"I don't want to see your ugly face around the campus until you bring 20 coconuts to me."" That's a phrase my dad heard and would never forget when he attended the Free Wesleyan Church Boys' School in Tonga. It was enough to make my dad transfer to another school even though his parents belonged to the Wesleyan church. Hate and anger are ugly emotions. They can cause people to do and say many things that hurt, or even take the lives of, human beings.
This semester in our English 201 class, the Holocaust is our main focus. Growing up in Tonga, I didn't think that the Holocaust really affected me until I read a couple of books, watched some movies, and discussed what we read and watched with other students in the class. Now the Holocaust is an event that really draws my attention, and causes me to reflect on my own culture and my own experiences growing up. Studying the Holocaust makes me realize that the Jewish people and their lives were very similar to the people in my own country, in taking responsibility at home and being discriminated against for who they are and what they believe.
Family is the most important unit in the society. Fathers have the responsibility to lead and raise the family. They are also supposed to provide food and shelter for their families. In the Jewish culture, fathers pursue their obligation for their family by doing their utmost daily to keep them in safety and health. Mothers are responsible to make sure that the home duties are well cared for. They stay home not only as housekeepers, but also as the responsible person for the family's finances. Jona Fuks explained how her mom raised them up. She said that her mom stayed home and fulfilled all the chores at home such as washing, cooking, cleaning, and watching the kids. She also controlled the family's financial income and expenses.
In my own family, I used to go and withdraw my parents' paycheck. They did not have two different accounts "they shared one account.