Friday, March 19, 1965 University Daily Kansan
Page 7
Summer Project Unites East and West on Island
Bv Lacv Banks
Lacy Banks is a Kansas City senior at KU. He is majoring in French and Spanish and he is copresident of the KU-Y. After graduation this spring Lacy will start working for the Kansas City Star. He hopes to become a lawyer.
Part of my participation in YMCA work camp in East Asia last summer was an adventurous two weeks on Yellow Mud Island, one of Hong Kong's uninhabited islands. My group of eight Americans and nine Chinese students were to build a toolshed for a future YMCA camp.
We were to accomplish in two weeks what men for well over four centuries have failed to do: try to merge East and West through mutual understanding. The building of the tool shed was of subordinate importance—one of the many tools in a laboratory where an important human relations experiment was to take place.
The work hours came in the frying heat of the day. To everyone the heat was a problem, but to me it was more special. Being a Negro, I was already the most outstanding one in the group; I would occasionally joke, because I stood out the most. The sun gave the group's darkhorse a tan.
Not only was the heat a bother, but the water as well.
THE LACK OF FRESH, clean water required us to boil it for purification. But instead of boiling it the night before so that it would be cool, our cook, an elder from a nearby village, always boiled it at breakfast time.
During the first two days, we concentrated on getting adjusted to our new environment and to each other. The cool nights, the open landscape, the pine scented fresh air, the beautiful scenery and the wonderful beach where we often swam, were assets to the attractiveness of the camp. We were in the thick of the anopheles mosquito area, but our mosquito nets and medical pills kept us free of malaria.
Our daily stays in the village lasted about three and a half hours. As soon as we arrived, we would struggle through the dense narrow streets until we approached the school, there to hear lectures on such hairy subjects as "The Political History of China" or "Comparison of Eastern and Western Cultures."
WHEN WE returned to the island, we would swim, have dinner, then prepare to better acquaint ourselves with each other through the philosophy-of-life discussions where a Chinese and an American student each gave a general presentation of his family, his personal history and views on various subjects. However, there were problems in really getting personal with each other. Such problems were:
1. LANGUAGE DIFFICULTY—The Americans speak English much better than the Chinese but we spoke no Chinese. The Chinese in trying to satisfy our communication often were unable to express themselves and this became frustrating to both parties.
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2. REFUSAL TO COMMUNICATE—The Chinese students elected not to talk about themselves many times. Their families and their political views were too personal because of pride and fear. Their family histories were considered sacred and their political views were feared to endanger their possibilities of coming to America some day.
3. POLARIZATION or Separation—During the second week the groups occasionally separated because of nationalistic influences and frustrating communications. The inequality of language skills caused some of us Americans to be suspicious of the Chinese because they, finding English problematic, often spoke Chinese around us.
If we wanted to say something about them, we had to talk privately. They could say what they wanted right in front of us and we wouldn't know the difference until we would look up and see them laughing and looking at us.
lege student, and I were the only Americans who could speak foreign languages, so we tried to counter-communicate by speaking and joking in Spanish around the Chinese. They would often look at us rather puzzled, then at one another and walk away. That eventually brought about a compromise between the two groups to talk only in English whenever we were in public.
Dave McMahill, a Dartmouth Col-
Although we did not succeed 100 per cent in merging the East and West,we brought them closer together.
DURING OUR last night on the island, we had a program where each team (8) gave a 10-minute program that included a skit, song and game. Much tension was alleviated that night, as most teams gave skits that poked fun at many of the problems that we had while on the island. We found ourselves laughing at our own deeds and those of each other. When we laughed at them, our past actions were no longer harmful and tension-provoking.
We learned much about each other, not merely as Americans and Chinese, but as individuals. We realized many of our differences and grew to understand them rather than just tolerating them. This was not meant to be a two-week crash program. It was part of a worldwide and timeless movement. We all benefited from what we accomplished.
If all we accomplished was the establishment of a few friendships and the realization of a few differences, we achieved more human treasure than all the conquering armies of King David.
The YMCA is doing much to bring young men from all parts of the world closer together; to make them understand differences, values and similarities; to accept several challenges in a world of dreadful and delightful possibilities. That, I feel, is good. Where there are friendship armaments, there need not be military.
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