Let me say in advance- this is about HOPE- you won’t find me
trying to commercialize yet another world issue with attempts to guilt you and
no way to take part! However, It’s
been my experience that Hope is perfective in the most horrifying
circumstances, and a huge portion of this is horrifying. But the Hope I have seen is unlike
anything I’ve come to.
———————————–
My awareness was expanding and my ignorance shrinking as I
met the people and as I traveled to many places in Northern Thailand and Burma!
Then…. something happened that shook me, my own words were
held up before me!!
“I hope maybe one day to create a form of awareness about
a world issue that people don’t know about through film…I seem to feel
passionate about the injustice of Genocide and Child Soldiers. The issue around the Child Soldiers in
Uganda has touched me. It seems we
come to be made aware of such issues after the fact. The film Hotel Rwanda as an example; I never knew of the
Genocide in Rwanda until that movie.
I’ve walked through the killing fields in Cambodia wondering to myself
how something like that could happen.
We each have the potential to fight evil on an effective level. The question is “WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN
YOU COME FACE TO FACE WITH A MOUNTAIN OF EVIL- WILL YOU FIGHT FOR JUST ICE OR
WILL YOU PASS IT BY!??!!”
These are my own words!! I spoke them and even wrote them
down for a project I did in Spain at the G42 Leadership Academy. They rang in my ear as I was soberly
encountering the Genocide in Burma.
I’ll be honest, It was easy to speak such words when not
having to be accountable to them.
However, I began to feel the weight of them. They were words I spoke; no matter how good my intentions
were- I was now responsible for them.
As if I wasn’t already!??!
Before we dive deeper into my time in South-East Asia, It’s crucial for you,
the reader, to have some form of foundation or understanding in regards to the
Karen people. Maybe you’re asking
the same question I did:
Who are the Karen!??
The Karen people live in Burma but are not Burmese! They speak a different language and
live in the mountains! They
originate from different parts of Asia; China is one of the main countries they
settle in for many centuries before migrating to Burma and Thailand in 1388
BC! The Karen left Tibett and migrated to Burma as refugees, establishing
themselves along the Burmese border with Thailand, and in Thailand itself. For those who settled in Thailand, they
have lived in Peace for thousands of years. However, for those who settled in
Burma it’s a different story.
Another way to look at this is to consider how Africans have settled in
different parts of the world.
There are African Americans, English Africans in Europe, and Africans in
Africa.
During World War II
the Japanese
occupied Burma,
long-term tensions between the Karen and Burmese turned into open fighting.
After the war ended, Burma was granted independence in January 1948, and the
Karen, led by the KNU (Karen National Union), attempted to co-exist peacefully
with the Burma ethnic majority. However, in the fall of 1948, the Burmese
government and army began a plot to exterminate all ethnic groups. Burma, now under communist rule seems
to be successfully caring out this brutal act of Genocide for over 60 years. If this continues, soon the Burma-Karen
people will be no more.
As I worked with Jake it was clear to me this issue was not
a small one, rather Genocide had infected every facet of community and
government in Burma!
However complex this may be, it’s still as simple as life
and death. Families are doing
everything they can do to survive, that’s it! Hundreds of thousands have reached a form of safety by
making it to the refugee camps on the Thai side of the boarder. It was there I began to meet the people. (Picture to right shows Refugee camps on the boarder)
I saw nearly 60,000 people in one place, everyone living in
Bamboo-type houses with leaf roofs.
Many people have been stuck there for over 30 years and many are still
coming daily! Kids are walking for
days and weeks by themselves trying to find safety.
But… there is HOPE!
I don’t know if I’ve seen such hope and life!
It was at this point I made two decisions.
1)
I was going to create a film covering the Story of Jake and
His family. I wanted to give them a tool that they could use to share with all
the people they would speak to in the US.
Jake and his family spend few months out of every year to come back to
the states and speak on their ministry and to spread awareness.
2)
To create a film/ documentary to spread awareness about the
Genocide I was seeing ” and to tell the story of HOPE in the midst of it!
Once I choose to put my hands to action these are some of my
thoughts and questions I asked myself!
I try to balance myself with practicality and sober thinking- as not to
get lost in the “land” of “good intentions” with no fruit. Still chewing on a lot of these!
- If I
try to tell the world about 1,000,000 people dying no one will care!! I
need to tell the story of one,,, the story of the people- what is the
story? - Am I
willing to see this through- this could take years??? - Can I
really create something worth showing? - What
will separate my work from others?
There are other people out there trying to tell the story. Is this needed? - How
does this go past just a “Youtube video” and into a true arena of
influence with a way to actually bring fourth change and not just talk
about it! - Do I
still believe that God can bring down giants?
At the end of the day, this was my first conclusion and how
I began my time in Thailand! God
still brings down giants. I can’t
walk by this and do nothing! I’m
choosing to throw what little stones I have and walk this out!
