“I used to work across the border, but after the lockdown things became uncertain. My employer came to me and said, “No one is going to visit my business and I cannot shelter and pay you here, so it is better for both of us that you went back to where you are from.” I could not sleep that night. Losing a job for me is like losing a life. I have a mother and father who are poor and sisters and brothers that I need to take care of. Some become sick and the festivals are punctual every year. I knew that if I had been ousted here, I would surely find no job back home. An able son sitting at home eating big portions of rice when he should be out working and providing is not a good sight for parents. It really worried me but I had no choice but to return home. And since then I have been here, looking for the first call from my employers and friends with a job so that I can start receiving wages on which my family relies on. That is the only thing. We live right at the border. We do not own land and have been forced to move several times in the last decade. The meaning of these border pillars between these two countries is unknown to us. Let the big people decide what it means. For now, we only live with hope, with sand and brick and water and heat with a future, we do not know. With time that seems endless."
(Manara Siswa 9, Mahottari)
#TheFutureIWant
SON X UN