I'd appreciate it if you could help me
I was so impressed by the "Kokoro no Jidai - Religion and Life" broadcast on NHK the other day that I would like to introduce some of its contents. The person introduced in this episode was Usbi Sako. He is from the Republic of Mali in Africa and is the president of Kyoto Seika University in Kyoto Prefecture. Mr. Sako had a homestay program from Japan to Mali.
One year, a girl who participated in the program was so nervous that she started crying after asking a few questions during the pre-departure interview. Saco thought it would be difficult for her to do well in a homestay in Mali. However, during the homestay, she became brighter and brighter. At the end of the homestay, we had a party, and when it came time to perform a Japanese dance, she was almost in the lead. Sako-san said, "What? What do you mean?" and when I asked her why, she told me that Mari's homestay people, even though she didn't want to, they all kept talking to her, asking her more and more questions, and forcing her to go shopping with them. They say it changed her.
Japan left me alone, but Mari did not leave me alone. So I faced myself and changed myself.
That is why I faced myself and changed myself.
In an interview on the program, Sako said.
In Japan, when there is someone who cannot speak, people tend to say, "Oh, if he (she) cannot speak, let's leave him (her) alone. In the sense of respect and esteem, they leave him (her) alone and make him (her) what he is, even though he (she) really wants to get over it. When I saw her dancing, I was so shocked that I cried.
I saw the show and realized that interfering with others is not a bad thing, surprisingly. (Of course, there is a limit to the amount of interference, as too much involvement by those around you can make the person feel even more depressed or worse.) I feel that the attitude of "others are strangers, so let's just leave them alone and not get involved" is an excuse to protect oneself. The mentality is that if you get involved and they reject you, or if they don't like you, it means that you are in denial. The truth is, however, that even if you are rejected or disliked, it does not mean that everything about you has been denied.
Incidentally, an Indian acquaintance of mine told me that in India, strangers who have just met each other for the first time today are talking to each other on the train. In Japan, such a thing would be impossible. Among the people I have met, I have the impression that there are many people who are not good at socializing but really want to communicate with others (I am one of them). There's that feeling of, "I want to be left alone, but I don't want to be left alone." I think the kindness of not leaving someone who seems to want to be left alone can save someone's life.
