It is truth universally acknowledged that things often have a tendency to go wrong on
big, important days. And there’s no bigger a day than a wedding day.
A story that has been retold to me many-a-time is that of the zip on my Mum’s
wedding dress breaking as she stepped out of the car to head into the church.
Thank goodness, there was a lady with a knack for haberdashery sat in the
congregation who was able to pop out, after being given the nod, and lend a talented
hand – the delay no doubt alarming my Dad!
This little family tale echoes a greater story that took place when Aleppo was being
bombed terribly in 2016.
Jo Du, just a few hours before her wedding ceremony in Ontario, Canada, suffered a
similar wardrobe malfunction to my Mum – her zip went. Her family and bridesmaids
had no idea how to fix it, or (crucially) where to find a tailor on a Sunday.
Meanwhile, the quick thinking wedding photographer noticed that the next-door
neighbours of the house they had rented for the wedding, had their garage doors
open, so he floated the idea of a bridesmaid popping over to ask for a pair of pliers.
The girls agreed that it was their best option and, in a fortuitous turn of events, it
emerged that the neighbour had been hosting a family of Syrian refugees for the past
four days and – amazingly - the father had worked as a tailor in Aleppo for 28 years!
The family’s house and the tailoring business had been bombed and devastatingly
destroyed several years previously – and they’d since been waiting to move before
Canada eventually welcomed them.
But, back to saving the day! The Syrian father kindly said yes to the dress and set to
work. Without speaking a word of English, and with his family and the team of
bridesmaids anxiously looking on, he gave this bride back her dream day with its
starring outfit.
The Indian yogi and guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, once said - “Kindness is the light
that dissolves all walls between souls, families and nations.” This story, brilliantly
demonstrates the demolition of all three of these potential walls.
And of course this story is particularly powerful given the all-too-often negative
press that immigrants receive globally. Small-scale events like this are valuable
reminders of the shared humanity behind the passports we do, or do not, hold.