A page put together quickly to show a small slice of life in Thailand...
Well, this one was from just before we left Canada...it's what I've sent to Centre Wellington, the Canadian host community for our program.
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During my
first week in Thailand, I attended a monthly meeting of Thai Falun Gong
practitioners. I realized pretty quickly that a number of the people
attending were refugees from China. One little girl looked familiar,
and when she was named I realized that she was an orphan who's mother
was tortured to death 2 years ago, about whom I have written several
times. Her father is a refugee in Thailand, and she was able to finally
join him only a few months ago. This experience has made working on
exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China much more real and
tangible to me, and I have resolved to be re-dedicate myself to the
effort. As fate would have it, their story currently heads the Falun
Gong Human Rights Working Group website at http://www.falunhr.org. |
| My home in
Sasimum. The head of village number 8 in Sasimum has three houses, and
I live in the one on the street corner. |
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Two of my
host brothers, Mak and Bom, playing with one of the five adopted dogs.
Homes with many dogs are apparently seen as rich homes; many dogs are
feral and decide to stay at homes where the food is good. Bom has a
love for animals -- he raises chickens as well -- and we're helping
each other
learn Thai and English. |
One of the
main sources of income in Sasimum is the farming of freshwater shrimp,
as well as fish. To the right is
a shrimping lake prior to draining; below is one of the giant
freshwater shrimp that were gathered from it when the water was emptied. |
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One of the
work placements that our participants are involved in is the local
preschool or child care centre. Here is a small group of small people
looking on, intrigued by a teambuilding activity that our team was
engaged in. |
| This is the
first lotus flower that I've seen up-close-and-personal. I've always
loved lotus flowers, and they are seen by Falun Gong practitioners, as
well as in some Buddhist traditions, to symbolize the journey to
self-betterment and enlightenment. |
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On Christmas day, Cindy came to
visit. We'll probably be seeing each other for a day or two at a time,
every couple of weeks. In this photo, we're posing with my co-worker
and good friend Su, as well as her husband. Below: We exchange a hug
when Cindy arrives in Bangkok, with Cindy's friend Bee in the
background.. |
