The story of the Fox and the Bird
Pah Ner tells us a Karen folk tale with a modern twist. It�s about a fox and a bird. The fox lives at the bottom of a tree. The bird lives at the top, where she pecks the bark to look for insects to eat. But the fox sees trouble.�Please do not chip the bark because it will fall down and hurt me,� he says. The bird ignores him and, sure enough, the bark splinters into many pieces and falls down on the fox, hurting his back in many small places.
�Now I will take you to court,� says the fox. �You hurt me very seriously!�
Once in front of the judge, the fox makes his complaint with the bird as the accused. The judge asks: �Where are your injuries?� He shows the judge the spots on his back. They are barely visible to the judge.
�But those spots are tiny,� says the judge. �Why did you come to my court to complain about such a small injury?�
�Well, they may seem small to you, but they are very big to me,� he answers.
Pah ends his story and remains silent for a moment. Then, he explains the moral. �Never judge someone else�s injuries,� he says to the applause of everyone listening.
Hearing the story from him is a poignant irony. Pah is a landmine accident survivor from the Karen state. He lost both arms and the shrapnel from the explosion blinded him. Now he is dependent for his care on others at the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border.He is just about the last accident victim one would assign any resemblance to the fox, yet he tells the tale so he and his companions can keep things in perspective. All 14 landmine survivors who live with him at the �Care Villa,� a dorm hut in the sprawling refugee camp north of Mae Sot, Thailand, have injuries we would consider devastating. But no one here judges them as big or small.
The Care Villa for dependent disabled landmine survivors was started three years ago by the Karen Handicap Welfare Association. The KHWA is one of the ethnic groups Clear Path supports to help reach out to landmine survivors inside Burma with the help of new remote measurement technology.The Care Villa, which has had limited international support, may also become a candidate for Clear Path assistance. The 24-hour-a-day care project needs funding for food, utilities and two nurses who assist the residents � all men aged 17 � 58.
�They have no one else to take care of them,� explains Father Simon Saw of the Mae La camp. �They are completely dependent, but they are well looked after here.�
Morikia, the head of the Karen Handicap Welfare Association, says 11 of the survivors were blinded by their accident and three can see only from one eye. Seven have lost one or both arms. Four have lost one or both legs. Only one can see well and he is a double leg amputee who uses a wheelchair.
Though most remain in their dorm with their eyes and heads cast down, it does not mean they are despondent. Being blind, they simply have nowhere to turn their eyes. But their loss of one sense has sharpened their others.
We were treated to several solo and group songs, some accompanied by a guitar, a mandolin and a keyboard. Without exception, their delivery was beautifully harmonious. Their voices were strong. Their singing was from the heart.
Some of the residents use their heightened sense of touch to their advantage. Three blinded survivors have taken up handcrafting beaded purses. We saw one practicing his newfound art. He reached into different bags for different colored beads and methodically strung them into a pattern for the flap of a purse.
Peh Kleh, the double amputee who can see, has taken a liking to making bamboo picture frames. They are simply, perhaps a bit crude, but it�s obvious they were made with attention to deal and a passion for creativity. We were his first customers.
Only three of the survivors have family in the camp, but their wives need to work during the day or look after their young children. The older children hang around the �villa� and seem inseparable from their dads.
�Their wives are faithful,� Father Simon says. �They have stayed with them despite their injuries.�
We spent several hours with the �boys,� listening to their music, their personal stories and their bittersweet folk tales. Effie, a massage therapist, worked with one of the survivors. Erin, the photographer, took her time to get comfortable with the group and to take relaxed portraits of them and their children.
Before we leave, they sing us one last song.
�Wherever you go, whatever you do, may God�s blessings follow you,� the lyrics go. All of us know we will be back to see them again.
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