Brief Report on China Trip
I hung on to my label of indigenous and would state from which tribe I came. Being from the US stereotypically meant that one had money. On some level, I identified with the Chinese Peoples.
In Huairou, women broke many silences and spoke in common terms, and we understood. A young woman from Africa who had been educated in New York, USA was attempting to bring employment into her village that had no electricity or water. Many changes have to be made to allow every woman a life of unbrokenness. When diverse cultures listen to each other, identification of pain and oppression is similar, and sincere human bonds are formed. My friend from India said that she could not believe that our life experiences and our comments on them were so alike.
Mary Bassett
Perry, Maine, USA