I was assigned by our company to Tunisia as an electrical engineer trainee on one of our projects. Aside from learning about our new equipment, I was also tasked to assist the senior engineer to complete this same project.

I finally reached the project site in Tunisia on August 2008, where I met my partner who was from another nation. He began by orienting me about the system (both theory and practice), and about the immediate tasks to be prioritized. We got along very well on the job, and even at meal times, we talked about many things. We got to know each other better.

Then, I began to observe that on several occasions, this colleague of mine was not reporting regularly for work at the site. But we still had many tasks to do, and deadlines to meet. Nevertheless, I did my best to perform my duties. Since the frequent absence of my colleague at the site was becoming noticeable, and the slow pace of our work was now being questioned by our client, I too came under pressure. Although fully aware that my counterpart held the full responsibility for all electrical-related tasks, I also felt that I too shared that responsibility. Due to the work-habits of my colleague, and about the slow pace of our work, I began to feel some resentment toward him. When he finally showed up at the site, I reminded him about his frequent absenteeism which was also noted by our client. However, he admonished me saying that he didn’t need to be reminded since he held full responsibility for all electrical-related issues. We then went over the tasks that had to be done, and he gave me new tasks.

On one occasion, while he was talking over some technical matters together with me and another electrician, I interrupted him to explain or add to his explanation. But he stared at me and reprimanded me for interrupting him. After this incident, I noticed that he tried not to involve me in the tasks or discussions about issues on the project. He would do things on his own or together with other electricians. He would deliberately discuss some matters with other electricians and sometimes leave me out of a project. Also, he avoided taking meals with me, and chose the company of others.

Due to this unfriendly treatment of my colleague, there was deep unease in my working relationship with him, and I felt left out since I was just then a trainee. It caused me some suffering, especially since we were out in the middle of the desert. On some occasions, I tried to ask him about some technical matters, but he told me to read instead, or he would just give me some vague tips. On other occasions, he would yell at me, when I did not do things right, and at some point, I started to yell back at him. I realized that we had a very unpleasant relationship. But even then, because we needed to finish the job, whenever he asked me to do things, I would obey and do the job.

After a while, I tried to figure out why things were not going very well with this colleague, for it was affecting our job. Maybe I wasn’t loving him genuinely, I thought. It was August 2008, and as I re-read that month’s Word of Life, "The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is sound, then your whole body is filled with light” (Lk 11:34). I came across the words which say … Out of love for Jesus, let your neighbors possess you. Like another Eucharist, let yourself “be eaten” by your neighbors. Put your entire self at their service, which is service to God, and your neighbors, will come to you and love you.

After reading this, I resolved to let myself be consumed by this colleague by being at his service, and genuinely loving him. I began by talking to him in a friendlier manner. Since it was still hot outside during that month, whenever we had work to do outside, I would volunteer to go get some cold drinks and offer it to him and my other colleagues. When we met again in the morning, I would exchange some greetings with him. Whenever he needed help like running for some tools, or checking things at the other end, I would offer to do it and also ask him what else he wanted me to do for him. I persisted in offering him water or some snacks during break periods. At a certain point, he smiled at me and remarked “... you’re a good man”. Deep inside, I was also feeling joy since the barrier between us was crumbling. Soon afterwards, he started to call me and explain technical matters. He showed me new techniques, and other new details about the system. After this, we became good friends again, and I learned many things from him. He even shared about his personal life, and the recent loss of his wife. Through his sharing of his personal experiences, I was able to understand him better.

Last December 2008, I was sent to Algeria to further my training and to help another colleague to finish a project. While working at the rig site, I was blocked by the language barrier, since the major languages in that country are French and Arabic, and very few people speak English. Nevertheless, it was also an opportunity for me to learn French. I brought along with me a small French phrase book.

I did my best to work and learn many new things. Soon after, I was fixing things which were not familiar to me before. Since we were working with some Algerian electricians, I also tried to explain to them certain things I was doing, and how I did it. Consequently, I was able to establish a good relationship with them. I came to know one of the superintendents at the site, and at one point we began discussing the Gaza conflict. They spoke about their anger against the Israelis. I told them that in my opinion, peace could reign in that region if there was a genuine dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis. They welcomed my opinion. Later this superintendent became a close friend of mine.

I had another experience with my chief electrician in Algeria. He had a strong personality and was quite rude to us. At first, I didn’t like him because of his rudeness. However, I tried my best to do what he demanded while I was also trying to avoid dealing with him. At the rig site, I was able to establish a relationship with some mechanics, drillers and electricians. Often when things were not so busy, I would join them and we would talk about life in their country, compared to life elsewhere, about work and their plans. During a chat with these friends of mine, the chief electrician joined us, and I sensed the uneasiness in our group. He then spoke with me and asked me to explain some technical matters. However, this time, he was quite nice to me, and I thought that maybe it could be due to my relationship with some of his peers in their company. So I tried to be more available for him, and after a while, he would show me around to explain other details which were quite new to me. Soon, he was coming to me to share with me some new information, or talk about some personal matters. Until our last day at work together, we always had good talks and shared nice jokes together.

On my last day at the rig site, when the client filled up my “Customer Feedback” form which I had to submit to our office, I was surprised to discover the ratings the customer gave me were rather high. Before I left the camp, many of my friends, including the waiters also asked me when I would be back again, and bid me bon voyage!

Indeed I have experienced that living the Word of Life in environments such as I’ve been in is a big help to fostering brotherhood and unity.

Jho Vergara