There's a Hole in the World Tonight

Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm that life with all its sorrows, is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow."
~ Dorothy Thompson

I have spent the past few days in Mae La camp, interviewing several families that are applying for resettlement to Norway.

Today was a very sad day for Mae La and the Karen community. A woman in the community, active in SGBV (Sexual and Gender Based Violence) initiatives and programs, was killed last night. She was stabbed to death 8 times by her husband, who then put a knife through his own heart, in front of their daughter. After her death, it was revealed that this women, such a strong leader in women's rights advocacy, suffered herself from an abusive marriage for over four years and ultimately died in a horrific act of violence. The husband's motive is unknown.

One family has been in the camp nearly twenty years - their children have never seen the outside of the gates. The surrealness of it all stuck me, sitting on the bamboo slats of the floor of their home - yet completely normal at the same time. I tried to sort through decades of family history, making notes and families trees and timelines in an attempt to dissect their past. Families are complicated - all families, no matter the family or the country; but here, one must factor in the havoc wreaked by war to the normal family's complications. So much havoc... families separated when the army burned down the their village; or killed their spouse; or forced their grandmother to be a porter, beating her if she stumbled; of children sent away to a refugee camp simply so that they could go to school; of sickness that plagues and often takes the lives of those in hiding in the jungle, where malaria is a rampant killer. Most family's complications are not encumbered by these...

I spoke with Wah Lay today, a quiet 14-year-old who used to live with his parents and siblings in Karen State, Burma, in an area controlled by the DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddist Army). the family lived in fear of DKBA soldiers' frequent "visits" where money was taken, children were recruited as soldiers, and women were raped. For the right price, a household would be left alone. As a Christian in a Buddhist controlled area, DKBA took every opportunity to persecute the family, and others regardless of their religion. Poor farmers, Wah Lay's family eventually reached the end of their resources to bribe the military. The soldiers stormed in their home one afternoon and demanded their fee, which Wah Lay's father was unable to pay. "Fine", they snapped, "we will take your son instead. He looks big enough to hold a gun." Wah Lay was 11 years old. They were to return for him the following day. Hours later, under the cover of darkness, Wah Lay and his father fled the village and trekked through the jungle for two days and two night until they reached The Big River separating Burma and Thailand and... safety. Wah Lay was left in the care of an uncle in Mae La camp. This afternoon, his face very still as he relived the memory of just how close he came to being one of the thousands of Burma's child soldiers, he would not meet my eyes. He is excited about going to Norway, where he wants to study to be a doctor.

I sat cross-legged against the bamboo walls, eating red bananas and drinking water from a chipped mug with "Go Huskies" printed on the side. Oh Burma! When will you stop the persecution of your people? When will you hear their cries for a homeland? They long to return, but you have crushed their hopes...

Preparing sugar cane