Shouts From Down Under

Language, culture, understanding and empathy - no guarantees

You thought you would become friends with people of another country, without knowing their language?

I did think this.

But like learning a language, but much more so the culture, I believe it takes a lifetime. It's all about trust I suppose.

If you are trying to build a relationship across the barrier of language, and culture, plus reach out as fellow humans, build up some sort of rapport, form something meaningful, a practical friendship, then there has to be trust, and perhaps experiences where you learn life lessons yourself.

You learn to be wrong a lot. Whether you are or not, there won't be any bridging of differences unless someone gives in, or fit in -work things out. I feel that it's not weak to give in if it's your choice to do so.

Adversely, people who think they can form agreement, build up camaraderie, come to mutual arrangements where two different groups get on together, if people think this can be done without choice, they are having themselves on. They are deluded.

Sometimes you can have everything positive, with lots of effort going on from everyone, and still no middle ground seems possible.

But moving on from that, something happened to me that brought me back to earth with a thud.

I have been a fan of Lyubov Sirota, and her son Sasha for a few years, and I try not to be intrusive about it.



In reality, I don't know them closely, but feel a human connection, strongly, through thinking about how they have suffered, and even more recent developments such as Euromaidan and the Crimean invasion by Putin. And yes, there are many Russian's, I believe, who are just as anti war, and anti invasion, as the Ukrainians.

But around Mar 8, 2012, as I'd been following every Youtube post Lyubov and Aleksandr Sirota uploaded (https://www.youtube.com/user/pri5com) and (https://www.youtube.com/user/pripyatchanka) I noticed this new upload straight away.

Well, as I've pointed out in past blogs, I'm not the quickest off the starting blocks sometimes, especially when it comes to social awareness. Also at this time our lives were extremely busy and stressful. There were a lot of distractions when I was researching things like this for my novel.

So, I'd watched the video a few times, and I don't remember there being such a helpful language translation feature with the Internet then, but perhaps there was; I just hadn't learn't to work it yet. (I didn't use Chrome yet)
I also didn't notice the significant dates at the start of the video.

Anyway, there I was looking at this video, listening to the lovely woman's voice in a language I didn't understand. It was quite pleasant.
But, after a while it dawned on me that this wasn't about Chernobyl, or Pripyat. It was about one particular young woman. She was in the photo at the start. She was the main focus throughout the rest of the video. Here is the video in question.



The singer's beautiful, clear, vibrant voice was cracking with emotion, quavering with an intensity - the reason I didn't grasp... yet.

Then, I realised with dawning horror that this young, attractive, professional looking woman had passed away.

And the video was in memoriam.

Published on Mar 8, 2012
Ани не стало вечером 3 марта 2012 года. Когда она вышла из электрички на станции возле Звездного и пошла в городок через железнодорожные пути, ее сбила электричка, движущаяся во встречном направлении.
Аню похоронили на Колпинском кладбище, рядом с ее бабушкой, которую она очень любила. Пусть земля ей будет пухом, она вечно останется с нами...

It's somehow more touching by it's incorrect translation through google:

Published on Mar 8, 2012
Ani does not care about the evening 3 March 2012. When she will send out electrically to the station near the star and went to gorodok via railroad tracks, ee Shot down electrically, dvižuŝaâsâ in vstrečnom direction.
ANU Kolpinskom buried in a cemetery, near her babuškoj, kotoruû it very Lubi. Let earth will puhom hey, it forever ostanetsâ us ...


These people were grieving. These Ukrainian people who I tried to get to know, but the barrier of geography and language, and perhaps cultural differences entrenched in us from children, was too great to overcome, online at least, these people were sorrowing and the video was clearly something precious to them.

It was an announcement to any who knew them all, a way of saying look what has happened; look what we've lost.

Their loss became mine. A strange and spooky feeling indeed. Maybe I read too much into this sort of thing. Maybe it's not how I think. But I'll never forget the sadness I felt when I finally worked out the real meaning.

With our writing, sometimes we need to look deeper into what people have shared. It may surprise you what is really behind their words, that motivating factor, that passion, that heart plea has a source. It's come from somewhere.

It's come from experiences they went through that prompted what followed, and spurred them on to write a masterpiece.

A memorial.

So, what hope do we have in communicating our culture and ideas across a gulf of language or culture, geography or social viewpoint?

Perhaps that's how amazing human being are, when it still does happen. In our determination to REACH OUT and get to know those of other places and countries, we CAN overcome those obstacles.



It's the same with our writing. In learning the craft, we can use it to bridge gaps. That's what words can be. Little bridges laid across gaps of misunderstanding, so that realisation comes.

Remember Helen Keller's illuminating breakthrough, when her teacher Anne Sullivan showed that motions on Helen's hand were a unique signal meaning "water" that was running over her other hand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller

This is an example of someone "being wrong a lot" for the greater good. An example where communicating across a barrier, that seemed impossible, was made possible by someone putting themselves out there, reaching out, having patience, taking abuse, copping flack. All done with the foresight that there was huge potential in persevering.

I suppose Helen Keller was very thankful later, when she understood how much her teacher had sacrificed to awaken her understanding.

Even accents and local dialects can be a challenge. Us Aussies are often mistaken overseas for Kiwis (New Zealanders), or Poms. (English)

Enjoy this seamless transition across the many accents in the UK and Ireland.

http://youtu.be/-8mzWkuOxz8

Sparky

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