Something freaky happened on the way to lunch...
Some people already know about this…For others, this is going to be very new information… Basically, I’m here to provide the facts and the details, crush any worries about my well-being and mental health, and demolish and wrong details that may arise from lack of information… This is the real truth…
I was molested by a rickshaw driver yesterday…
That sounds bad…
I was physically harassed by a rickshaw driver yesterday…
Sounds better…will stick with that one…
Here’s what happened… Jess & I were going for lunch at our favourite hangout place, Mango. We got on a rickshaw. The driver made like he was going to maneuver the rickshaw. But instead of holding the side of the rickshaw or the bars behind his seat, he held my thigh. I didn’t realize it at first because he held my thigh from below. But I saw his hand and got a shock. He let go. I told Jess about it. We assumed it was an accident.
The rest of the journey was kind of ok… But we realized this guy was kind of weird. He asked us which country we were from. We said Singapore. He said that America and Singapore were all very strong countries and were very bad. (Everyone else normally says something nice about the country we are from.).He also says Bangladesh is bad… Nothing pleases him apparently…
Then we arrive at the destination. Jess got off. I was about to get off when he gets off and starts to maneuver the rickshaw again. Before I knew it, he was holding my thigh again! I was outraged and jumped off the rickshaw and ran to Jess… Quickly gave him Tk10 and ran into the café.
At the time, I was terribly shocked and outraged and upset. But it happened so suddenly that I didn’t know how to react to it… Jess later said that she didn’t know whether to help me or laugh at me. She said my expression was funny… But that’s out of point… She thinks I should have slapped him and scolded him and made a fuss… I didn’t want that… I didn’t want to draw attention to myself… I just wanted to hide… We had a long lunch and I managed to get over it…
On hindsight… It’s nothing much…It could have been a lot worse… It could have been anywhere else besides the thigh... I could have been alone… I could have been wearing a short skirt or thinner pants or something… I was wearing thick jeans… It could have happened to Jessica when she was wearing a sarong skirt that showed a lot of leg when she got onto rickshaws…
But it wasn’t… And I’m thankful for that… I know Jesus had protected me and Jess from anything that is more serious… To all who are worried about me: I’m OK! I can still continue in doing my internship here for the next 4 months! =)
It has served as a good wake up call though…To be very alert when I’m living here… Jess & I had become very laxed in that area... Will also try to wear thick jeans as much as possible… (Oh wait, I already do that…)… Of cos, and not wear any outfit that might seem sexy to people here… (At the time, I was wearing a baggy top that did not show my belly or anything… Very decent… Perhaps it’s the fact that I’m a foreigner… I don’t know…) I’ve even learnt to say some very useful phrases in Bangla in case a similar situation arises next time… Like “juta maro po” (hit you with my shoe) and “guy haad diben na” (don’t touch me).
There’s one last thing that I decided to… I decided to forgive the man for what he did… Yes… Forgive... To let go of what he did and stop replaying the scene in my mind… To not feel anger towards him… And to pray a blessing over him and his family… I’m not doing this because he’s right… He isn’t right in what he did to me… But if I don’t forgive him, I wouldn’t be right in my response towards him either… God doesn’t want us to be angry at people… He commanded us to forgive, the way He has forgiven us.
I’m really reluctant to do it… A part of me wants to be angry and look for ways to hunt him down and make him pay for what he did… But the other part of me tells me not to… And it is that latter part that I am listening to… Being angry does no good for anyone, including myself… It’s not worth the time or energy…
I need all my time and energy to prepare an item for my sister’s wedding which is coming up on the 19th of March… Hee!
I was molested by a rickshaw driver yesterday…
That sounds bad…
I was physically harassed by a rickshaw driver yesterday…
Sounds better…will stick with that one…
Here’s what happened… Jess & I were going for lunch at our favourite hangout place, Mango. We got on a rickshaw. The driver made like he was going to maneuver the rickshaw. But instead of holding the side of the rickshaw or the bars behind his seat, he held my thigh. I didn’t realize it at first because he held my thigh from below. But I saw his hand and got a shock. He let go. I told Jess about it. We assumed it was an accident.
The rest of the journey was kind of ok… But we realized this guy was kind of weird. He asked us which country we were from. We said Singapore. He said that America and Singapore were all very strong countries and were very bad. (Everyone else normally says something nice about the country we are from.).He also says Bangladesh is bad… Nothing pleases him apparently…
Then we arrive at the destination. Jess got off. I was about to get off when he gets off and starts to maneuver the rickshaw again. Before I knew it, he was holding my thigh again! I was outraged and jumped off the rickshaw and ran to Jess… Quickly gave him Tk10 and ran into the café.
At the time, I was terribly shocked and outraged and upset. But it happened so suddenly that I didn’t know how to react to it… Jess later said that she didn’t know whether to help me or laugh at me. She said my expression was funny… But that’s out of point… She thinks I should have slapped him and scolded him and made a fuss… I didn’t want that… I didn’t want to draw attention to myself… I just wanted to hide… We had a long lunch and I managed to get over it…
On hindsight… It’s nothing much…It could have been a lot worse… It could have been anywhere else besides the thigh... I could have been alone… I could have been wearing a short skirt or thinner pants or something… I was wearing thick jeans… It could have happened to Jessica when she was wearing a sarong skirt that showed a lot of leg when she got onto rickshaws…
But it wasn’t… And I’m thankful for that… I know Jesus had protected me and Jess from anything that is more serious… To all who are worried about me: I’m OK! I can still continue in doing my internship here for the next 4 months! =)
It has served as a good wake up call though…To be very alert when I’m living here… Jess & I had become very laxed in that area... Will also try to wear thick jeans as much as possible… (Oh wait, I already do that…)… Of cos, and not wear any outfit that might seem sexy to people here… (At the time, I was wearing a baggy top that did not show my belly or anything… Very decent… Perhaps it’s the fact that I’m a foreigner… I don’t know…) I’ve even learnt to say some very useful phrases in Bangla in case a similar situation arises next time… Like “juta maro po” (hit you with my shoe) and “guy haad diben na” (don’t touch me).
There’s one last thing that I decided to… I decided to forgive the man for what he did… Yes… Forgive... To let go of what he did and stop replaying the scene in my mind… To not feel anger towards him… And to pray a blessing over him and his family… I’m not doing this because he’s right… He isn’t right in what he did to me… But if I don’t forgive him, I wouldn’t be right in my response towards him either… God doesn’t want us to be angry at people… He commanded us to forgive, the way He has forgiven us.
I’m really reluctant to do it… A part of me wants to be angry and look for ways to hunt him down and make him pay for what he did… But the other part of me tells me not to… And it is that latter part that I am listening to… Being angry does no good for anyone, including myself… It’s not worth the time or energy…
I need all my time and energy to prepare an item for my sister’s wedding which is coming up on the 19th of March… Hee!
posted by thebemusedphotog @ 1:10 PM
1 Comments:
I'm very sorry to hear about your rikshaw incident. If it was me, I'd start yelling and cussing the puller! :)
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