"Do You See this Woman?"

By Esther Bargatze, Junior

An original artwork created by Esther to reflect her poem.

For my Historical Biographies class, taught by Ms. Mathews, last semester we all read a book about a different hero of faith. At the beginning of this semester we created a verbal expression based on what we learned from our books. I chose Cathrine Hamlin and read her autobiography. She was an obstetrician from Australia who went to Ethiopia to work at a hospital for three years, she ended up spending the rest of her life there and founded the first fistula hospital in Ethiopia. Her ministry became healing women who suffered from fistula’s which was an injury that occurred during childbirth. In first world countries fistulas were (and still are) very rare and quickly treatable, but in Ethiopia they were a tragic commonality. Cathrine Hamlin gave her life to treating women in Ethiopia who had been suffering from a fistula, these women were often neglected and ostracized because they were seen as unclean. 

The piece I wrote is about the experience of these fistula patients in Ethiopia and their journey, including being treated. I wanted my piece to challenge people to consider if they let cultural norms and what they feel is normal effect how they perceive a person. I also created an art piece to go along with what I wrote.

She labors for days

Lacking medical aid results in mysterious complications.

She’s left ashamed of an unknown ailment, incurable.

If she's not ostracized by her community she isolates because of humiliation.

Her vulnerability leaves her susceptible to being trampled

but what was forced upon her left calluses.

What was a giver of life gave birth to death.

She is either forced to embrace motherhood alone

or forced to embrace the loss of a child alone.

Forced to embrace the medical repercussions of childbirth, alone.

Forced to navigate the disgust, disgrace and dishonor of being an unclean woman who is facing alone

the result of a reality that takes advantage of her vulnerability then declares her impure, repulsive,

and untouchable.

“Untreatable,” at the risk of having to face the personal discomfort of seeing someone so broken

so hurt in a part of the body that makes you uncomfortable to even think about.

So she is seen but disregarded.

It wasn’t until a hospital by the river that she heard, “daughter, your faith has made you well.”

There she was told, “child, arise.”

“Do not weep,” she was comforted,

healed from her wounds and freed from her societal “sins”.

The love of those who committed themselves to healing ushered in a calm voice that spoke

peacefully, “woman, you are freed from your disability.”

She had traveled weeks to receive a procedure that took fifteen minutes.

Those fifteen minutes cured her of a life lived neglected.

Before she had been downcast and miserable; now she was reborn as a beautiful, smiling woman,

with a look of joy in her eyes.

Do you see this woman?

Or do you only smell filth?

Do you only see her injuries?

Does it make you uncomfortable to see another human being so completely drenched in discomfort?

Or do you have the eyes to see this woman?

Can you strip away every cultural and personal concept for what you believe is normal…

Dr. Cathrine Hamlin with one of her cured fistula patients in Ethiopia.

or will you live blinded by a veil you’ve unknowingly accepted and accustomed yourself to?

Look up and let the veil fall off your face

your eyes will be redirected downwards to unexpected places,

to unexpected people.

But you will truly see them.

And you will see them as precious.

You will see them as God does.