DUYGU, that’s the name of the girl who pierced Jude’s ears so she could wear the beautiful sparkling earrings that her grandmother had been longing to see in her ears.
It has long been usual in our nation, Libya, to pierce a child’s ears in the first few weeks of life. This practice enhances the beauty and femininity of children’s innocence, making them even more lovely and delicate. It also ensures that the child’s memory of the pain disappears because the child will not be able to recollect the discomfort at such a young age.
When we landed in Turkey in the autumn of 2020, I realized that most Turkish ladies do not have their ears pierced. I’m still not sure why this is happening, but every time they saw my daughter Jude with her sparkly earrings, their faces lit up with admiration and longing. They seemed to be carrying a melancholy within them.
They would ask, “Why did you pierce her ears?” as a follow-up. Sometimes, even without being asked, they expressed dissatisfaction through their facial expressions.
My daughter had a doctor’s appointment planned seven days after her birth, just a week after she joined our small family. This was an appointment with the gynecologist who had conducted her Caesarean delivery, guaranteeing a quiet and secure entrance into the world—a moment of profound calm that I had never observed before.
The gynecologist “Jale” examined my daughter’s mother and verified the effects of the C-section during this consultation. She then sent us to a pediatrician, who would assess Jude’s overall health after the first week of her existence.
After the pediatrician completed his examination and declared Jude to be in good health, her mother realized it was time for us to pierce Jude’s ears and adorn her with her grandmother’s gold earrings, which she had been longing to see on her.
We informed the doctor “Fatima,” who had served as a liaison between us and the hospital where our daughter was born, of our desire to pierce Jude’s ears. She pointed us to the drugstore, which was directly across the street from the hospital.
We walked into the fairly crowded drugstore and stood in the back, waiting for the appropriate opportunity to tell the pharmacist that we were there to pierce our daughter’s ears.
However, it was only a matter of moments until DUYGU discovered little Jude, who was being wrapped in a warm blanket by her mother. I recall the temperature being a little cool in April. DUYGU approached Jude with a caring grin, moved by her youth and purity.
We told her we wanted to pierce Jude’s ears so she could wear her lovely grandmother’s jewelry. “How old is your daughter?” DUYGU inquired, looking at me. I told her she was barely a week old. DUYGU’s expression displayed great concern once more, as if to convey that my soft heart couldn’t tolerate piercing the ears of this beautiful little girl!
That was certainly the case with Jude. With just one look at her, I was overcome with the need to hold her in my hands and play with her using those odd and incomprehensible sounds and words.
My wife and I decided that she would record this historic event while I would hold Jude to prevent any unexpected movements. Her abrupt movement could complicate the piercing procedure!
Despite several attempts to wake Jude, she remained fast asleep. Her profound sleep added to the difficulty, as piercing her ears would almost certainly induce discomfort and a severe sting.
DUYGU gathered her power and positioned the piercing gun correctly. She pierced the first ear, then the second, which caused her tremendous discomfort. Jude cried for almost three minutes before she calmed down and resumed her comfortable sleep.
This procedure was not without observers. An elderly woman approached us from behind the nearby shelves, eager to impart her knowledge on how to handle infants while having their ears pierced. She suggested us to wrap Jude in a blanket to keep her warm.
We took a souvenir photo of Jude wearing her grandmother’s gold earrings, and, of course, DUYGU held Jude and took a picture with her—a photograph that would immortalize this precious memory. After her first week, it was Jude’s first experience and adventure in life.
So the story of Jude’s ear piercing unfolded, depicting a blend of cultural traditions, maternal love, and a stranger named DUYGU’s curiosity and compassion. It became a story to be repeated, reminding us of the priceless moments that make up our lives’ tapestry.