As I walked to the pharmacy with my three-year-old, I noticed that most yards were enclosed by walls more than a metre high. For some reason, my mind wandered over all the streets I had walked through during the past year and a half, and I realised that almost every yard I had seen was closed in.

As I continued walking, I shook my head because it reminded me of home in Cameroon. These days, almost every new house is built with a high wall around it. Society has changed, and people no longer feel safe enough to leave their doors open.

In contrast, I found myself thinking about my visit to Amsterdam in April 2026. I had gone to visit my Japanese friend-sister in Hof Van Groenen, and from there they kindly drove me to Hilversum, a beautiful little town, to visit family friends I had first known during my teenage years in Cameroon. As we sat in their living room, I noticed people passing by on the street glancing through the windows into the homes around us.

At first, I found it strange, but my host simply smiled. Later, he and his wife took me to Naarden-Vesting, the historic fortress town, and explained the history behind its beautiful star-shaped design. As we walked through the town, I noticed once again that there were no fences around the houses, and people looked through the windows quite naturally.

Curious, I asked my host whether it was not considered inappropriate to look into other people’s homes. He explained that, in their culture, living rooms were often decorated to be seen and admired. People displayed old antiques on shelves or arranged tulips of different colours on the windowsills for others to enjoy.

That way of thinking challenged what I had grown used to seeing. It was comforting to know that there were still places where people valued openness, community, and tradition. Everywhere I went, I was met with warmth, kindness, and gestures of welcome.

As I reflected on that visit, I could not help but sigh deeply. It saddened me to think about how much my own society has changed. The spirit of togetherness that once held people close seems to be weakening. Children no longer show the same respect for elders, neighbours pass one another without greeting, and on buses, young people often remain absorbed in their phones while elderly or injured people are left standing.

Yet this reflection also reminds me that values do not disappear on their own; they fade when people stop practising them. If there is any hope for a more humane society, it must begin in the small, ordinary ways we choose to treat one another: in a greeting, in an open heart, in respect for the elderly, and in the willingness to see our neighbours not as strangers, but as part of our shared human family.