Heavy Laden

The first time I met Karen ( we have the same Uyghur name so it make it easy to remember I will let us have the same English name too) I thought she was just an English shark that wanted to be friends and practice language, but the more I realized that wasn’t true.  She had lived in the United states for a few years and actually taught English at a local training school.  Having lived abroad she knew how lonely it can be and just wanted to befriend me.  As we got to know each other she often talked about her two daughters, but never mentioned a husband.  I figured she must be divorced.  One day when I actually asked her I learned her husband was in jail.  In my last Quarterly I mentioned the increase of violence in the area, her husband had sought to fight the injustice through education in their mother language.  Loving his own two little girls he had opened a kindergarten in their mother language.  The school was seen as not complying with local education standards and he was imprisoned.  For the last two years Karen has had to raise her girls one her own while worrying about her husband’s fate. Some neighbours applaud her husband and support her in their persecution  other look down on her and shame her for her husband’s rebellion.  She heard a lot about J when she lived in the states, but all of their family struggle has really hardened her heart. But J still says to her “Come”.