WP2: Compassionate
In the beautiful Daliang Mountains inhabited by the Yi ethnic group, I discovered my compassion and the line between compassion and pity. 2021 marks the 7th year of my volunteer work with the kids from two elementary schools and their families. In 7 years, I took on the role of a teacher, a fundraiser, a photographer, a writer, and most importantly, a friend and a culture communicator, to create educational resources and economic development opportunities, promote cultural inclusivity in the mainstream society, and form genuine, unseverable connections. It is not only charity work to bring new perspectives to the Yi families, but also a learning experience for me about the Yi culture and my compassion. I questioned if my compassion was disingenuous during the process and struggled to find purpose in my efforts. In the end, through my interactions and emotions felt, I am relieved to know that my work is out of genuine compassion. At the same time, compassion is engraved in my personality to fuel my passion for charity work and bridging cultural gaps.
These four pictures I took from a collection named “Home Visits” are unadorned presentations of the impactful sceneries I saw as I hiked through villages and mountains. It contrasts the pure, bright smiles of the Yi children in their nature playground and the inutterable bitterness seen on a lonely old man through a sneak peek into the wooden door. This collection constantly reminds me of children’s carefree nature and the work my friends and I put in to protect the innocence and good character in their hearts. Their pride in their traditional culture shines through when they are dressed in traditional Yi clothing. Pride in their own culture was also something we advocated. Every time I look through these pictures, I smile without even noticing. Besides the sense of accomplishment, pure joy fills up my heart. I miss the time spent with them rolling around in the grass, picking flowers to make bouquets, and the laughter exchanged. The joy I feel when I sense their happiness screams out that my compassion is genuine. Pity stems from the perceived superiority of an individual over another group of people. Therefore, it can only keep the “charity work” going as long as an imbalanced power dynamic exists. In the meantime, it unconsciously hurts the people they are “helping.” I learned this lesson from him, Aci Riga:
He was six and the youngest student we taught. The road in this photo leads to his home in the background. I ate a piece of chocolate to recharge on the way to his house. He asked, “Where did you buy the chocolate?” I assumed that he wanted some, so I reached into my bag to get one for him. He asked again, “Is it expensive?” I replied, “Don’t worry about it.” I did not want him to feel bad for eating my snack, so I quickly shoved the chocolate in his hands. A hint of confusion and reluctance flew over his face, and he returned the chocolate to me. “I want to buy it for my sister one day. She loves chocolates.” He said quietly and peacefully. His words slap across my face like a pair of powerful hands. I was remorseful and ashamed because I stood on the high ground and judged his intentions based on his lack of power in front of me. My actions originated from pity and not compassion because I did not think we were equal. Ever since, I made sure to place myself in an equal position, approach others with compassion, and reflect on my empathy.
Growing up in an environment with common drug abuse, lack of parental care (most are in rehabilitation facilities or factories far away from home), and violence, the Yi children are forced to mature faster than others. Some go astray and resort to violence and drugs. While I tried to put myself in their shoes, I realized I could never fully understand their emotions in making those decisions because I did not have to face those realities. Forcing myself to empathize, or claiming to be able to empathize, is not developing compassion to help the situation but being irresponsible and trivializing their problems.
Compassion manifest in my volunteer work as well as day-to-day interactions with others. It guides me to find purpose in my volunteer work, which currently is to preserve the cultural pride and happiness in Yi ethnicity’s younger generation. In everyday life, compassion teaches me how to respect everyone and the cultures I encounter and pushes me to develop open-mindedness.