大象传媒

From Remona Aly, Freelance journalist and editor:

The newsfeed on COVID-19 has been so constant and consuming that I saw a meme this week saying, 鈥業 miss Brexit鈥�. It made me chuckle, but I can鈥檛 say I share the sentiment, as Brexit-related jargon has managed to ruin my name - Remona.聽

People have often got my name mixed up. One time, I was at a course and placed in a team with a well-meaning Arab guy. 鈥淪alam, sister! Your name?鈥� he asked. 鈥淩emona,鈥� I said, 鈥淩umana, yes! In Arabic, it is pomegranate.鈥� 鈥淣o, not a fruit, my name鈥檚 Remona.鈥� A few attempts later, he said, 鈥淥k I got it!鈥� And standing up to address the room he said, 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to have a young woman on my team called...Reminder!鈥�

I recently bought a book that points out, it鈥檚 not what people say, it鈥檚 what you hear.聽That no matter what words are said, a person will only understand them through the prism of their own life experience, emotions and beliefs.

There鈥檚 a Sufi Muslim tale of a group of frogs travelling through the woods, when two of the frogs fell into a deep pit. The others kept telling the two panicked frogs to stop trying to jump out, as it was no use to kill themselves from exhaustion. One heeded the advice and gave up, but the other kept on going and finally leapt to its freedom. The frogs were surprised and said, 鈥淒id you not hear us?鈥� The little frog said: 'I thought you were encouraging me the whole time. That's why I never gave up.鈥�

The frog heard what he needed to hear, gave a different power to their words and ultimately survived. Sometimes, as a journalist, I get some people seeking to pull me down,聽and stop me from having a voice. It can be disheartening. But whenever they throw a brick at my head, I鈥檒l place it beneath my feet and rise higher, with even more determination.

The Persian Muslim poet, Shams of Tabriz, said, "There is only one important point you must keep in your mind and let it be your guide. No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life?"

For me, that鈥檚 the best 鈥榬eminder鈥� this Remona could hope for.