And Therein Lies The Answer

Finest…the name of it just oozes hoity-toityness doesn’t it?  And compared to it’s surroundings the store itself lives up to the assumption.  Set on a dusty street with a canal of open sewage running past it’s front step, the store stands like a gleaming beacon of materialism.   Did that stop me from going in? Absolutely not!  Let’s be honest, in a place where doing your simple grocery shopping is as complicated as it is here, I am going to take advantage of getting it done in one place if I can.   See, Finest is different from your mom and pop shops so to speak.  I can get milk, eggs, veggies, cheese, juice, cleaning products, yeast, toilet paper, chocolate, pens, drinking glasses, socks, shampoo, movies, a crockpot, etc (you get the picture) under one roof while visiting Finest. It most likely would take a few days (or at least a few hours) to accumulate all of that stuff otherwise.  Your juice, milk, yeast and cheese would be at one shop. Eggs at another. Veggies at the stand on the corner. Drinking glasses from the household goods store. Pens at the stationary store. Crockpot from the fancy store downtown…you get the idea. 

Back to Finest...Upon entering the first thing that came out of A and I’s mouth at exactly the same time was directed at my mom.  We both said, “this is not normal!  We don’t usually shop like this!”  But our time in the capital was short, traffic was horrible and lugging little t around is quite the feat. So, we caved to the pressure and put a major dent in our grocery/supply list in Finest.  We were in there for a long time…and were totally sweaty by the time we were done. (another tip – most stores here are not heated and are bone cold this time of year, so we had worn plenty of clothes to ensure we didn’t freeze.)  We should have known from it’s name that it would be different…it was waaaay past toasty in there!

So, we got our shopping on. Got the rice and the yeast and the jam and the cheese, and…a bunch of other stuff. A stayed with little t while mom and I check out the upper two levels (stairs only…we aren’t that fancy here).  We ooohed and awed over the gold jewellery, we gagged at the ridiculous (and crazy expensive) glass sculptures.  Really? Who wants a 2 foot dolphin in their living room? Maybe the same person who wants the tiger, woman with umbrella, seashell, pirate ship. So unpractical! But so typical of the homes of people with money here. The most awkward part of the experience came when we arrived on the third level only to be greeted by 4 mannequins of men from waist to knees wearing boxer briefs.  I don’t bring this up to be inappropriate….but think about it…we are in one of the most conservative countries in the world and there they are…men’s underwear in full view.  We had just arrived in country, but were totally embarrassed by it…  Yet another example of how Finest is very different from it’s surroundings.

Anyway, back on track. We had a cart full and made it up to the check-out.  After getting all of our things rang up the cashier flashed a look of panic as A passed him a credit card.  He told A “we can’t do credit card transactions at this register…only at that one!” Pointing to the last register in line.  This may not sound like a big deal, but we had just bought a LOT of stuff (and about went broke in the process…not the cheapest store in town) and it would have been a mess to cart it all the way over there and run it through again.  Eventually they got it sorted out…that isn’t the point of the story…

The POINT of the story…sorry I am long-winded today…was a little interaction that took place while we were checking out.  The cashier was quickly scanning things and moving them down the counter to the bag boy who was bagging them…much like happens in any store in the western world.  The difference?  The cashier was wearing a crisp white shirt and tie, dress pants and fancy shoes.  He had a nice watch on and his hair slicked back, for good measure.  The bag boy was in a T-shirt with the store logo and jeans.  

So what? You ask.  So this… The bag boy picked up a bottle of cleaning power (like Ajax) from the counter and it literally exploded in his hand.  The seal had been broken and when it had been tossed down the counter by the cashier, it had weakened the lid.  Then, as if in slow motion, it proceeded to empty itself all over the bag boy, the counter, the cashier, the groceries, the floor and anyone standing within a 2 foot radius. 

It was one of those moments where you think, if looks could kill.  The cashier whipped around and glared at the bag boy…letting what seemed to be a profanity slip as he began to chew him out.  He told him how stupid he was, why couldn’t he do anything right, how worthless he was, how he deserved to be fired, etc. etc. It was venomous and ugly…let’s just put it that way.  I am not sure if he was aware that we understood the majority of what he was saying or not, but he didn’t really seem to care.  He also didn’t seem to care to listen to the bag boy’s (very valid) explanation of what had happened as he tossed him a rag and told him to clean up what he had done.  The three of us (as well as every customer within hearing distance) stood in shock.  What do you do in that situation?  A and I tried to say that it was okay, it was an accident, but it didn’t change anything. The manager came over quickly and barked at both of them to stop talk and start working.  The cashier quickly defended himself and berated the bag boy once again.  The bag boy didn’t have a chance to do the same before he was reprimanded and told to get back to work. 

We left that night and talked about it in the car…how disgusted we were with what had happened.  The irony of the whole situation was not lost on us; the fact that the boys were roughly the same age, and looked as though they could have been brothers.  I realize that I don’t have all of the information here…maybe the bag boy was a horrible person and a terrible worker.  Maybe he did constantly make mistakes, lie, cheat, steal, hit little children, wipe out small countries…whatever else it would take to make a person horrible enough to deserve that kind of treatment…I don’t know…  But really?!?

Sadly, that happens every day in this country, it is just the norm and no one gives it a second thought.  You always have the authority to belittle those under you…the anthem of this place is get ahead no matter what it takes, who you step on, how much you lie, take others down in the process, etc.  It is the classic oppressed becoming the oppressor.  We see it so often and it is so crippling to unity, peace, prosperity, sanity.

So, what does one do in this context?  How can you make a difference in light of such pain and brokenness?  I don’t know to be honest. I am not sure that our treating people with love and respect no matter who they are translates at all.  In a place where ethnic lines are so deep and jagged, where temptation of corruption and bribes reach down to even the poorest of the poor, where security is something no one can possess and spiritual depravity if the condition of the masses, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope. 

But I think about the Word and the One who came to dwell among us.  His interaction with the woman at the well blew everyone out of the water. His challenges to the religious teachers brought silence where they usually had statements of pride. He touched lepers, sat with children, allowed a dirty woman (with the problem of bleeding) to cling to His garment. He brought the dead to life and rose in power and might.  Surely He can bring restoration to the toxicity of life and relationships in this place, can’t He? 

And therein lies the answer.  Finest might make some of us broke, some of us feel good and some of us treat others terribly.  The war in this place goes much deeper than is seen on the news or than is executed by planes and tanks.  Life will come to this place when peace that passes all understanding prevails, when men stop beating their wives, children are allowed to go to school, respect isn’t a foreign word or something you superficially show to anyone with money, or clout or power.  Life will come when truth is spoken, people learn to put each other first, value is given to every living being. Life will come when wholeness is pursued not because it brings more money or power or position but because it brings healing and restoration, peace and unity and understanding. 

It feels like a long way off…but we live in hope that life will come to this place.  (and when that happens maybe we will be able to shop at Finest without going broke)