Last week I was on a small island called Palau Redang. Life on the island is something straight from the 19th century. Cows and chickens everywhere, old cars and even older buildings. The people of Palau Redang are incredibly sweet and they normally don't see blonde people with blue eyes. Instead of being weary of the strange foreigners, they had an insatiable curiosity. An almost child-like honesty in their way of communicating. Just blindly staring and smiling. I thought of the state of xenophobia everywhere else in the world. Polarisation between people as a result of terrorism and ethnic tensions. I couldn't help but feel like I was on a forgotten island where the ills of the world had simply passed by. These people were not concerned with terrorism. Who is going to invade their small little domain? what good would that do? and so they never had any need to be weary of outsiders. They simply indulged their curiosity by asking questions like: where are you from? does everyone there have yellow hair? why are you so tall? how many cows do you have at home?
And because everyone had no hesitation to honestly ask the questions they had on their mind, I felt like I had no hestitation to ask mine. What is life like on teh island? how much do you make a month? is that headscarf a nuisance or a virtue? How do you feel about having to swim fully clothed? do you feel it is unfair that you have to be covered up all the time and men don't? The answers were honest. No one felt uncomfortable, no one felt as if anyone could be offended. Just curious people from different parts exchanging ideas.
Palau Redang! A very small island, yet an example to the rest of the world!
~Jeroen Breukels
