Growing up, we had one tv and I think four channels! When my father was home, we watched what he watched! Very rarely was there an exception….Wait, Monday nights, I got to watch the Monkeys! A treat indeed.
My father was drawn to John Wayne movies! I do believe that myself and my siblings all could name several of his movies. To this day when a John Wayne movie is on I will watch it and think of my father.
These classic westerns was where I first heard of “No Mans Land”! It was here typically where the hero did his rescuing and conquered the villains!
No Man’s Land – a fictional place, in my mind until recently. On the border between Thailand and Burma there is a strip of land, a stateless region, not claimed or recognized by either nation. It sits on the bank of the Moei River! The people who reside here in squaller, in shanty’s are peoples with out a country, having no security and to some no hope!
As I sat on a bench at the rivers edge my heart was filled with emotions! The stories of drug, weapon and sex trafficking were heart wrenching! Sadly very few little girls reside in No Man’s Land, you don’t have to think very long about why that is!
Rivers offer life and the Moei River is no different. The floating garbage caught up in the rivers currents did not hinder little boys jumping off river rocks, splashing and swimming. As I watched a pregnant mom and her child wash what appeared to be three loads of laundry, boats scattered the banks with hopes of making money offering river crossings to freedom!
Freedom? Hardly, life in No Man’s Land is a life full of slavery, contraband, gangs, extortion, murders, living in fear, trafficking and hopelessness. I couldn’t help but think these people are stuck – trying to better themselves, fleeing persecution, pursuing freedom and finding a strip of land that no man should call home! Stuck between two nations and a river bank. One could climb the river bank and view beyond the border and the guards but go no further! Although the riverbanks were dry the ground was sinking – sinking in despair.
I think we all can think of events that have left an impression on our hearts! My visit to No Man’s Land, this small area of the world, not found on any map, was a destination that has changed my life!
When life happens and causes me to be ungrateful and to have the wrong attitude may I reflect a minute, no a few seconds and remember No Man’s Land. No Man’s Land – a place where no man, woman or child should live! May I remember what I saw and felt that day, and rise up and help someone!
Blessings, Barb