[ad_1]
International Left-Handers Day is celebrated every year on August 13. This day in honor of left-handers is an opportunity to highlight them in a society that is mainly dominated by right-handers. Through roadside microphones, left-handers share their stories, recounting anecdotes from their childhoods that are often marked by forced adaptations and cultural misunderstandings.
Abdoulazize Bamogo, former Chairman of the Higher Communications Council (CSC)
“Being left-handed doesn’t cause me too many problems nowadays. There haven’t been any real difficulties since we were brought up. During childhood, it was a bit more complicated. Even before I started primary school, eating was difficult because I come from a Muslim family, and in Islam we prefer to do a lot of things with the right hand, and it is forbidden to do ‘things with the left hand’ for a certain number of things, especially eating. For me, when I was a child, it was really difficult because when we put down our meals, we used to have to eat with our mother and brothers.
Generally, people would start eating and I would be there looking for a hand to use. A lot of times, people who wanted to joke with me would look at me and wait for me to try to reach out, so someone would grab my left hand and say that I shouldn’t use this hand, but my right hand. When you get older, it’s really not a particular problem. Saying hello doesn’t cause much of a problem because when you’re in front of someone, the other person will usually extend their right hand, and even if you make a mistake, you will quickly recover with the hand that corresponds to the person in front of you who has contacted you.
All of this is related to childhood issues. As you get older, it gets easier to manage. As far as writing is concerned, it didn’t cause me any problems. On the other hand, it was a problem caused by my brother because he continued to study in the Quranic school, where they forced him to write with his right hand. That is, he writes to this day, and when you look at it, you don’t think it’s that way because it’s a bit too far-fetched. But today he can get by with both hands, unlike me who is completely left-handed and can’t do much with my right hand.
Armelle Ouédraogo/Yaméogo, Lefaso.net reporter
“I have to say that my daily life is like that of a right-handed person. I usually do everything with my left hand. Maybe right-handed people see me doing it with my left hand, but otherwise everything happens naturally to me. Writing, eating, doing housework, everything happens naturally. I do everything with my left hand, just like a right-handed person does with his right hand. At most, I use my left hand to cut spices, write, take a shower, bathe my children, wash clothes, and even tie my belt. Most of the time, using my left hand does not cause any problems, except for very rare cases when I encounter unpleasant situations.
For example, I was at my cousin’s wedding. I was serving food. I can’t really do it with my right hand, so I’d rather use my left hand. I was serving people with my left hand, and when I got to a lady, she told me no, that’s ok, put down the spoon she was going to serve herself with because she didn’t like her left hand. I didn’t feel too bad about it, I let it happen, and then I looked for a corner, I hid to the side. It didn’t affect me much because I told myself that’s how they see things, and it’s up to them.
Maybe in the cultural mindset, especially in the Mossi cultural mindset, people say that the left hand is bad, so people have a fixed mindset that it is something bad. Otherwise, being left-handed or right-handed is the same thing, it is the ability to use the left hand more than the right hand. So I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. What I would say to parents of left-handed children is that there is no point in forcing their children to use the right hand. It is a natural tendency and people must be allowed to develop the use of their left hand naturally. I don’t think there is anything wrong with it because I have my four-year-old son who is also left-handed like me and it is not a problem. There is no need to frustrate children by forcing them to use their right hand. I don’t think there is anything wrong with left-handedness. ”
Yaya Boudani, Pulsar Radio reporter
“To be honest, we try to adapt to others. The use of certain everyday objects is sometimes complicated because some objects are only for right-handed people. When eating with your hands, you need to use your right hand, but when you have to use a spoon or fork, you need to use your left hand. But over time, you eventually get used to it. I always extend my right hand when shaking hands. It should be noted that we often apologize to some people when we extend our left hand to take an object back or put it back.
People don’t always understand this situation. I remember being punished in various ways at school for forcing me to write with my right hand. My parents were called in many times at school (especially in primary school) and asked to force me to use my right hand. It was suggested that I get a plaster cast on my left side, but my father had to explain that I had been left-handed since I was born, so he had to let me continue. I’m left-handed, so I know what to expect depending on the situation. ”
Angie Laurentia Da Court
“A lot of times, when people see me writing with my left hand, they’re surprised: Ah, you write with your left hand! People always ask me how I stay left-handed, because there are so many people who are forced to switch hands because they are left-handed.”
Sékou Ouédraogo, journalist at Burkina Faso News Agency
“When I was three years old, we noticed that I was left-handed because I used my left hand more than my right hand to do certain tasks. I used my left hand to drink water and eat, but at the same time, my parents locked my fingers and left hand with an iron chain and did not let me use it. In African society, especially for us Muslims, we believe that being left-handed is a curse. Even with my parents by my side, it was not easy because every time I used my left hand to complete a task, I was punished endlessly.
Sometimes, I was even forced to not eat for a day, just because I tried to take the food with my left hand. It was not easy in school too, because I was the only left-handed person and my teacher wanted me to write with my right hand, because for him it was unacceptable that a left-handed person could join the school. When I wrote with my left hand, the teacher came and I had to switch hands, otherwise he would beat me.
Nowadays, I do almost everything with my left hand, with a few exceptions like greeting someone. I also don’t eat with my left hand, although I caught myself doing that a few times, but as soon as I realized it, I switched to my left hand. I bathe and cook with my left hand. It is unpleasant indeed, but when I do something with my right hand, I get a different result than if I do it with my left hand. I was nicknamed Lefty and this name has always stuck with me. Anyone who doesn’t know my name calls me that. It is a shame, but I don’t let it become a problem. Being born left-handed was an opportunity and I am glad to take it.
I appeal to those parents who still do not understand that it is something we are born with and cannot be changed under any circumstances. We must raise awareness among parents so that they encourage their left-handed children and see it not as a handicap but as a value.”
Hanifa Koussoube
Lefaso.com
[ad_2]
Source link
