I don’t remember anyone ever telling me not to talk with strangers. As a result, I’ve never avoided it and it has been fine. In turn, I’ve never told any of my daughters to avoid strangers and I don’t intend doing so either. I believe that this sort of warning does more harm than good. The probability of something terrible happening is low and the lifelong cost of not getting to know more people is high. The only warning about strangers that I can remember came from my elementary school teacher, who told us not to accept candy from them. Fair enough.
On a trip to returning from Shenzhen years ago, I had a day to kill before my flight out of Hong Kong. I walked around the city for a few hours and eventually took a rest on a bench in one of its many parks. After some time, a young man around my age sat next to me and we started talking. His name was Jawaid and he was originally from India but had moved to Hong Kong to earn money. He was there illegally, working as a mechanic in a body shop. I was a little anxious at first, expecting him to ask for money, an anxiety which I’m ashamed of now. Instead, he asked if I wanted to eat something, because he knew a good place nearby. He took me to a mall where most people were African immigrants, and in one corner there was a tiny place selling delicious wraps. We sat down and I learned some more about him. He had a girlfriend in Hong Kong who was from the Philippines and they were only able to see each other once a week, since that was the only time she could get off work. He was curious about the girls where I came from. He liked Hong Kong but he was hoping to move to a place that was more welcoming to Muslims like himself. Because he had entered Hong Kong on a short-term visa which had expired a long time ago, if he ever left, he could never return. This meant that he hadn’t been able to see his family back in India for years. Did I want to go see the fireworks together in the evening?
When it came to paying for the wraps, I took my wallet, but he wouldn’t have any of it. After a long back and forth, I gave in and he paid for both of us.
Nehaveigur 