Recently, a video shared by Mimi (@syamimia_) on her TikTok page told the story of her mother who is blind and her father who struggled to earn a living for their family.
In the video, she talks about how great her mother is and what it’s like being raised by someone who is visually-impaired and the sacrifices that her mother had made to raise her and her two sisters.
Photo via TikTok (@syamimia_)
She also shared what it’s like going to work with her mother who is a tissue seller.
“It’s not easy for me to share about my family on social media. But here we are, this is the story of my family. My family isn’t perfect, but they’re quite extraordinary. I was raised by a visually-impaired mother. For me, umi is a perfect woman. She trades tissues at night in Kuala Lumpur.
“One time in 2000, a reporter took a picture of my mother and called her a beggar in their caption. I used to follow umi to work and sell tissues with her during school holidays, and it was very embarrassing. Many just looked at her and shoo-ed her away,” she said in the video.
She said that her mother never forced anyone to buy her tissues and that her mother was merely selling it.
Her mother works hard so that she can take care of her children as best as possible.
Photo via TikTok (@syamimia_)
“My mother once told me that, ‘Normal people like me, they don’t like her. They are arrogant and they like to take her pictures without her knowing. They call me a beggar even though I am working selling these tissues,’” she said.
Mimi told her mother that one day she would tell her mother’s story to everyone so that people wouldn't think badly towards visually-impaired people who are just trying to make a living.
Unfortunately, her mother died of stage four ovarian cancer.
The TikTok video has since garnered over 2.2 million views, 322 thousand likes, 8679 comments at the time of writing.
This is wonderful, thank you for sharing your story with us, Mimi!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
