Gastschrijver Arash
Een aantal dagen geleden heb ik mijn nieuwe zeer goede vriend Arash gevraagd of hij iets zou willen schrijven voor op mijn weblog. Ik dacht dat het leuk zou zijn om iemand uit mijn naaste Iraanse omgeving aan het woord te laten over hoe hij mijn aanwezigheid in Iran ervaart. Tot vijf minuten geleden wist ik niet wat hij wilde schrijven. Hij heeft mij (naar traditioneel Iraans gebruik) de vrijheid gegeven om zijn verhaal hier en daar te censureren, maar dat heb ik uiteraard niet gedaan. Zijn Nederlands gaat inmiddels met zulke grote sprongen vooruit, dat ik er bijna zeker van ben dat zijn volgende blog in het Nederlands zal zijn. Arash, heel erg bedankt voor je bijdrage!
Arash Jalali:
Ik wil me bij de lezers van dit weblog excuseren, dat ik nog niet goed in het Nederlands schrijven kan.
Transcending Cultural Boundries
Nienke asked me to write a piece - "anything," she said - for her weblog. I have been more or less following her writings on this weblog, as much as I could using my almost non-existing knowledge of the Dutch language. During the past couple of months, I have had the chance to spend some time with her, who was introduced to me through a very close friend in the Netherlands. Culture, for obvious reasons, was in one way or another almost always part of our daily adventures, yet cultural differences were never a problem - at least as far as I was concerned. Part of it, I think, might have been due to my prior exposure to the Western culture in general, and the European culture and people in particular. And as Nienke is also quite well-versed with both Farsi and our culture, many of the initial cross-cultural communications setbacks and surprises were avoided. Still, this does not mean that my experience with her has not been enlightening. Far from it.
I have never been a fan of stereotypes, good or bad; especially when it comes to cultures and nationalities. I have had German colleagues with very good senses of humor, I have known Americans with quite an impressive knowledge of the rest of the world, I know Swedes more warm-blooded than most people I know, and I have known Brits as emotional as my old grandma, if not more. One might call them exceptions to the rule, but I would like to think of it as the unpredictable human nature.
Meeting Nienke has reaffirmed this theory of mine more than ever, in ways that still strike me as surreal and maybe too idealistic. Religions, most of them anyway, tend to advocate this idea that human beings are all good in essence, that evil is only a byproduct of the mundane life on earth, that people are created by God (or according to some, by gods) as equals. Although I personally very much doubt that theory, I too have always suspected that once you get to know someone - anyone - well and long enough, you will most probably learn to like them and will be kind to them.
Meeting Nienke, as unorthodox and as atypical a Dutch person she might be - and she herself happens to think that too, is in my opinion a good example of how dialog among civilizations might not be that far-fetched of an idea. Knowledge, when it is acquired mutually, might not always create respect, but it will certainly always eliminate the element of unknown, and hence fear. Some say "ignorance is bliss." Yet, I think, when it comes to cultures, ignorance is the number one reason behind fear. I see that fear amongst my own people, just as Nienke sees it in hers. Here, I see people almost everyday who are afraid of men and women of different faiths (like Bahai's) or different nationalities (like Afghans), just as Nienke tells me many in Holland are afraid of, say, Middle-Easterns.
Europe, especially the Netherlands, has started letting a lot of foreign nationals in to fill the expertise gap in its job market. Cultural integration seems to be their biggest challenge. Yet, I think, as much as these countries feel like they need doctors, engineers or scientists, they equally, if not more, need people like Nienke, who can transcend cultural boundaries and help remove that element of mutual fear. I have never been an idealist, but if I were to be one, I would say people like Nienke could very well be the one chance for some peace on the earth, not the UN diplomats, not the politicians, not the rock stars, and certainly not the people riding tanks and flying B52 bombers. I don't care what they call people like her, cultural liaisons, ministers of peace, or even spies :-)
geplaatst door Nienke @ 23:13
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