Chez Moi

Immigration in Briain: What needs to be done for smoother integration?

As you can see, I am not letting go of this topic! Thing is, I need to sound quite knowledgeable about it and I have just about a week’s time. Which is where you, my lovely blog readers come in. Please log onto my show on BlogTalkRadio and click on the appropriate button to speak to the host - me! All you need to do is tell your own immigration story. Location, your stance - nothing matters. You might be living in North Wales and might be from Eastern Europe and your neighbours couldn’t be nicer - ring and tell me. Or, if you are a Chinese living in Midwestern America and your white brethren are colder than Arctic ice, ring and tell me.

Whatever your immigration story is, I am willing to listen. So please pick up that phone and dial (001) (347) 996-3899
The date: December 10
The time: 2:00 PM GMT Be there!ps: It is free! All you need is log on to the website, just click the link and you will know more!

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Tags: radiochat, immigration, britain

Britain is all caught up with the news of teacher Gillian Gibbons being thrown into jail in Sudan, facing a 15-day jail term followed by deportation. At one point, it was reported that she might be looking at the business end of a whip - 40 times. Her crime? Letting her class of 7 year olds name their class teddy bear ‘Mohammad’. All over the country loud, disbelieving gasps can be heard, accompanied by the typical ‘they must be joking, surely!’ Foreign Office is scrabbling about trying to stop the Sudanese government from lashing out on the poor bewildered woman.

One of the guys in my course even made fun of it the other day. That made me think - they don’t get it, do they?

While it is tragic that the poor lady has been thrown in jail, laughing about it or passing disparaging comments about the attitude of ‘those people’ doesn’t help matters. Much as the British might see it as nothing short of ridiculous to get het up by something so trivial, the matter couldn’t be more serious to the other party. If one looks at it from the Sudanese government’s point of view, the teacher has committed a blasphemy, by naming a teddy bear after the Prophet. So, in their minds, she deserves to be punished. In fact, had it been a Sudanese citizen who had committed this act, retribution would have been swift.

This is not the first time the West has been caught with its foot caught in a religious quagmire. A few year’s back, an enterprising outfit in America called Sitting Pretty released a range of toilet seats named, ‘Sacred Seats’. The collection carried images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Kali in glorious technicolour. Retailing for a whopping sum of $130, the line was augmented by such compelling prose such as this:

“Ganesha the Hindu elephant god, removes all obstacles, destroys evil and provides you with protection on your journey.”

Say goodbye to constipated bowels! Taking the dump and prayers at one go - what more could a harried Hindu want?

Of course, the Hindu community got into a major uproar and the line was withdrawn. A while later, a San Francisco company released ‘designer footwear’ carrying images of, you guessed it, Ganesha and assorted members of his illustrious family. Outraged squawks from all quarters made sure the shoes weren’t released into the general market. Despite this, flip-flops and Hindu gods were once again merged in 2003 by American Eagle Outfitters and the result was pretty much the same . Then there was this French shoe manufacturer who put pictures of Rama onto shoe fronts.

 

Why would someone do it? While one can arrive at a whole lot of answers, what it all boils down to is that the people behind these never realised (or cared enough to realise) what these images represent and what kind of sentiment they carry for the millions of Hindus around the world. Unfortunately enough, no one seemed to understand the reason behind the furore caused by these incidents so that the circumstances need never be repeated again.

What do all this have to do with this divorced teacher and her impending, frightening future in Sudan? Personally, nothing. She merely went with her students’ wishes, the papers say - after all, why wouldn’t she let them name their toy? That she did not understand the weight the name Mohammad carries and therein lay her misfortune.

The teacher’s inadvertent error just reiterates the fact that it is high time the Western countries start taking into account other cultures, customs and religions. It is that classic rule “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” To this, one more statement could be added: “do not judge everyone or everything by your standards”.

Does the teacher deserve what she gets? No, no, emphatically no. Do the general Western populace need an education on what goes and what doesn’t, with respect to the world’s religions? A definite yes.

…. let me tell you why I want to do so. I read this article in BBC News   website and admittedly, my first reaction was ‘what the heck does it matter when people are dying?’ But then, the sentiment behind the anger made vague sense to me. Whilst in the past I have often thought the whole world is bowing to Islamic whims purely because of the possible violent repercussions, I am going side with them in this. I can remember very well one New York Fashion Week a decade or so ago, when the models sashayed down the catwalk wearing sparkling sandals embedded with pictures of Ganesha and other assorted Indian gods. And what did we do? Nothing!  Maybe the VHP burnt a few effigies, I can’t be sure but Hindus the world over kept mum.

