There are times in life when you witness events and see things that simply cannot be unseen. Things that are so incredibly absurd that you cannot turn away from. This month while living in Thailand I witnessed such a thing.
I will never forget that morning, it started with a pleasant bike ride to the other side of town, to the home of one of our ministry contacts. The weather was perfect, I’m talking mid 70s with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. There was even a cool breeze as we cruised down the road on our bicycles. We arrived at the house where we would proceed to have a briefing of what was to come and then a word of prayer. So we were informed, we prayed, and then we set off for a short ride to the Thailand/Burma border, to No Man’s Land.
On the race I have seen some crazy things but nothing came close to what I saw and heard that day at the border. You see, No Man’s Land is a mile long stretch of land that sits in between the Thai/Burma border. Niether Thailand nor Burma claims this piece of land leaving it ungoverned by any legitimate authority. It is a lawless place, filled with illegal activity. The people who live here have no country to call their own and live under conditions that no person should have to live in. They live in makeshift houses made from sticks and other random materials. Most of the people here make their income by setting up small bamboo shops alongside the sidewalk which marks the border. Here they will sell anything from cigarettes and dried fish to pornagraphy and sex toys. Many others make their living by selling drugs. It just so happens that the heroin and opium sold here is extremely cheap so there is A LOT of money being moved through this place from the selling of drugs. It is because of all this money that the Thai government/military allows it to happen. Everyone gets their slice of the pie. There is no health care nor is there any official education for the children. If you get sick there’s nothing you can do about it unless you manage to have someone smuggle medicine or supplies in. Most of the people who inhabit this land are people who have committed a crime and therefore cannot enter into either country. What really breaks my heart is the children. I saw many kids running around in the dirt, some not even fully clothed. My heart was shattered to pieces when I pondered the reality of their fate. They did not choose this life they were born into and God only knows if they will make it out of that place alive.
Under the bridge crossing the border into Burma. This marks the start of NML.
This river marks the border between Thailand and Burma. To the left is Burma and to the right is NML.
Homes inside of NML.
While No Man’s Land does not have any laws or government, there is some form of hierarchy. This brings me to the Chief. The Chief is like the wise grandfather who is essentially “in charge” of what goes on. He was a former drug boss and holds a lot of influence over the people and is highly respected among those living in NML. He has the authority to declare who lives and dies within this land. Yes, people here literally get away with murder and just about anything else.
It gets worse.
It was hard to see all of the poverty right before my eyes, but what really got to me, what really took me by surprise and pierced me at my core was this. There is an older woman who goes by the name of Big Mama. She “owns” most of the children in NML. She makes them go out into the streets each day to beg for money. The worst part is what happens if they don’t meet their daily quota. if the children do not reach their quota for the day then they will be sold for their bodies throughout the night. Simply put, Big Mama is pimping the children.
This is not acceptable.
This is not okay.
When I first heard of this atrocious news, I simply could not believe it. Never before have I heard of such a disgustingly evil thing and here it was happening right before my eyes in No Man’s Land.
My heart is broken for these children.
As I walked down the sidewalk that forms the border of NML, I saw many children and feared for their lives. Every time I saw one I wanted to grab them and take them to a safer place. I began to feel this divine anger. For a moment I felt anger towards God, but soon I realized that this wasn’t His fault, He never wanted things to be this way. Many people may ask, “Why would God allow such a thing to happen?” Well you see, God does not want these things to happen. He does not like to watch his children walk through so much suffering. The reality is we live in a broken world, a world that gained it’s independence from God long ago in the garden. These things are a result of sin in a broken world, not God’s doing. So I began to feel angry towards the world and the wrongdoings of man. I began to feel this profound discontent for the way things are.
A child walking through NML.
More homes inside of NML.
This sidewalk marks the border between Thailand and NML. Here the people set up these bamboo structure shops to sell their goods. Because their shops are off the sidewalk, they are in NML, safe from prosecution.
God has stirred up my heart for this place and these people. He showed me something that I simply cannot turn away from. Something has to be done but what? In that moment I did the only thing I could do, I prayed and declared victory in the Lord’s favor over each and every soul that rests in that land.
This is God’s land.
Each and every one of these people are His children, regardless of whatever sins they may have committed.
This situation is not acceptable.
This is not okay.
The sidewalk shops on the border
My time in Thailand will be spent doing many things but one thing I will continue to look forward to is going down to the border and seeing NML, So that I may stand there and declare with my tongue victory in the Lord’s favor. I ask that you keep this plot of land and the people who inhabit it in your prayers. I ask that you pray also for the people of Outpour Movement, my hosts this month. I can only do so much in the time that I am here, but they are here for the long run, they are invested in this community and the people here. Pray that God continues to open doors for them so that they may continue empowering these people and continue to further the advancement of the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven. We as men and woman of God must take a stand against such wickedness in the world. We must not sit idly by while such gross injustice and suffering is taking place. What I saw will never be unseen. I cannot turn my back to this nor can I walk away and forget what is taking place right at this very moment in No Man’s Land
This is not okay.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say:
Here am I. “
Isaiah 58:6-9 NIV
*All photos were used with permission from alexandrasquyres.com
