Tears Of Indra

ACTIVITY OF 25 OCTOBER 2011 

We planned three activities today. Unfortunately we could only realize a single one. We had a rendez-vous at 0900 Hr with “Boy”, who Pia met at the Big C the day before. As Pia was emptying a shelf with plates of salty fish, he requested her some. Pia told him she could not as she had only just enough plates for the number of emergency packages planned. 

Boy started to talk about the bad situation in a refugee shelter in Khlong 2 near his home. About 150 people were sitting in a school with only rice, a bit of fish sauce and no water to cook the rice, except flood water. We decided to help. Khlong 2 is only a kilometer or two from Khlong 1, so we planned to go visit and to offer a warm decent meal to the people at the shelter.

Nine o’clock was the time we RV-ed to go buy supplies at the Big C. He had said he would manage a truck and a boat. Nobody showed up. Suddenly we found us in a croc alert. A crocodile was spotted in our area. As everything is flooded here unto the shoulder, it was not quite a good idea to run into a hungry croc. Boy had to wait the catch of the animal. Finally the news came, the animal was caught and Boy with a friend popped up, surprise …with a small plastic boat and a metal one. The adventure could start. 

Boy was very polite. We could sit in the boat and he towed us through the flooded streets until the Blue Bridge. There we disembarked, walked over the bridge and embarked again. Suddenly we were with a lot more people, all Boy’s helping hands. We managed to get into the Big C partly walking, partly boating and we bought the necessary supplies. All supplies were loaded in the plastic boat, which began to take water. Half of it was then transferred to the metal boat and we headed off on foot. Outside the shopping area the supplies in the plastic boat were transferred to a large tire and politely Boy invited us to take place in the boat again. He knew a shortcut. 

It was only five minutes, but I swear it looked like an hour. Boy dived under the bridge into Khlong 1 (canal), the rope of the plastic boat between his teeth. I don’t joke. He swam the maybe 60 meter wide canal, with a current similar to white water class 2, pulling the boat with his teeth. I have to say, I made a little prayer. This was just Ripley’s Unbelievable or Not. The gods were with us, because we arrived safe to the other side and we joined the rest of the group who simply walked the bridge.

We continued walking over the flooded Nakhon Nayok – Rangsit road pulling the boats until we arrived in Khlong 2 area, where we turned into a street leading to the refugee shelter. After a few hundred meters we arrived on location just after 1330 Hr; a trip of nearly 4 hours.

Boy showed us around and we found 125 adults and 20 children spread over the class rooms of the local school. They had only some mattresses or blankets they could save from their flooded home. It was the name refugee shelter unworthy. There was more money put in the big banner announcing the shelter, than in the whole shelter itself. It was like Boy said, no food no drink water. We saw disabled kids; we saw a 9 month old baby left behind by the mother; we saw just misery.

Supplies were unloaded and brought to the refectory of the school. Somebody went with a boat after a burner, another one reactivated a fridge and the cook started to make a meal. Their first meal of the day, and the first real meal with vegetables, fish and chicken since many days.

Boy wanted to show us the houses of the people. Not to vex him, we climbed in the boat and he towed us to the area where the refugees lived before. Suddenly he disappeared under water. The flood water was at least two meter deep. We said we saw enough and we returned to the school. 

As it became already late afternoon and we still had planned to bring around the 45 emergency packages, we said farewell. Boy towed us back to the main road. We could get a hike from a motor boat towards the Red Bridge and there we were picked up by our small zodiac. Once at the family house we found the home much more flooded than we left it in the morning. Standing with our butts in the water, we moved the fridge, sofa, television and some other stuff another 40 centimeter higher. But the last shut off our light. We found no energy anymore to bring around the packages. It was also close to five o’clock. We had it for that day.

Supplies bought:

Administrative & Logistic costs:

Total cost for this activity: 4,772 Baht