Sister Mary and God is love in Assam

Siegfried Grillmeyer

by Siegfried Grillmeyer

Story

Actually we are passing through the northeast of India, somewhere between Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya and the city of Guwahati in Assam, located on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, when the driver asks us if we would like to have tea with the sisters. Of course we do. At the turnoff, a sign says “Missionaries of Charity” with an arrow to the right to “Convent” and an arrow to the left to “Leprosy Centre”. Incredulous and confused, I ask if there are still many lepers here. “You will see” the driver answers and shows the way on which Sister Mary comes towards us.

She wears the typical white veil with a blue border that we know from the founder of the order, Mother Teresa. Her face reflects a true joy to be able to guide us as guests through her leprosy village. At the entrance is written on a stone: “Jesus loves you!” She tells us on the way that she went to the Missionaries of Charity to pass on some of this love. We greet a young man who is sweeping the floor, and only as we pass do I discover that he is holding the broom with only the stubs of his fingers. “No,” Sister Mary explains to me, “actually leprosy is not a medical problem, but a hygienic one, and the disease can be completely cured. But people often come too late, when the infection has already spread and taken their limbs. The real problem, he says, is that they are expelled and the villagers drive them out and no longer tolerate them – even when they are well again, but remain recognizably marked by the disease.” Along the way, we encounter elderly men in old, worn wheelchairs. Sometimes their wrists and feet are wrapped in thick bandages, some missing them altogether. Sister Mary has a good word for everyone – even though I don’t understand the language, I feel the goodwill in her voice. She proudly shows us the weaving and tailoring shop that provides a little income for the village. Only when I look through the camera viewfinder do I discover that the hardworking craftswomen are often missing entire fingers. But I can quickly tear my eyes away from this sight as friendly eyes smile at me: “Khublei,” I learn, means “Be welcome!” In long houses are the wards, which the Indian nurse shows me. Closely lined up are cots, beautifully decorated with colorful blankets. A man nods to me in a friendly way and then I realize that he has no legs. Another man waves at me with a hand that is missing all its fingers. In the last room, Sister Mary takes a woman in her arms, looks at her partially amputated hands and kisses them.

At the exit we pass the stone “Jesus love you”, on the back of which is written “God is Love” and Sister Mary smiles.

© Siegfried Grillmeyer 2023-01-03

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