Will you go through your whole life with untied shoelaces? － 靴ひもがほどけたまま、一生を送りますか？－

As a young boy, growing up in Sudan, Mohamed never learned to tie his shoelaces.  He was bigger than most other boys his age, and confident.  If his shoelaces came undone, he would order another boy to tie them for him.  And there would always be someone who did it. 

Then Mohamed developed an eye condition.  His eyesight deteriorated as he started to go blind.  He should have learned how to tie his shoelaces.  He should have asked one of his school teachers, or his mother to teach him how to do it.  But he felt ashamed.  He didn’t want people to think that he couldn’t tie his shoelaces because of his disability. 

So he continued to hide his inability from others.  He would throw the laces together in a random way and hope that they held together, or tuck the laces into his shoes.  He managed to go through elementary school, junior high school and high school in this way.

When he was 19, Mohamed won a scholarship to study acupuncture in Japan.  His prospects in Sudan didn’t look good, and so he took the opportunity, and the risk.

He was initially enrolled in a blind school, where he could study Japanese intensively, and also learn how to get around by himself using his white cane.  A specialised instructor from Osaka took him out of his dormitory to teach him how to get around the local area.  He noticed that one of Mohamed’s shoelaces had come untied.  He told Mohamed about it, who stopped and, embarrassed, threw his shoelaces together at random and tried to continue.  The instructor realised that Mohamed didn’t know how to tie his shoelaces and so cancelled the lesson and suggested that they go back to the dormitory to practice tying and untying shoelaces.  Mohamed became angry and stopped listening to the instructor, outraged at having his secret shame exposed.

The instructor said to him, “Look, I understand your embarrassment.  You should have learned to do this long ago.  But you have a chance to overcome your problem and never to feel embarrassed about it again.  This might be your last chance to learn.  Or will you go through your whole life with untied shoelaces?”

Mohamed apologised.  And after several hours of practice, he learned how to tie his shoelaces.

***

I have just finished listening to a book written in Japanese called “Waga mousou(わが盲想)”, by the blind Sudanese writer, Mohamed Omer Abdin.  The scene which has stayed with me is Mohamed’s tale about learning to tie his shoelaces, which I have summarised above.

Perhaps you can tie your shoelaces, but what other flaws have you hidden for years beneath layers of pride or shame?  Hopefully, as with Mohamed, it is not too late to change.

 

Vocabulary:

to deteriorate – For the condition of something to become worse

a disability – A physical or mental handicap

acupuncture – The practice of sticking needles into the body in order to relieve pain, promote good health etc.

one’s prospects – One’s future chances, opportunities

to do something intensively – to study, work etc. a great deal in a short space of time

a cane – a stick, used to help someone walk, or blind people to test the ground in front of them

to be outraged – to be very angry or offended

for something to be exposed – For something secret or unknown to become known

flaws – imperfections; defects