Robbed of what?
In 1987 I worked in a refugee camp in Thailand. For the last half of my LDS mission I was called to teach English in an office called Welfare Servies for Refugees in Thailand - WSURT, for short. It was my premiere life learning experience. I wrote about the experience many years ago and I can't succinctly say it any better now than I did then:
THE BLOG ABOUT THE CAMP
So everyone in my world (the world of secondary education) is devastated that COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to finish out the 2020 school year. Specifically, Prom was cancelled, State debate, Spring sports like Track and Baseball (which is HUGE in our area), State Drama, the Spring Musical and of course, the traditional pomp and circumstance filled graduation ceremony where someone reads Dr. Seuss and quotes Churchill's famous "Never, never, never, give up."
I might get in trouble for adding my opinion to this - you might not like, in fact, you may HATE what I'm about to say but I'm going to say it in an effort to give us a new perspective. I'm an old debater - I like to look at both sides of everything.
Mid-way through college, I was spinning in place. I was in about 4 plays at a time and working a janitorial job and a costume job for the Shakes Fest and I was on student council because it paid my tuition. I was juggling about 10 balls, as usual, and it occurred to me that I was no good to anyone. I couldn't keep up with the monster I had created.
Something needed to stop.
So I sent in mission papers. It's all in the blog.
I got an incredible opportunity to serve in a refugee camp that housed people that were STILL escaping persecution from the Vietnam War which had ended in 1975, and the Viet Cong (hiding and still subversive) and the Khmer Rouge the brutal regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 - 1979. I was in the camp from May to November of 1987 some twelve years later. Now that was some COVID-19!
I taught English in the camp. One of the classes was a group of English speaking teenagers, mostly boys because most of them were alone. I taught them an advanced English language class and then they would go back and teach the beginning classes to additional students (hundreds) of refugees that were just sitting around, doing nothing but surviving, while they awaited settlement in a "third country," ie..1= Vietnam, 2= Thailand, 3= a country that would let them emigrate as free citizens, hence "third country." So my advanced students were 16 - 19ish years old, perfect English speakers that were also waiting for resettlement but used their skills to teach English while they waited. Some of them had waited for years.
Let me just take you on a tour of the camp:
This is the side of my classroom. These are a few of the teachers I worked with.
The holes in the walls made it nice for air flow. Temperatures were usually over 100 degrees. The floor was just concrete and dust. I did have a whiteboard in the end. No desks. Just space for students to sit on little mats if they brought one. No projector. No computer. No school play. No piano.
 |
| I just want you to look at the body language of the students. They are listening. They are learning. They are waiting was resettlement and while they wait, they learn. They were never late, they were never absent. They behaved as if education was a gift. Which it was. |
 |
| Not sure what I was making them do - but they were doing it! |
 |
| This pic is the main "street" in between two sets of housing. These two hooligans were two of the teachers that worked for us. Both were about 17 - 18 years old. They always walked me back to my office at the end of every day. I had to pass through a gate with soldiers carrying massive machine guns. |
This is one of my intermediate youth classes! As you can tell - I ate better than they did. Ha!
 |
| This is the other side of the quad which included three classrooms and an office. Great natural air conditioning! They are all so happy. |
 |
| These are 8 kids that missed their Senior prom and high school graduation by no fault of their own. Their COVID-19 was named Ho Chi Minh and Pol Pot. Look it up. |
These kids were nicknamed the "BUI DOI." We were in charge of teaching them as well. They were between the ages of 14 - 16. They were the children of American solidiers that were left in the battlefield after the Vietnam War. They were also waiting for resettlement. There's a musical written about them called "Miss Saigon."
I guess what I'm saying is that there are times in the history of the world when we have to give up our own personal comfort because there is a bigger picture. What we do in these historic times, in the safety of our homes and our free nation, is up to us. We are spoiled.
This is Doug. I wish I had a better picture of him - he appears in a few pictures but I thought this one really shows Doug's plight as a single guy in a refugee camp on his own.
Doug was about 25. He had been in the camp for many years because he could not get accepted to a third country. He was in a group of young men that were rumored to have been recruited by the Viet Cong. These were high school kids from South Vietnam that were forced, and some of them kidnapped, to fight for the North Vietnamese through no choice of their own. It was really hard for them to get accepted to a third country because of this. His family and friends had been killed. It was impossible for him to gather letters of recommendation in support of his resettlement. His English name was "Doug." Doug had the most amazing attitude! He was an incredible teacher even though he knew that he was probably only preparing others for resettlement and not himself.
Doug missed his Senior Prom. Doug missed most of high school. Doug knew the value of an education and in the 8 years that he had waited, lived on a bowl of rice and a fish each day - he made his life a gift to others. I never heard him complain when he told his story. I watched him lead and guide the younger boys and take great pride in our school and what he COULD control. His small world.
We had a culture day every once in a while in WSURT. We talked about "Halloween" one day and we couldn't find pumpkins - because...well, Thailand...so we carved up watermelons! That was such a great memory!
Gosh, I feel bad that school has had to be cancelled for the year. But can we look at the bigger picture and see the opportunity to protect each other in "war time," lean on each other, help each other and see a bigger picture. We need to quit complaining. We need to quit feeling sorry for ourselves and our students! Especially if we are seniors, teachers or parents of seniors.
We live in a stunning, safe place. We go to amazing schools. Our grocery stores are still open and stocked. Our state is nearing the bottom for COVID-19 deaths. We can still learn via the internet and on our own! The sun is shining.
Whatever we feel have been withheld from us because of a global crisis...is just stuff. Let's get over it! What knowledge are we acquiring while we "wait?" Cuz....that's what's important, that's what will get us through to your future. I'm not sure if we all remember - THERE IS A FUTURE! What it looks like will depend on what we learn today. No little skit, baseball game or fluffy ceremony is going to radically change it. Sorry you feel bad, but let's get some perspective.
We are so blessed.
Jan
No comments:
Post a Comment