Читать книгу Test-&-mend - Juanna Artmane - Страница 2

The story within the covers of this edition is a reflection of lives – partially of my own and partially the combined image of those, I grew up surrounded by.

I was born and cultivated in the culture, where national wisdom spreads the following proverbs: “Those, who don’t beat their daughters, will beat their knees”, “Girl is a burden, like salt”, “Let a girl free and she will marry God knows whom!”. All these examples absorb the accumulated through centuries “wisdom of sages”.

Raising me, my family orthodoxly adhered to these words, which I despise and find ridiculous. Now, being a mother of two girls myself, I categorically refuse to follow these guidelines in their upbringing. I do take pains to shield them from the conventions! Unfortunately, I cannot change the situation for others!

The aim of this book is to address my nation: do you feel, it is high time we steered clear from the cliches of the past? Do you see the evil in the whole structure of our existence?

This, produced from the bottom of my heart, monologue is targeted at hundreds and thousands of those, who still fail to see the situation from aside. The story line explains in detail, what might happen to the apple of your eye – your precious princess – while you are sticking to the pecking order of these outdated rules. However, mothers, mine included, do not see a single fault and whole-heartedly support the thing, which breaks trust between them and their off-springs.

However, I do believe, they do it unintentionally! I do believe, they are blinded by the cultural taboos – they simply cannot see what harm they are doing. Probably, if I stayed in that social medium, I would think the way they do.

Thanks God, my siblings do not suffer from the broken trust; they do not witness all the domestic cruelties I had to overcome; they will not be forced to sort out the consequences this blindness entails for the rest of their lives!

People! Cruelty does not exist outwards – in some given Testament! Sadly, it exists within our hearts and not only in one sphere!

The story will take you into a city, where there are layers upon layers of violence; where the government put binds on those, they make a cat’s paw service of; where there are numerous cunning schemes to clench common people on those binds; where each family is a pyramid of cruelty that copies the brutality of the whole State. Up until now, the scheme is an uninterrupted chain…

To finish my introductory word, I would like to turn to Abu Said-al-Hudri’s catchphrase, where he suggests that we could at least change our own attitude to the things going around. This is the minimum, each of us can afford!

I plucked up the courage to write this semi-autobiographical book and share the story, which, I am absolutely sure, is and will be an eternal food for thought for many more generations to come. I must admit that my task would not be completed but for some God-blessed people that cropped up on my severe path to maturity:

– My University Teacher and the editor of this story

– Pugacheva Elena Y., who supported me through the whole process of writing;

– The person, who inspired me to undertake this responsible enterprise and to whom I express my deepest gratitude – Feshchenko Ruslan M.;

– Each member of my family, who endorses my prospects, though still not totally shares my point of view.

Do not be harsh on me!

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