I do not condone violence in the name of religion. But I do feel that every religion, every faith, every belief demands respect. When you know that certain things are depictions of certain religions, either a. you make it a point to find out what it means and THEN use it appropriately or b. make sure you do not use it in any defamatory way. Why is this so difficult to grasp? Even if the blessed designer who put Ganesha on sandals would happily put the cross or Jesus Christ on shoe soles, it is no justification for the use of any other religious symbol.

Whilst the manufacturers of these offensive balls might have meant no harm, religion and use of religious symbols is a touchy topic. Why couldn’t they have got a simpler, easier way of connecting with the locals? Surely one can ‘connect’ without tramping all over their feelings, surely?

8:00 AM - lazy shuffle to the kitchen, grab a cup of coffee. Sip.

8.05 AM - snatch the morning papers from whoever’s got it. Open eyes.

“Blasts rock Hyderabad” - good morning India.

Why? Wha..? How? To what purpose?

All useless questions.

One humble request to the police and the stellar press photographers, like The Hindu’s Gopal: next time you click your front-page pix of these blast scenes, please think of the term ‘dignity in death’ and cover the dead before you start popping your flash bulbs. I am sure the hearts of the mums who opened Sunday papers to see the fruits of their loins spattered across the Lumbini Park grounds broke afresh on seeing it.

The Hippocratic Oath, according to Wikipedia, “…is an oath traditionally taken by physicians pertaining to the ethical practice of medicine.” As even us non-medical professionals know, thanks to a decade of ER and such, upholding the Oath is of vital importance to a physician. Though segments of the original Greek words have been modified to suit the modern times, the essence of it remains the same. To do no harm to those who come in search of a cure.

I guess this is where the good doctors K Murugesan and his wife, M Gandhimathay slipped. In their eagerness to be the proud parents of a Guinness Records certified ‘World’s Youngest Surgeon’, they veered off their Oath-sworn path and well into the path of controversy. By allowing their 15-year-old son, Dileepan Raj, to perform a c-section on one of their patients, they have caused moral and ethical outrage within the medical community and across the general populace. As doctors, their duty is towards the welfare of their patient - in this case, a pregnant mother and her unborn infant. How can they put that aside and entertain thoughts of world records and such at this stage?

Not stopping at operating on that poor woman, 27-year-old Neela, the doctorsparents decided to go further and let the whole world and its wife know what a pistol they have for a son. They filmed the operation (oh the ignominy of it!) and premiered it at the Indian Medical Association’s meeting on May 6. When the assembled brethren didn’t gasp in wonder but in dismay at this, Dr Murugesan quipped, and I quote, “If a 10-year-old can drive a car and a 15-year-old can become a doctor in the US, what is wrong if my son, though not qualified, performs a surgery?”

Let’s see if we can tell the good doctor what is wrong. Googling for the Hippocratic Oath netted me the gems the doctors have forgotten:

1. To keep the good of the patient as the highest priority - Strike one - having an unskilled boy, perform a complex operation as a caesarean-section, thereby risking not one but two lives is a big no no. I cannot imagine anyone feeling better at the thought of having the proud parents hovering over their son’s hands and guiding them.

2. Never to do deliberate harm to anyone for anyone else’s interest - it wasn’t in anyone else’s interest but their own, so that they could see their son’s name on the Guinness Book of World Records. That they didn’t cause GBH to the mother or the baby is a blessing. So, strike two!

3. To practice and prescribe to the best of my ability for the good of my patients, and to try to avoid harming them - The mother of them all, ‘for the good of my patients’, has been wiped off the memory banks of the culprits. Strike three!

Three strikes, doc - you’re out!

IMA’s less than enthusiastic response and the resulting fallout possibly triggered a late reaction in his brain and Doc Murugesan back pedalled furiously to keep self and wife out of disbarment and further negative publicity. He has denied that the offspring actually took the scalpel in his own bare hands and cut open a woman’s belly. Apparently, the boy just watched, while his dad did the deed. Maybe. But what about his claim to the Kumudam Reporter that his boy has been performing such operations from the time he was 12?

With the IMA urging disbarment and the local Health Minister promising ‘tough action’ if the whole incident could be proven, the future seems a bit sticky for the doctors. But no one can get their hands on a copy of the offending video - maybe the doctors came to their senses and burned the evidence. I, for one, hope that someone locks these offending individuals up and throw away the key. What sort of a doctor, what sort of a person does such a thing?

Growing ear hair to get your name on the record books is one thing; wilfully endangering a person’s lives is a different kettle of fish. I say, punish these idiots and make an example out of them. Maybe that will deter other idiots from trying to create such vile records, like the nut who tried to make waves by performing 50 hernia operations in 24 hours.

I have an idea for a world record - the doctor who actually put the welfare of his patients above other vainglorious pursuits. How about that? Any takers?