Sunday, April 03, 2005
A Horrid thing in Thailand
I just had an interesting conversation with a new friend that I have made through my husband's job. She is Thai and is married to a man from India, and together they have a beautiful baby girl. We were discussing the homeless problems all over the world, here in America, and in Thailand. "Here is lucky for the homeless." She said to me. "Here, there government help, but in Thailand there is no help." She was very sad as she was saying this. In Thailand, the homeless have no shelters and just as in many other countries in the world they sleep where they can find a place...the bus depot, the doorways, the alleyways...but they also have the added problem of forced slave-labor. There are gangs of people that will kidnap the homeless, disable them physically, and force them to work. They will feed them, but they do not pay them. She told me of a girl who was stolen from her family and forced in this manner to work in a bakery. The family must have searched for her in vain for years, until one day the mother wandered into the very bakery where the girl was working and realizing this was her daughter made a large scene which escalated when she saw that the poor child was missing a hand.
There are times in the history of our own country when things have been this bad. At least we have come farther since then and have instituted programs and shelters for our homeless. Still, we have a long way to go. It would be nice to see this problem eradicated indefinitely, but, unfortunately, as long as there are those who aren't willing to help, it will be there, staring us in the face, holding out a hand to us on the streetcorner.
As I write, there is a group of people, homeless, that are living for two more weeks in the hotel where I reside with my husband. The program that supports them, puts them up for a month in a nice hotel, feeds them three meals a day, gives them pocket money and transports them from place to place as they need. It is a good program, and it is good to see these people, for the time being, throw off some of their cares. But I am saddened at the prospect that after this time is over, they will have to return to their lives. During this time, it has come to my attention that a couple of these desperate people have had the good fortune to find employment, and these are the ones that are lucky, as they will have a buffer for the "real world" when they return to it. But, what about the ones that don't? Where do they go? I believe this support program helps with the drug and alcohol issue, as I have observed some of these poor people having a problem with addiction, which probably accounts for their situation. I find it so heartbreaking how young some of them are, and pray that they, too can find their "buffer"; that they can have hope enough to make it through the rainy day. I wish I knew more people that have "been there and back" to tell me their experiences. I would love more feedback on this. I, myself, have never been "homeless" on the street, but I have experienced true poverty, am experiencing poverty, but I have faith that all can be recovered in this life with a little effort, both physical and spiritual.
There are times in the history of our own country when things have been this bad. At least we have come farther since then and have instituted programs and shelters for our homeless. Still, we have a long way to go. It would be nice to see this problem eradicated indefinitely, but, unfortunately, as long as there are those who aren't willing to help, it will be there, staring us in the face, holding out a hand to us on the streetcorner.
As I write, there is a group of people, homeless, that are living for two more weeks in the hotel where I reside with my husband. The program that supports them, puts them up for a month in a nice hotel, feeds them three meals a day, gives them pocket money and transports them from place to place as they need. It is a good program, and it is good to see these people, for the time being, throw off some of their cares. But I am saddened at the prospect that after this time is over, they will have to return to their lives. During this time, it has come to my attention that a couple of these desperate people have had the good fortune to find employment, and these are the ones that are lucky, as they will have a buffer for the "real world" when they return to it. But, what about the ones that don't? Where do they go? I believe this support program helps with the drug and alcohol issue, as I have observed some of these poor people having a problem with addiction, which probably accounts for their situation. I find it so heartbreaking how young some of them are, and pray that they, too can find their "buffer"; that they can have hope enough to make it through the rainy day. I wish I knew more people that have "been there and back" to tell me their experiences. I would love more feedback on this. I, myself, have never been "homeless" on the street, but I have experienced true poverty, am experiencing poverty, but I have faith that all can be recovered in this life with a little effort, both physical and spiritual.
