I read this in today's Life! section ('Read', pg. 23) of an interview with Chinese author Xue Xinran. Her book, Message From An Unknown Chinese Mother, tells stories of Chinese mothers who had been forced to give up their daughters for adoption and for some, *horrors* murder them by drowning in pails.
As I read this, my heart ached to comprehend issues facing women in our world. In cultures like such, brokenness, questions and pain haunt its inhabitants every day of their lives, for decades. Neither daughter nor mother are spared from dealing with senseless separation, identity diaspora and endless 'whys?'. How far cultures have strayed from kingdom values and Love.
She mentioned some truths that echo the needs of our world:
"My mother never hugged me or celebrated my birthday with me. I never felt like a real daughter."
".... what I write is the truth and
we cannot progress unless we are ready to face up to our past."
The latter states a profound truth that I myself, as a Singaporean, face in tackling issues of my cultural identity. The past year or so, I've been impassionated by a thirst for all facets of our past - positive or negative. I want to know what really happened, outside of the textbooks and dominant discourse we're presented with. I want to know the alternative reality, the strongholds and mistakes, and why we are the way we are. I want to learn from it, not erase the treasure trove of our culture and history. It resonates with one of the strongest beliefs I hold:
We can only know who we are by looking at where we come from.
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