INTERCULTURAL

LEADERS

Iván Fernández García

Summer Schools

When I was child, a Chinese family moved to my Spanish city. As they lived near my home, my parents started helping them to get used to their new life. Becoming the new playmate of their kids was my task. I had never seen anyone so different in my life: their eyes, language, games, religion... They talked about somebody called Buddha, their own god. What? How was such a thing possible? I guess I was expecting a strange behaviour as if they were a kind of aliens. But it did not happen. They cried, enjoyed, played, breathed... the same as me, even though they looked so different. They became my best friends. Sharing games with those Chinese kids was the biggest present in life. Because I acquired values. It was like a seed which made me defend values like equality and respect. A seed I could water when I grew up and travelled the world getting to know people from different cultures and religions. We had similar likes or interests despite of coming from so different backgrounds. It was magical. I had to show it to the rest of the world. A peaceful coexistence was possible. That is what I try to spread with my videos, working as a journalist or just sharing my experience every time someone states an unfortunate, disrespectful comment against people based on a cultural difference. And it all started with an immigrant family that inspired me.