“When a child is born all its kindred sit round about it in a circle and weep for the woes it will have to undergo now that it is come into the world, making mention of every ill that falls to the lot of humankind; when, on the other hand, a man has died, they bury him with laughter and rejoicings, and say that now he is free from a host of sufferings, and enjoys the completest happiness.”
~ ‘The History’ (Book 5) by Herodotus (George Rawlinson transl. GB6 - p. 160)
This quote appears on the very first page of this book (chapter) when Herodotus talks about the Trausi tribe among the Thracians. It has stayed with me for the past few weeks even after I finished reading the book. I started writing some thoughts about this a few times, but it just kept going down the rabbit hole of more thoughts.
The world during Herodotus’ time was pretty violent. Wars, sieges, diseases and whatnot. Herodotus talks a lot about customs and cultures, geographies, etc., but the overarching theme is relentless war, tyranny, and death. That too, it was a time when an average person didn’t even know about all the fightings in different parts of the world. But now we clearly see and hear much more about conflicts in different parts of the world. It is so sad. I feel for the victims of all the places that find themselves displaced with no shelter or food. No place to live on Earth since every inch has been taken over by people with power. No place to run to. And when some people succeed in running and reaching a place that they think would give them refuge, people there treat them as sub-humans. There is a huge anti-immigration sentiment in many parts of the world. The propaganda to equate immigrants or some section of society to cockroaches, rats or other animal caricatures, gives license to people to inflict harm that they would normally never think of doing to another human being. If you’re part of a refugee population, what do you do? Do you commit suicide or find a way to live? When you encounter someone who hates you for what you are, and no matter what you do, they just want you to be gone, what do you do? A part of you wants to give in and end the misery. In a war-torn country or a place with famine, how can you rejoice when a baby is born? You’ve now brought a baby into the same hopeless situation that you are in. When you are in a hopeless situation, death means a definitive end to pain, end of agony, end of fear, exploitation, humiliation and utter sadness.