Thoughts from The Tears of the Giraffe
Sometimes, simple statements move you to pieces.
I was reading the delightful book, Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. This is a part of the №1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I love reading about Mma Ramotswe and life in Botswana. These are simple stories set in Botswana and give us a beautiful glimpse into the culture and value systems of the Batswana people.
Today’s reading brought me to this passage in the book. Let me give you some context first. Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni has just adopted a teenage girl in a wheelchair and her younger brother. They are out shopping for new clothes when a photographer offers to click their picture. Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni asks the girl if she’d like a picture, and she politely answers that she would very much like that. She tells him she has no photo of herself.
And all this meant that there was nobody who had ever wanted her picture; she had simply not been special enough.
That sentence cut through my heart like a serrated knife. The book is a work of fiction. I don’t know any girl in that situation. And yet, when I read the line, I could not help but wonder about the lives of orphans.
Simply not been special enough?
Teenage is a strange time in life. From what I have observed nowadays, most kids in their teens love taking solo selfies and selfies with friends. The minute an adult wants to click a picture, the omnipresent hoodie covers their entire face.
We have to keep explaining to teenagers that their pictures will serve as memories during our old age. It is a way for us to go back in time and savor the moments of their childhood. The explanation isn’t convincing enough most often. We have to beg and plead to be allowed to get some photos with them. Smiles in the photo? Forget it. We are lucky if they are not rolling their eyes.
And then there are kids like that little girl in the book. Not special enough. No one thought of taking a photo of the girl or her brother. One could argue that it may just mean the orphanage had no access to a camera, or that photos are not considered such a big deal everywhere. That may well be true in some cases. But we all know that the world over, there are kids and adults who are not seen. Who are invisible throughout their lives. Who are simply not special enough to anyone.
In today’s world, this may not be a problem because people whip out their phones and click photos at whim. I have friends who visit orphanages regularly to spend time with the kids there and routinely click pictures with them. It is a treat to see the kids with their bright smiles and faces shining with happiness at the attention they get.
But the statement in the book goes much deeper, doesn’t it? It made me think about such invisible people and moved me almost to tears.
Did the sentence impact you the way it impacted me? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Anu Anniah Writes 