| By Alexandra Pleshoyano, associate professor in spirituality at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada. She is the author of Etty Hillesum: l’amour comme ‘seule solution’. Une herméneutique théologique au coeur du mal, Münster, Lit Verlag, 2007 and J’avais encore mille choses à te demander. L’univers spirituel d’Etty Hillesum, Montreal/Paris, Novalis/Bayard, 2009, she has also published many articles both in French and in English The 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions (Melbourne, AU) Overcoming fears of the “other” by Alexandra Pleshoyano Last December, I went to the other side of the world (Quebec, Canada to Melbourne, Australia) to attend the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions – the world’s largest interfaith gathering – where thousands of people coming from a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions met to ‘Make a World of Difference’. To account for my experience during those six intensive days would take too long, but I will share one event that contributed to sweep some of my fears away. During the very first program I attended, we were asked to name our actual feeling and I spontaneously answered: “fear”. A couple of days later, I was having lunch with Peta, an Orthodox Jew, and I shared with her this story. During my early teenage years, I was living in a Jewish neighbourhood in Outremont. My next door neighbour, Nina, was an Orthodox Jew about my age, but could not spend time with a Catholic. Nevertheless, we would meet in secret until the day her brother found us out. Nina never talked to me again. She had told me beforehand that I must never enter into a Synagogue because God’s curse would fall upon me. This fear got printed within me. After hearing my story, Peta shared hers with me. When she was a child, she attended a summer Camp where she befriended with a Catholic girl. At the end of the Camp when the parents came to get the kids, her friend ran into Peta’s arms and said in tears: “Peta, please convert otherwise you will burn in hell!” I thank Peta because her story instantaneously took the drama out of my own story. I met many other people who generously shared with me their personal and moving stories and I thank them all for these unique and intense moments. My thanks go to John Dupuche, to my new Jewish friends, to this Iranian Muslim woman who gave me a praying mat, to the Aboriginal people, to this Buddhist Master who stared within my soul, and to so many others. I returned home feeling transformed and to my biggest surprise: my silent fears of the “other” had vanished away. |
