a quote from Dr. Paul Farmer, whose life goal is to provide health care to developing countries and peoples, the general idea can be applied to those that are hungry. Because, let's face it, if they don't have good health care, they're probably also hungry. A sad but true statement. [By the way, "WL" is his way of saying White Liberals - those who "think all the world's problems can be fixed without any cost to themselves." Except maybe a nice check to little Kwanele in Zimbabwe who can receive food and medical attention for just $10 a month. Call now!]
Back to the quote... I've heard this line throughout my years and it's completely aggravating. Take Osmar and Yeni, my wonderfully desolate Nicaraguan host parents. Trying to make ends meet by selling beans, rice, and watermelons to neighbors brings in little income, but I have never seen two people smile more when they are with their family than those two. Waking up to Yeni singing and cooking breakfast, playing Casino (the infamous card game) with Osmar until we were on the ground laughing... you would never think that they didn't have electricity, running water, and were living in a dirt-floor hut with a roof made out of tin and plastic bags. Talk to Osmar about his life goals and immediately he starts rattling off dozens of ways to increase cash flow to the community - start a farm, buy a truck, own a business, the list goes on. And if I ask him what's the one thing he wants out of life - it's food and security for his family.
La casa nicaraguense
So why the disconnect between WLs, or all Americans for that matter, and the poor and hungry? How can we so easily forget that someone hasn't eaten in days when they crack a joke? I could go into some psycho-babble about how us Americans hide our inner worries while outwardly beaming smiles and for that we assume that a smiling person is a happy person. But let's face it, I know nothing on that subject. I simply think that it's because most WLs have never experienced anything close to what hungry people go through. Not saying that you've never been hungry or even ravenous, but you knew where your next meal was coming from. If you are truly hungry, and I mean acutely hungry, you don't know if your child is going to eat tonight and that's all you can think about. Does that sounds like a happy person to you?
And how in the world can I get involved in cause that I can't fully relate to? I could argue that I experienced this hunger with my Nicaraguan family. But the truth is that I knew that at the end of the my time there, my mom would be waiting at home for me with a big bowl of my favorite cheesy rice and chicken. I need to somehow remove all of my worldly possessions and start from the bottom up. No worries, there's no way I'm turning into a Mother Theresa type, because I truly don't believe that is necessary. There will be sacrifices, there already have been (sorry my dear tummy), but extreme measures won't be used. I just need to solidify my vision, share the vision, act on that vision, and hopefully things will fall into place.
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