"Living in Community" or "doing life together" are buzzwords in the Body of Christ these days. And in theory, it sounds good and even
Biblical, but our Western understanding of living in community is not quite the
same as communal living in Africa. Fuzzy always jokes with me; if I have
something he wants, he says, "You're my wife, what's yours is mine, and what's
mine is mine!" As funny as that little saying is, it would be pretty accurate
to say that Somalis would function in the same line of thought. Our local
friends often share a compound with one or two other families; in those situations, everyday life tasks become communal events sharing possessions and responsibilities.
Rarely do Somali women go anywhere alone. You always go with a neighbor or
friend, even if they only walk with you halfway. Sharing what you have is so
second nature here. Often shoes are kicked off outside the door before entering
the house; when someone leaves the room to get more tea, check on the children, or
answer the gate, the first pair of shoes on their feet are the ones they wear.
I have been left searching for my shoes many times! My friend once had to leave
a party with one of her shoes and another the same style but two sizes too
small. She wasn't too worried when I asked what she would do; she just
laughed and said I'll switch them back when Marium has her baby!
When I lived in Mali, the walls around the compounds were
only waist-high at most, creating a barrier, not protection, but because of
that, everyone passing by could see what you were up to. If someone was washing
laundry, often a neighbor would grab her basins and join in, or the woman would
gather next to the well on washing day. If your neighbor was pounding millet or
corn, the tuk, tuk, tuk of mortar and pestle would be an open invitation to
come and take a turn or to bring your own bowl of corn, securing the next spot
in line and extra hands for the pounding. Living in community brings to life
the saying, "Many hands make work light." This is also true when there is a
celebration, baby naming ceremony, wedding, graduation, or funeral.
Everyone pitches in and brings what they have. I remember going to greet my
friend the day after a party at her house, and all the women were still there! I
was surprised to see everyone there again, thinking I misunderstood the ending
of the gathering until my friend explained that everyone had come back this
morning to claim their things borrowed, trays, bowls, dishes, and spoons. Often
the items are marked with nail polish, and those that aren't are usually claimed
without too much fighting. Living in community is so much a part of life
and culture here; we once heard a story of a local who was invited to a conference. En route to the meeting, his flights were delayed, and he ended up being put
up in a hotel for the night. Thinking that enjoying a fancy hotel for the
night and a big buffet all free of charge would have been an unexpected luxury
for him, his friend asked him how it was, and he was appalled that the hotel
put him up in a room all by himself! He has never once in his life slept in a
room alone. He was so uncomfortable he slept with the door propped open!
We are learning that so many things here are set up to
function with a society that values doing life in community! Recently, as we
were packing up to leave JTown, Fuzzy was stung by a scorpion. At first, we
were not too concerned, but as the day went on and the symptoms worsened, we
found ourselves at the local hospital. We had never been to the hospital in JTown
before, so we were unsure of the process. The hospital's compound is huge,
growing, and under construction. There were no signs anywhere except
one that said Pediatric Emergency. We headed there, hoping someone would point
us in the right direction. I went in armed with a photo on my phone of the scorpion,
using my best Somali, asking where we should go to see a doctor. Someone in scrubs
pointed us down the hall and through the door to another courtyard. A crowd was around a door, where the guard was fending them off with his
cane. We could clearly see that he wasn't letting anyone in, but when he saw
the scorpion, he ushered us in. We still didn't know what to do or who to talk
to, so I grabbed the next person I saw wearing scrubs and showed him the
scorpion. He also ushered us along to a place where Fuzzy could sit on the edge
of a small wooden bench and wait for a doctor. We then realized that we had
entered the ER from the back door but were now in the right place, surrounded
by many others whose illnesses and injuries seemed much worse than Fuzzy's. After
a few rounds of questioning, we were given a prescription and told to go to
the pharmacy inside the hospital. We walked around and trusted that others pointed us in the right direction. We got to the pharmacy, paid about 25
cents for a few syringes, and were told to go to another desk, where we were sent to
pay for the lab work. After that, we were pointed to the lab, where we picked up
empty vials to take back to the ER. Once back in the ER, the doctor took the syringes and drew Fuzzy's blood. We were then told to return the blood to the lab and
wait. We had a few hours to kill until the lab work results were
finished, so we went to find some dinner.
While we were at dinner, it dawned on me that every person
that came to the ER was always accompanied by at least two other people, if not
more. Each ill person had someone to sit with them and someone to run to the pharmacy and pay the bills. No one entered on their own. Even the hospital was set up
for doing life in community! This also explained why the guard was so aggressively
turning people away from the door, as the ER was full!
When we returned, we picked up the lab results and took them
back to the ER doctor. He determined that the poison was leaving Fuzzy's system,
so anti-venom was not needed at this point, but he prescribed him a double dose of
allergy medication that we had to pick up at the pharmacy on the way out.
Fuzzy felt some residual effects of the scorpion sting for a few more days but
has since recovered well!
