Deo's Journey

Deo’s journey is a remarkable one, not just because of what he accomplished, but because he never gave up. It could have been so easy for him to just stop trying and give up, but every time the times were tough, he persevered and with the help of other continued on his journey. What exactly was his journey is up for different interpretations, but I believe he wanted to learn the meaning of life and why things happen to different people. Like Deo says, “I wanted to understand what happened to me.” (pg.182). When Deo came to the U.S. he knew nothing of giant building and schools with thousands of people, he knew the land and the traditions passed on by his family. Coming to America was a chance for him to see the world from a different perspective, and I believe that this perspective would allow him to look at where he came from in a different way. Deo was also very interested in the question of good and evil and to go along with that, who he could trust and who he couldn’t. There are strangers everywhere that would help you for what seems like no apparent reason, but there is something inside all of us that wants to help people. I don’t want to put that action into one word, so I will just leave it at that. In Deo’s case he came from a place where “teachers killed their students, priests killed their parishioners…who is left to trust, God? The most powerful, who let everything happen? “When you come from somewhere where that type of killing is going on, it is hard to trust anyone, but growing up in Marin, it seems to me, like I can trust most people. If someone tells me something that’s seems real, I am most likely going to believe it, in Deo’s case if someone tells him something, or offers him something, he is going to be hesitant. This makes sense because of the background we come from and the way we lived are life as children and young men. Although are lives may be different, it seems we are both on a path looking to find the meaning of life and with the help of other and our own perseverance, maybe, just maybe we will find it.

Reflection on "Strength in what remains"

At first, I had no idea what to expect from this book. I had never heard of it before, and I was unaware of the genocide that took place in Rwanda and Burundi. Hutu's and Tutsi's were words in which had no meaning, and Deo was a misspelled name of a band that I listen to on occasion. :) As I progressed through the book however, I felt as if I was right alongside Deo on his horrific yet enlightening journey from Burundi to New York. It is amazing how a person who has gone through so much can be such a productive person in society. What struck me as a reoccurring theme was that the only thing that separated Deo from a statistic was his constant ability to be in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people.
""It's a really tiny place that is changing a great big environment," he remembered thinking. Then he'd exclaim in his own mind, "No group of people is really too small to change the situation!"" pg 158. This quote struck me as the epitome of what this book and this class is really all about. Deo should have made this realization sooner in his life, since Charlie and Nancy were a group of two that changed his situation, but the point is he at least realized this at some point. It took me until this point in the book to realize this as well. A movement to change something starts with one person or a small groups' idea, and eventually gets bigger until something gets done. This quote gives me the inspiration to feel like i have the ability to change something in my community.

Strength in What Remains

I think one of the biggest motivators for individuals towards acts of kindness/ generosity is what lies at the core of the human experience. At the core of all humans, is this trait called love. Love maybe an elusive idea, but it is evident in many ways. Love of the neighbor, the stranger on the city streets, the lost dog wandering the carelessly around town, etc. We all share this emotion in some form or another, some more than others of course, but it exists in all of us. We all experience this collective as part of the human condition: we encounter great movments in life(highs) and we also are faced with extreme hardships (lows) in life, regardless of wealth,friendship, enthnicity, and so forth. Thus, we all encounter this universal problem. Yet we move towards the greater good in all of us, its innate... Its this invisible force, some says its "GOD", for others it may be some type of energy force. In sum, despite what notions we have of someone/something, despite what has happened to us, we can put our differences aside, our feelings aside, and move towards forgiveness, which is a can be shaped in the form of Love. We alll live on the same sphere called Earth, all are part of humanity.

Kindness and Human Potential

One of the main themes in Strength in What Remains is kindness and generosity shown to people who need it the most, from the people less likely to show this type of emotion. Deo’s success and happiness at the end of the story is all thanks to the people who showed him kindness, and took him in. While in New York City Deo is treated very harshly because of his isolation due to the fact that he does not speak english. He is finally shown kindness by a church worker named Sharon when they both bond over the french language, Deo is drawn to Sharon but more importantly Sharon is drawn to Deo. After this experience Sharon makes it her mission to help Deo enter school, and find a place to live. What motivated Sharon to help Deo was the fact that Deo had seen humanity at its very worst with horrible murders, and death practically every where. Sharon wanted to restore his faith in humanity in the slightest ways by showing him kindness, and love while he was adjusting to life in America.

With the Kindness that people showed Deo, he was able to reach his full potential of going to medical school. To reach a persons full potential that person must be nurtured and cared for so that they can grow and be the best that they can be. This was a motivation for Nancy, and Charlie who also financially supported Deo during his years of schooling in New York. “What kind of human potential does he have?” p. 170, Charlie began to wonder this after meeting Deo. People new that upon meeting Deo that he was very intelligent possible brilliant. Sharon, Nancy, and Charlie saw this in him and new that Deo could accomplish great things if someone showed him love, cared for him, and was generous. In the second part of the story Deo really began to flourish and truly love what he was doing, he cam a long way from a man escaping violence and destruction to a man who respected in his profession. Whether it was to restore faith in humanity, or to

Rationality of Animals vs. Humans

"Animals are not rational, only human beings are rational" (184). People have this weird idea that we are superior to all animals, that we are the kings that rule of the animal kingdom. Just because we can destroy huge parts of nature, and push other animals out of their homes, and take all we want from the planet doesn't mean that we are better than animals. In many cases we are much worse. The instructor in the book states "Animals kill for food. They act on instinct, that's it" (184). This is a funny statement to have as support for the first idea mainly because it is contradictory. Since animals kill for food, they are more rational than human beings who kill for much less. People kill animals for multiple reasons, food, coats, sport. People will also kill animals and waste most of the animal. American restaurants alone throw away a ridiculous amount of food every day; wasting the animals that they murdered without thinking twice about it. When it comes to animals killing other animals, they do it, then eat their prey. They don't slaughter vast amounts of other animals to make a profit.

