Why do countries draw boundaries? Lines meant to define nations end up defining our pain. In the end, nothing hurts more than how they separate hearts.
I have left my crying Mom and Dad in your loving care, and have finally come back to my daughter — after these overwhelming six months. While leaving, I saw the same desperation in my Mom’s eyes that I saw when she said her final goodbye to my brother. And yet, I cannot simply rush back to give her a tight hug whenever I feel like it — I cannot cross those boundaries again until next year.
What is heart-warming, though, is that so many of you — such kind and gracious souls — have taken the responsibility to help my aging parents whenever they struggle with anything. So many of you have encouraged my mother with your appreciation, praise, and admiration for her cooking, even though she makes the same age-old North Indian food she has cooked since she was a teenager.
Please continue visiting them just like that. Please continue eating my Mom’s parathas. My Mom and Dad are not educated, so they may not hold long conversations; they may falter in recognizing you; at times they may seem like children; they may come across as a little self-focused — and so on. But please bear with them. God will bless you for being there for them when my brother has crossed the final border forever, and I am not allowed to cross this earthly border whenever my heart wishes.
Another request — we have still not reached our GoFundMe goal. Please continue contributing and re-contributing. Your support will give my parents the small comforts they need for however long they live.
These past six months have shown me that prejudices about language, nationality, gender, or wealth are nothing but our own mental projections. In reality, we are all the same — united in our pain and in our joy.
If only we could erase all borders, except the one that belongs to God alone…
With love, humility, and endless gratitude,
Bhawna
Organizer
