Askar

Pleasant looking, with a friendly disposition, the soft spoken Askar was a ‘bell boy’ we met at the Artemide Hotel in Rome.  He left Sri Lanka as a young lad, seeking political asylum in Holland. When threatened with deportation, he moved from one EU country to the other avoiding the authorities, looking for a place to call home. The Italian government finally came though for him giving him a work permit, and eventually a decade later, citizenship.

“Life is hard in Italy,” Askar said to us, as we struck up a conversation.  “There is little money, few jobs, and everything is very expensive in Rome.”  His wife and two boys are back in Sri Lanka, and he lives within the Sri Lankan community, of mostly men, on the outskirts of the city. He spoke of his wife and children fondly, but with a certain sadness in his voice.

He sends money home so that they can live comfortably, while he works and lives away from them in a foreign land, making sacrifices for the people he loves. He goes home for a few weeks every couple of years. His story is not unique. There are thousand like him, just in Rome. There was a certain sadness to his story. I know there are many like him who give up so much expecting nothing back in return.

I  think collectively, we should complain less about our lot in life, love more, do more for the people we love, and count our blessings for the abundant opportunities in this beautiful country. And for those that never stop complaining – shame on you.