When it comes to killing within species, animals are much more rational than humans. Animals will fight to defend their territory, protect their young, reasons like that. Humans will kill because someone has upset them, if there is an extreme disagreement, if they were raised to think it was OK, on accident, if they are crazy, if they are scared, and if they are in danger. There are other reasons but I can't think of all of them right now. Deo states "He had known cows and he had known militiamen, and for rationality he thought he'd take cows any day" (184). There are actually many people who would prefer being surrounded by animals rather than people. If people are so rational, then why would this be. Is it the rational people who would prefer to be surrounded by animals.

Most animals also don't lie. People lie every day, to enemies, friends, family, loved ones, themselves. Animals (as far as we know) don't lie, simply because they do not talk. Since they don't speak our language, they can't lie. How can we be more rational than animals if we aren't even inclined to tell the truth.

Reflection on Part 2 of Strength in What Remains

In the second part of the book Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder, what was most fascinating to read about was the part where Deo and the author visit the University of Columbia where Deo used to go to college. As Deo walks into the University, he reacts with such enthusiasm and excitement as if he were a child looking at a bunch of presents under a Christmas tree. This place I think for Deo was like a home to him, a place where he could learn and make something of himself. He had suffered so much but with a lot of support and financial help from his friends Nancy and Charlie, he could finally pursue his dream for a medical profession and be able to help people in Burundi who seriously needed medical attention.

When Deo talks about his studies in philosophy at the University of Colombia, it seemed that he was desperate to find answers to his questions about the “nature of good and evil, humanity and God” (page 183). Out of all the questions he asked, I found his question about God the most fascinating. He says “who is left to trust, really? God? God the most powerful, who let everything happen?” (page 183). This question is interesting to me because while he was seeking the answer to this question he was still struggling with his vivid horrific memories of the genocide in his country. He knew he couldn’t trust anyone there and so questioned whom to trust in this world even to the point of questioning if God was trustworthy and seemed to blame him for what happened. Now since then he had learned to accept God into his life as a way to cope with what he had gone through instead of blaming God for what happened in his country. In doing so he had found peace in his life.

It was really fascinating to read about Deo going through so much in his life and still having such perseverance to survive, learn, and hold on to his dignity no matter what obstacles came his way. It really made me think about if I went through what he had gone through would I still have the will to survive and live or would I give up and die? I don’t know, all I know is that Deo’s story was very inspirational to me and made me think that anything is possible if you keep hold onto your will to live, have a dream of a better future for yourself and the desire to help other people out of pure selflessness.

Courage

I believe courage to be not the absence of fear or doubt or despair but the strength to conquer and persevere. Allowing doubt to overwhelm can lead to destruction. In Deo’s case, he could have given up while on the run and wound up dead. Or he could have lost all hope while in New York. Or even worse, he could have given in to all his anger and sadness on his return home, and turned into a man out for revenge. But he didn’t do any of this. He did, of course have doubts, and in his case, many of them remained in his head and not expressed to others. He says clearly, “You know how many times I just thought I would give up” (239). I don’t believe anyone could read his story and argue that he wasn’t strong-willed. So why do certain people have such a capacity to persist, such drive? At first I thought part of the reason for Deo, was his independence and although it served its detrimental action of loneliness, I believed it to be a reason for survival, at least while on the run. Deo was grounded enough to not fall to the persuasion or fear of others. He didn’t allow others to get into his head and cause conflict. He was always conflicted as to why people could do such horrible things, but he never questioned his view values of right or wrong. He never questioned his purpose. He solely fought for his survival. “I really have been successful in finding my own peaceful corners. On my own” (188).
Another reason for his survival was his education and passion for learning. He left his mind open and “trained [it to be] flexible” (188). He kept questioning and never damaged himself by being set in stone about it all. Through his philosophy studies and general education, he found a way to engage his mind for growth, to find and foster curiosity, and to actively keep his mind from being trapped my hatred. With a dispositioned sense of compassion, war in Burundi and the sights of violence and hate created more compassion. He took the energy source, digested it with whatever he had, and regenerated energy back into life. Even in all his trials and tribulations, he found space to be humble, engaged, and “always leave room for uncertainty”
I will never know what it’s like to be Deo. I will never know how it feels to be him, to know what he knows and see what he’s seen. But I do know I can learn from him. I am truly inspired. Like Kidder says “These were truisms, things everyone should learn in college.” I can only hope to have Deo’s optimism, call to action, and intelligence.