..siamo tutti fratelli e sorelle..

Seeing the crescent moon  more often when I have my night duties reminds me of the fast approaching Muslim tradition called Ramadan. It usually starts at the 1st day of August and is a month-long celebration of prayer and fasting. During these days, we Christians here in muslim soil are also one in their celebration. In fact, we are adjusting with their schedules of eating and waking up. It's hard having to wake patients up at dawn to give their medicines just before their fasting hours start. The day duty seems like a night shift and vice versa.

Though it is less than a month before Ramadan, I had experienced this what I called pre-Ramadan syndrome. I have a patient who just came back from the operating room. Concerned that all our post operative patients should be pain-free and which I believe is the highest priority, I started his pain medication. While turning the drip on, a woman sitting on the floor asked me "sister, are you a Muslim?". "No", my short replied. "But why?", she insistently asked. "I am a Christian", I said as I continued manipulating the bottle of paracetamol. "Haram". Though I am not fluent in speaking her language, I fully understood that word which means "prohibited". She did n't stopped from there. To add on, she also mentioned that they do Sawm or fasting (they are prohibited to eat, drink, or touch their wives-and well, their husbands from dawn to sundown)  Hajj or pilgimage (Muslim should do this once in their lifetime to Makkah or their Holy Place) and Salah or prayer (they pray five times a day, washing their body first after they did some bathroom privileges or sexual contact). And she mentioned all these to me as if saying that her religion is better than mine. I just kept my silence though I wanted to speak out and defend my own beliefs. 

I have high regards on how Muslims religiously abide with their responsibilities to their Allah. Just as I have high regards on how Christians do theirs to God. But I guess, it's how we live our life that reflects  and speaks who we are. It's not our religion that makes us being labeled as a Christian or Muslim, it is our actions and how we treat each other despite of our hundreds and one of differences.

To answer her question why I am a Christian, I just gave my best caring shot in taking care of her patient. The least I can do for a Muslim brother from a Christian care giver. As what our Red Cross t-shirt campaign says before ".siamo tutti fratelli e sorelle"..We are all brothers and sisters!