Hindia from Somalia

(This is the third in a series on racism that appears on the 20th of every month.)

This is Hindia outside the train station. Her look of proud defiance captured my curiosity as I was about to walk by.

I walked up to her and asked if I could take her picture.
”Yes, certainly,” she replied without hesitation.

She was delighted to be approached by a normal Swede and we spoke a bit, but I had a train to catch. I handed her my card and asked her to send me a mail so that I could sent her the pictures I had taken.

She called a few days later and suggested that we meet at the train station again to talk some more. How nice.

When I mentioned my meeting with different friends, they warned me to be careful. Be careful! I was meeting a 40-something woman at noon for a cup of coffee and people felt a need to warn me to be on my guard.

We had a delightful time over coffee and cake. Hindia speaks Swedish, English, French, Italian and Arabic. She works as a translator. Her five children are grown and her husband has flown.

We laughed a lot. She has a strong sense of humor. We also learned a bit about each others lives. As people do.

We’re sure to meet again.

I’ll have to inform my (enlightened, liberal) friends that I survived the dangerous meeting with a strange woman from Somalia. I’ll also inform them that prejudices can prevent them from receiving smiles, sharing laughs and having interesting conversations.

“It can be proven
mathematically, biologically, religiously and historically
that we all belong to the same family.
But until it is felt, nothing is proven.”
Dartwill Aquila

(Tomorrow: The Truth About Love)