Mutual Aid

Abdul must have spotted the trouble from behind his counter. There he was suddenly on the upper path outside the shop with the bird firmly clasped in his hands—side-ways sliding smile when he realized he was being observed. Holding the bird, a gray and white pigeon, securely with the wings folded a supermarket sticker came away easily. It had covered a portion of the wing it seemed, making flight impossible. That must have been what had drawn Abdul's attention. At closer quarters however more trouble had become apparent. Turned belly-up, bright yellow twine could be seen wrapped around a claw. The pigeon had landed in some kind of refuse pile and got more than it bargained for. Poor birdie. Luckily Abdul Majid to the rescue. Good spotting. With the left hand holding the bird Abdul carefully picked at the string line with his right, picked and picked as if he were separating grit from seed (fennel perhaps). Unbidden, seeing the difficulty, Abou had come out to help. Abdul remained in his place while now Abou used both his hands to work the knots. Abou managed better, drawing up short lengths of the line, making some progress. Picking. It wasn't easy; it was a proper mess. More lengths of the bright yellow line fished up. There must have been near a dozen windings involved; perhaps a metre or more of twine in all. The bird had panicked in its entanglement and flapped and flapped; perhaps that was how the sticker. Abou wasn't making much progress. Almost instantaneously both together the men reaching the conclusion it was no good like that. Over to the utility corner Abdul head-nodded, Abou already half-inclined. There would be a knife there. 
         Indian-Malaysian grandsons of indentured labourers brought over from Tamil lands to the rubber plantations, the tin mines and rail-lines. Abou's wife and kids live in JB an hour away; Abdul's three hours in Malacca. Twelve hour shifts seven days a week and one day off a month for around thirteen hundred dollars. (Overtime adds on.) Abou has about fifty words of English; a good deal more Mr. Malacca, Abdul. Good guys, good buddies. The solidarity of toilers that must have been the same as that of their forebears. The kind of scene that each day brings in this community and gladdens the heart with a certain sufficiency.