I cried

I told him “I am writing a book”. 
He asked me “What is it about?”
I said “It’s about what happened to you”.
He rolled his eyes.
I looked at his eyes.
He said “Another one to hear about how we feel &  what we need now when you were all silent when it happened?”
I cried.

I asked “Where are you going?”
She said “I am going to an interview to work as a carer.”
I said “But you are not safe in that country”.
She said “But I need that money.We can’t live like this.” 
I said “They are killing their cousins”. 
She said “But my family is hungry”
I cried.

I asked “Do you have children?”
She said “Yes, I have two daughters”. 
I asked who will look after them?
She said my husband has been in one country for twelve years. 
He is not sending money for them.
My elderly mother will look after them so I also can go abroad.
I cried.

I asked ” Do you know that they are killing on average fifty children a day?”
She was silent.
I said “It’s bad karma to replace those people they kill with our people.”
She remained silent.
I looked again to see her wiping a tear.
I cried.

When the journey was over
the driver told me 
“You were right”.
I asked about what.
He said “You were right about karma”. 
She should not go there.
Then he said 
“Can I please come to your country?”

He said “I couldn’t help listening”.
You were so right about the killings.
But we need to eat.
I can drive heavy vehicles. 
Can I work in your country?
I cried.

She said “I really need this job”. 
I already paid a huge amount 
to go to another land with green grass 
and that disappeared with traffickers.
We need to live.
I must get this job.
I saw her wiping the tears. I cried.

I asked “Why do you NOT want to do this course?”
He said “I have to help my cousin sisters”. 
I said “But you haven’t even passed your university entrance exams and they are already at university”. 
He was silent.
I saw a tear popping out. I cried.

I said “Is there a reason that you want to look after them?”
He looked in my eyes and said 
“There are too many people in that house, they are hungry and there is no food”.
Then he cried. The translator also cried.
How could I not cry?

I asked her why she was sad.
She said she was an orphan living in an orphanage. 
Many of her brothers and sisters died in the war. 
She keeps remembering what happened.
I asked why she didn’t want to study now to rebuild her life.
She said that some have labelled her as “crazy”.
I cried.

She said she is sad & depressed. 
But she is sadder because she has no friends.
I asked where she lives now.
She looked me in the eyes & said “I am at the hospital” & I have no place to go.
I cried.

The hospital had asked her to take nutritious milk powder as she was underweight.
This was two months ago that she had to take the nutritious milk and she hadn’t taken it. 
I asked why she didn’t. She looked at me and said nothing.
I cried.

Where she will go now when she is released?
She cried. The doctor cried. The nurses cried.
The translator cried. 
In a world where crying is now allowed 
we no longer cry in secret.
It felt like I could cry.
So I cried.