Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Recording family and national history
Citation preview
70 | Bahrain Confidential | February 2013
Opinion
John Ridley talks about the importance of
he colours and smells of a traditional sweet shop are reminiscent of a spice market. The shelves, lined with screw top jars of boiled sweets and candied fruits, evoke memories of childhood friendships.
Beyond the evocative taste, smells and colours, the shop may seem to be of little interest, yet it’s simple emotional triggers are significant to many.
Memories and smells remind us of time spent with grandparents or hot summer days with friends, reading books and letters, or exploring libraries. The smell of tomato plants brings back a complex array of my childhood memories. My mother and grandfather were horticulturalists; every day after school I was tasked with watering, what seemed at the time, to be thousands of plants. For me, the smell is inextricably linked to events of the time that were important to me - moon landings, my first girlfriend and Pink Floyd.
School history was often uninspiring, I may remember English Kings and their battles, but what I remember most is a white paper bag of sweets, shared among friends at the back of the class. In England, as I was growing up, the owner of the sweet shop would have seen military service - still recent enough for emotional links to remain strong. He will have untold stories of day to day life during his childhood and later life;
personal adventure, tragedy, joy and achievement. His memories and insights can help us understand why soldiers joined the military, the countries where they fought and died, and the futility of war.
Bahrain, like any other developed country, has a rich past, chronicled by the national museum; but personal stories which complete the jigsaw of national history, are often missing. If not recorded we lose the all important personal histories of the people who ultimately shaped our society and nation - our loved ones; friends, family and ancestors.
Letter FromJohn R Ridley
“Every one of us has a contribution, an emotional trigger to share and a story to be told.”
T
Our relatives might have achieved much in science, government or business, or they may have had “ordinary lives”. Irrespective of the path followed, every one of us has a contribution, an emotional trigger to share and a story to be told.
Whilst compiling records of the lives of friends and loved ones, we should remember where they lived, their jobs, how they got to work, what they ate - and their eccentricities. Artefacts too are often emotional trigger, part of the story, the art work adorning the walls, furniture, photographs, jewellery; each piece is a part of the life of the person being chronicled.
But, this is not the job of governments, it is incumbent upon us all to record our stories and those of our families, painting a picture of our lives - before the memories are lost forever.
So much history has not been recorded and we risk losing so much more for future generations. Every one of us lives in a world that will be a mystery to our children and grandchildren if we don’t write it down.
Show your love and respect for the important people in your life, make this the year to document personal and family histories to share with your children, grandchildren and the nation and help future generations understand our lives and who we are
Visit http://www.ghostwriting.me/ to read the full version of this article and to find out how to record the personal history of your loved ones. John Ridley is a Bahrain based journalist, broadcaster and writer, he can be contacted [email protected] or [email protected]
Bahraindocumenting stories, history and personal lives.
