"Home is where the habitat is"

Jak jsem již zmínila výše, chtěla bych s Vámi sdílet krátkou esej, kterou jsme měli za úkol zpracovat v rámci mého volitelného předmětu pár týdnů zpět. Jelikož zde byl limit 250 slov, tak se nejedná o úplně rozsáhlou práci, ale o to více se mi líbí jednotlivé paralely, které v ní vidím. Téma - “Home is where the habitat is” (Domov je tam, kde je obydlí) - bylo poměrně striktně dané a vzhledem k agrární charakteristice předmětu i přírodně zaměřené, to však nemění nic na faktu, že jsem se právě díky této práci dokázala zaměřit na to, co všechno si můžeme pod pojmem “domov” představit a co to pro mě vlastně znamená - nyní si více než kdy jindy uvědomuji, že pro člověka může “domov” znamenat více než místo a nemusí být jen jeden. 

Esej (v původním znění se mi líbí více, jinak doporučuji překlad přes DeepL):

Home is where the habitat is, that's what they say. A beautiful flower blooming in a meadow, a squirrel hidden in the branches of a tree or people sitting in the company of their loved ones. But is it that simple?  

By "habitat" we might think of a dwelling that symbolizes a place we grew up in, had good times in, or just moved into yesterday with our longed-for partner. What happens when we don't have such a place, is the original statement still true?

A child who has been abused and raised in an orphanage would hardly agree, how could he? He experiences hours, days, weeks - maybe even months - of solitude in a place that is his habitat, but he would never call it home. His bed is like a lonely island in the middle of a stormy sea. His heavy blanket represents the weight of all his problems. Strictly planned days resemble a prison and there is no escaping. 

If he could, what answer would a dog in a shelter unknowingly waiting for his last sleep caused by a thin needle give? He did not choose his habitat, but he is forced to live in it - or rather, survive. It's hard enough to live in such a small space with constant stress. 

When he makes his displeasure known, he is harshly silenced by the voice of the workers, who can't wait to get back to their house in the evening, sit on the couch and watch their favourite evening show. In other words, we can say that they return to their home - unfortunately, not everyone has this option. This clearly shows that the habitat doesn’t determine what is and isn’t home, so let’s just think about it for a minute.