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| Heading to the Saturday Market | Photo by Tun Tun |
When I attended a talk by Fred Stockwell last October at the Ashland Art Center, I didn’t know that in two months’ time, my boyfriend and I would be riding around in Fred’s pick-up truck at a garbage dump in Mae Sot, Thailand, where he has established a direct-aid organization, Eyes to Burma, along with the help of a small team of volunteers here in Ashland.
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| Hanijo signs "I love you" | Photo by Nick Benedetti |
During a whirlwind, three-and-a-half week trip to Southeast Asia, my boyfriend and I spent several days shadowing Fred. It was a life-changing experience.
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| On the way to Mae Tao Clinic | Photo by Kara Q Lewis |
It’s not easy to describe what it was like at the dump, where hundreds of Burmese refugees live and work. It was a shock to see such poverty. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the reality that a simple cut can get infected and put a person’s life and limb at risk. It was scary to think that any of the teens over 15 and the adults who weren't able to get a work ID card could be arrested, fined, and deported.
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| At the clinic after Moe's surgery | Photo by Kara Q Lewis |
I was overwhelmed by the amount of stress and work it takes to provide the people with very basic necessities that they couldn’t get without help.
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| First aid at the E2B community center | Photo by Nick Benedetti |
Mostly, I was humbled by the connections we made with a few of the kids there. I was surprised by their playful antics and cheerful dispositions. They are smart, sweet, funny, regular kids.
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| Bouncy castle at the Saturday Market | Photo by Nick Benedetti |
Sometimes, though, if you catch their eye when they’re having a quiet, introspective moment, you can sense their maturity. There’s a depth behind their eyes that makes them look like a world-weary adult. It’s understandable then why they play hard sometimes. It’s because they work hard and have probably been working hard since they were 7 or 8 years old.
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| Self-portrait | Photo by Samsamae |
While we were at the dump Nick and I helped however we could. We took pictures and videos for eyestoburma.org. Nick put up a second shelf in the community center so Fred could organize his supply of medicines. We took a girl to the Mae Tao Clinic to have an infection in her leg cleaned out. And, I had fun sharing a Burmese/English phrasebook with several girls who read the Burmese words to me and had me repeat after them. We got a taste for what Fred said he’s learned from his 6 years at the dump: “The less I think about myself, the happier I am.”
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| Pisi leads Fred to Moe's house | Photo by Nick Benedetti |
To learn more about Eyes to Burma visit their website and Like them on Facebook.
