Wednesday, January 11, 2023

During a visit to the ancient city of Matmata, our ensemble was invited to come inside the very humble dwelling place of a frail elderly woman. We greeted the woman as she worked intricately on a giant weaving mechanism which took up a large portion of the room. The old woman greeted us as she used her decades of experienced muscle memory to weave a beautiful multi-colored rug.

The man who lived with us explained that the rug she was crafting would take 6 months to complete, and that it would sell for roughly 60 Dinar - the equivalent of about $20.

The image was striking. It seemed to be a real challenge for me not to feel bad for this woman’s harsh economic conditions, as I did not want to take up any sort of irresponsible, ethnocentric mindset. Despite this challenge, this experience no doubt painted an alarming reality check of my privilege in an impoverished area.