When we think of children in western society we think of
cute little creatures going to school or kindergarten, playing with colorful
little toys and enjoying life with no responsibilities and hard work. But when
we go to eastern countries we can see many other ways to experience childhood.
I would like to ask them how they feel living
that kind of life although I’m sure they won’t know what to answer at early age
since they don’t know there are other options out there in the world. On the
other hand, when I think of my childhood I remember, besides playing with friends and enjoying, going to work with my parents, waiting for them to
prepare food for me or preparing my own food, looking at strangers in the bus and taking part in house chores
all the same but with one difference- the scenery.
During our travels we met some of these children that look different than us but when I come to think about what they are doing some of it it pretty similar to what we did as children but in a different way...
During our travels we met some of these children that look different than us but when I come to think about what they are doing some of it it pretty similar to what we did as children but in a different way...
The ‘not in place’ child
As children we all had to go one day with our parents to work
whether we liked it or not. If we were lucky our parents did something
interesting and the people we met there we kind and friendly. But what happens
if you are the only child, everybody is very busy, you didn’t bring any game or
homework and you just look at the clock and wait for the minutes to tick away?
Meet the only female girl in the animal market of Kashgar in
China. This market has mostly men, cows, sheep and food and definitely is not
the first place I would expect to see a girl. It’s not very hard to see she is
waiting eagerly to go home…
The ‘working’ child
Growing up I was the kind of kid who brought a key to open
the door while my parents were still at work or later on took care of my
younger brother when my parents were at work. I was never expected to take part
in the financial house hold. However in Central Asia there isn’t always a
difference between work and home since most of the houses produce their own
product and part of living at home is helping out with chores and that includes
taking the sheep out, picking your vegetables from the garden and milking the
cows. I think the line between work and chores isn’t as definite as it is in
western culture therefor you can see children “at work” expected to be selling
produce and managing the money as part of the chores.
Meet Nursia, 16 year old daughter of Kengegul and sister of
Samar (4 years old) and Uzia (one year old) preparing the milk for butter
making and cheese later on to be sold in the market.
The ‘going to work with parents’ child
Walking in the market at the end of the day one can sense
some kind of energy which is present only at that time. On the one hand the
market is full of people rushing through to get their last groceries and on the
other hand you see all the shop owners eager to succeed in selling their last
products. Some people come with their children and get some ice cream as a
surprise for their children for another happy successful day to celebrate. This
clash of energies is powerful, motivating and positive. But what happens if you’re
the child who came to work with your parent that day? Between all this energy
if you are the board child at work with your parents and had a very long day
you’re pretty ready for bed…
The ‘learning about survival’ child
For those of you who grew up like me watching and hearing
musicals, almost every time I sit down and eat I can start singing the very
famous song from Oliver, ‘Food glorious food’…and it is glorious! But how much
more interesting it is to prepare your food and not only pick your vegetable
but also pick your sheep?
I actually didn’t really want to see all this but on the
other hand really did want to see so I hid behind my camera and took some
photos along the way which I will not post here. We usually don’t see it and
the closest we get to that is picking our meet in the supermarket or at the
butcher but seeing all this made me realize that the way they see this process
is the same way I see vegetables being picked out. If you want to eat you have
do whatever is needed to put that plate on the table and there is only one way
to do that if you live in the mountains for some months and have a heard of
sheep.
Meet Islam, who is learning the lessons of survival in the
Jailo of Kyrgyzstan.
The grown up child
Ok this was the obvious one wasn’t it?
Let’s just sit down and relax…
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