Earlier this day I went to my local GP to pick up a prescription for some medicine I need. As I entered the house, an older lady was about to leave, so I held the door open for her. Noticing this she looked up at me, smiled in what seemed to be the first time in about a decade and thanked me, pointing out that this wasn’t usually done anymore. Frankly, I was feeling rather proud of myself, despite the fact that I do this everywhere I go.
The secretary then looked at me, picked up my prescription without having to ask for my name, also smiled and wished me a good day. In itself I think this was cause to mark this day as a good one.
I went to the pharmacy, handed in the little note and was told to come back later today. So I went on to pick up some groceries (read: snacks – I was feeling rather deserving of them).
Now here’s the thing though: The store I wanted to go to is right next to one of the main roads leading in and out of the city. And by the time I reached the crossroads, the traffic light for some reason were broken. Being as good as blind I had no chance to realise this, however. I pushed the little button and waited my turn to cross the street.
And I probably would still be standing there, had it not been for some friendly lady and her little boy to point out to me the situation and offering me to help me cross the street. This might sound easy to you, but she clearly has a migration background and had trouble speaking German. It was thus quite hard for her to even express her intention to help me. Yet she offered a complete stranger – a man, no less – her arm to guide him across a rather busy road. She was very careful in doing so and while holding her little son on one hand, constantly kept an eye out for me to see if I was still following and that all the cars were actually stopping to let us pass.
Truth be told, my hat is off to that lady. While I have little cares in the world and live a good life, I’m pretty sure she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, being in a strange country, raising a kid, watching out for him to be safe. Still she bothered to look out for others.
So this entry is for all you people out there who think that refugees – and all other foreigners – are just here to sit back and live their life on “our” welfare, not caring for their neighbours at all; or if they do, merely so they can rob them. You are so very wrong. Whenever I walk down the streets around here, no matter how “bad” the neighbourhood, people always step aside to let me and my cane pass. Especially those from foreign countries. I haven’t been robbed yet. And I bet you that the one time someone tried, that person was born and raised right here.
Thank you, young lady. You’ve put a smile on someone’s face.
