Getting back late from a freezing November bike rally on a Sunday, I nipped up to the local Tesco to get a few supplies, still wearing all my bike gear and bundled up against the cold. As I went through the entrance, the security guard, who resembled the Middle Eastern version of Lou Ferrigno, lunged toward me, which freaked me out and I jumped backward. He was full of apologies and as he softened his stance, he began chatting away to me.
He explained that the linen biker scarf that I was bundled up in, was a distinctive weave only made in Palestine, and that he was from Palestine and thrilled and surprised to find something so rare away from his home land. He kept touching the scarf and shaking my hand. He wanted to know where I had got it from as it was the only one he'd seen since being in the UK in recent years.
All I could tell him was that I had bought it from an army surplus stall at a bike rally in the Midlands and it was the best scarf I had ever owned because it was warm in winter and shaded me in hot sun. We stood for ages talking until I realised my friends would wonder where I was with the food and beer. I said my goodbyes and he put his arm around me and thanked me with tears in his eyes. I never saw him again on any of my late night emergency shopping trips but have thought often of him, and especially today in light of the current news.
You have to be taught to hate. Children from other ethnic and religious backgrounds don't see differences, they just see other children. We could learn a lot from them if we wanted to.
He explained that the linen biker scarf that I was bundled up in, was a distinctive weave only made in Palestine, and that he was from Palestine and thrilled and surprised to find something so rare away from his home land. He kept touching the scarf and shaking my hand. He wanted to know where I had got it from as it was the only one he'd seen since being in the UK in recent years.
All I could tell him was that I had bought it from an army surplus stall at a bike rally in the Midlands and it was the best scarf I had ever owned because it was warm in winter and shaded me in hot sun. We stood for ages talking until I realised my friends would wonder where I was with the food and beer. I said my goodbyes and he put his arm around me and thanked me with tears in his eyes. I never saw him again on any of my late night emergency shopping trips but have thought often of him, and especially today in light of the current news.
You have to be taught to hate. Children from other ethnic and religious backgrounds don't see differences, they just see other children. We could learn a lot from them if we wanted to.
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