by Conscious Reminder
History repeats itself as Irish people come together to help the Choctaw people in these times of crisis.
Hearts moved across the Irish nation as they heard of the particularly harsh treatment the Choctaw people were receiving due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They started a GoFundMe page that gained wide attention and approval from all over Ireland as thousands joined in on the campaign.
A similar incident had taken place more than 170 years before. During the Irish potato famine, in 1845, thousands faced starvation and then a painful and untimely death.
The Choctaw people had shown their solidarity by collecting 170 dollars from their own pockets and sending it to the Irish. 170 dollars in 1845 would be over today’s 5,000 dollars. The donation was raised after the tribal nations held a meeting in Oklahoma.
Any positive news during the time of a global pandemic is a sigh of relief, but this news is particularly emotional and affirming for us. This news about a 170-year-old act of kindness reviving another act of kindness affirms the fact that positive karma does come back.
Sometimes it might take years to come around, but it always does. Sometimes it might have come around already unknown to us, as a part of a larger picture. Every single being in this universe is interconnected, and any act of kindness done to someone will positively affect the rest as well.
It has been many years of tough times for the tribal nations of Navajo and Hopi. Starting from the 1830s, the Choctaw people were forced to move out of their ancestral land, and move into a new place. During this tough forced ejection, the tribal nation witnessed thousands of fatalities as they traveled along the Trail of Tears.
Naomi O’Leary, a journalist from The Irish Times, recently retweeted the fundraising page from the Hopi and Navajo nations. “Native Americans raised a huge amount in famine relief for Ireland at a time when they had very little. It’s time for is [sic] to come through for them now”, O’Leary wrote on Saturday.
The campaign’s organizer, Ethel Branch, said: “It’s very unexpected, but it’s just incredible to see the solidarity and to see how much people who are so far away care about our community and have sympathy for what we’re experiencing.” Till Thursday, the campaign has raised over $3 million!
The relief fund will be used to buy and distribute basic necessities for the two Native American communities.
Back in 1845, during the Irish potato famine, the devastating news was reported in multiple American newspapers. Major William Armstrong then stepped up and called a meeting where the Choctaw chiefs were present.
The chiefs could especially empathize with the Irish people’s hardship as they too had experienced starvation during their long walk on the Trail of Tears.
In 1992, several Irish brothers and sisters took the road of the Trail of Tears to raise relief funds for the famine that was going on in Somalia. The group raised $170,000. This amount was also related to the Choctaw gift, $1000 for every dollar they had sent in 1847.
In the year 2017, a sculpture was set up in Midleton, Ireland. The sculpture was an homage to the Choctaw community and their act of generosity in 1847.
Only a community that has suffered can truly understand the sufferings of another. An act of kindness is not reserved for any particular community.
The universe helps everyone that helps others. In times of grief, even a smile can bring some comfort to the downtrodden. What goes around comes around.
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