It was in July- August 1981 that I visited (West) Germany
for the first time as a participant of Indo- German CE retreat. I was in the first
year of training as clinical psychologist at the National Institute of Mental
Health And Nuero Sciences ( NIMHANS) when I got the invitation. We were 20 young people from different walks of life and from different states of India and
stayed at Kassel for about 10 days. After
that, we parted our ways to live with German families to learn about the German way of
life. I was fortunate to live in the country side of Diedorf, visiting
different places of attraction in
and around and attending the local retreat groups who were preparing for an
international convention. I had great time learning about the style of living
in the then West Germany and the host family gave
me diverse exposure to German life. They planned different trips for me and took me with them to travel beyond Hamburg upto Lenshan in the North. But for the
travel restrictions existed at that time for those with Indian passport, they
would have taken me to Denmark too, to give an exposure of yet another country.
During the 35 days that I lived in Germany,I
learned a lot. How the ‘West Germany' which was devastated following the World War
II could become a developed country within a short span of time by the hard
work and the support from the international community was one of them. I realized
how important it is for all people to be conscious in keeping the public places
clean. Once while traveling in the high
way, I was about to throw an apple node onto the road but the host family members 'cared' to keep that in the car till we reached the nearest ‘austanoff’. Less population aiding the people of the
nation to share more wealth was a lesson that the developing nations need to
follow and requires keeping a strict vigil on the growth of the population.
Though I had enriching and diverse
experience being in (West) Germany, I felt bad that I could not see the “Wall” .
The host family informed that it was in their plan to take me to the border
between the West and the East. At length they spoke about the people on the
other side, the East Germany. I am still at dark about the issues involved, but
was informed that I could not go to see the ‘Wall’. Not sure whether that it
was unsafe for me to be there or whether the host family could be put into
trouble if I am taken there. But what resounded in me was what the head of the
host family manage to state in English, “Sam, the people... on this side... and on the other side... ( pointing towards East) have the
same blood. One day we will become one !” I did not believe him then. How is it
possible? Back home in India, I saw another country being carved out in
the Eastern region of our country. We have the people with the 'same blood and
religion' on both sides of the borders on the East and West, and we were raising
‘fences’ along the borders.
He was not very fluent in English nor his
wife, who would explain to me simple things in English translating them from
German using a pocket dictionary which she was carrying all the time since I
joined the family. Their children and his mother were a happy family. The joint
family was again a surprise for me, since I did not imagine that there could be
extended families in Germany. In 1989, within 8 years, the belief and hope of my hosts that those on both sides are 'one' became a reality. In 1995 when I visited Frankfurt, I wanted to visit the family again to share the joy that his prophetic words have come true. But I was informed
not to venture into that geographical area. Still
a mystery, why I cannot go near the border again. I told this to a
couple of German friends who attended an International Gestalt therapy
conference which I attended in France in 1995. And they asked, “You
said that you were at Diedorf in 1981? Are you joking? They too did not illuminate me on why they could not believe that I lived in Diedorf in 1981.
When I visited again in 2008, I
travelled to Berlin by train from Frankfurt and I could not find the wall.
Where is the wall? I searched hard to find the reminiscence of the wall and the
difference. But for the graffiti,I could not differentiate that I had crossed
over to the other side of the wall. Much water has flown and it appeared that
the differences that existed on either side of the wall melted out. (Wrote in 2008 )
Twenty eight years after breaking the wall political leadership is thinking of constructing walls in a 'great country'. Probably if I happen to visit Mexico, I may not be able to go near the wall that borders America. (Added on 26 January, 2017)
5 comments:
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