![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/20130806-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/em>For years Mario has worked at a company that recently began to hire many Bangladesh workers. He recounts: \u201cAt first it wasn\u2019t easy, but then things got better. They were making an effort to learn the work and were offered assistance when the language became a problem. Well, there was some lingering mistrust, especially in the departments.\u201d Mario doesn\u2019t talk much, but very observant and able to know what people are thinking. He sees their problems and listens with interest, this is why he\u2019s a good man to work with.<\/p>\n Then one day something else happened that regarded a colleague at work. It bothered Mario and he talked about it with his wife, Silvia: \u201cHossain has to go back to Bangladesh for the holidays. He asked that someone accompany him, after being paid, to the airport. If only you knew how much grumbling there was then, everyone saying that he could manage it on his own, and should they lose a day of vacations in order to do him this favour?\u201d Mario hesitated and coughed a bit, as Silvia moved cups and dishes around the kitchen. \u201cYou go, if you feel like it,\u201d his wife suggested. \u201cIf you were the one in need, you\u2019d be glad to find people who were willing to help, wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d \u201cYeah, I have thought about it. It\u2019s a long trip, but I don\u2019t want him to pay.\u201d \u201cYou do well, and pay no attention to the criticism from others.\u201d<\/p>\n The day came. Everyone said goodbye to Hossain with a certain joking and euphoria: \u201cDon\u2019t trust this one,\u201d someone said, \u201cyou never know where he\u2019ll take you!\u201d \u201cBut go on,\u201d says another, \u201cyou didn\u2019t feel like taking him, but Mario yes, I\u2019d certainly trust myself to him anytime!\u201d Mario and Hossain departed and travelled for 200 kilometres, but when Hossain wanted to repay him for the ride Mario reiterated: \u201cI don\u2019t want anything, I\u2019m glad to take you and wish you a good trip. I know it will be a bit tiring, but you\u2019ll be happy once you see your children and friends!\u201d<\/p>\n Hossain was visibly moved, he didn\u2019t expect this! A hasty farewell, boarding and then Mario was on his way back home. A month went by, a quiet month, at lunch they often spoke of Houssain and his upcoming return. \u201cAnd how will he get back?\u201d the family asked. His return is taken care of, Mario informed them, because some of his countrymen who will be travelling with him will give him a lift to his house. When Houssain returned to the factory, Mario was waiting to meet him and listen to all the stories about his visit to another side of the world, where the daily struggles can even involve sharing in the emotional fatigue of having to leave and return to one\u2019s family and loved ones.<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t long to wait. When he tracked him down, he found Houssain excited and happy. He told of his visit, how his children had grown and the feasts with relatives. . . Then he unrolled a large carpet before the Italian. Mario looked at it with curiosity but never expected to hear Houssain say: \u201cA carpet for you.\u201d Mario\u2019s eyes widened as he thought of how Silvia would be surprised. She had never received a gift like this! It seemed like the flying carpet from those stories he read as a child when he had dreamt of flying on a magic carpet to faraway lands. He closed his eyes and dreamt again, but there was Houssain\u2019s carpet still in front of him, a token of gratitude and a seal on a friendship that had the flavour of a fairy tale.<\/p>\n Annamaria Gatti <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A friendship born at the workplace between an Italian and a Bangladeshi. A gesture of solidarity and a gift of gratitude for overcoming daily indifferences, inconveniences and joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-342154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focolare-worldwide-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}