MAE SOT, Thailand - In the middle of a thatch building a ten-year-old boy waves a fan over the motionless, naked body of his two-year-old sister lying on a woven mat.She is sick with malaria, like so many others at this clinic, but the ravages of fever have given way to her exhaustion. For now she sleeps.
Malaria, a preventable disease in this century of advanced medicine, is still rampant on the border between Thailand and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), separated here only by the Moei River.
The Mae Tao clinic, an unregistered medical center on the Thai side of the border, treated more than 6,300 cases of malaria in 2005 � by far the most prevalent disease.
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Life on the border � View
"The Burmese government isn't doing anything about mosquito abatement," says Terry Smith, a physician from Davis, Calif., who has volunteered at the clinic for as long as 18 months at a time. "More than 75 percent of our cases come from Burma."
The clinic was founded by Cynthia Maung, one of the first in a wave of refugees to seek asylum on the Thai-Myanmar border, following the violent crackdown of a short-lived pro-democracy movement in 1988 by the ruling military regime. Then known as the State Law and Order Restoration Committee (SLORC), the regime is now billed as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The military has governed Myanmar and viciously suppressed dissent for more than four decades.
Dr. Cynthia, as she's known at the clinic, fled to the Thai city of Mae Sot and joined other Burmese refugees, mostly ethnic Karen people who have been at war with the Burmese government since the country's independence in 1948. At 58 years, it's the longest active civil war in the world.
The clinic has grown to be an essential lifeline both for Burmese refugees living in Thai refugee camps, as well as mostly ethnic Karen people living on little slivers of border land inside Burma.
The clinic is supported by several non-governmental organizations and does not charge for its services. But it's by no means flush with cash.
Despite Dr. Cynthia's increasing profile � a mention in Time Magazine as a Global Health Hero and several international awards, including one from the Dalai Lama � the clinic faced a severe shortage of operating funds in 2004.
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And just this morning, we visited Phan Boi Chau's residence and met his granddaughter. Phan Boi Chau was and remains a Vietnamese hero and visionary for the people here...he believed in attaining the freedom and independence of the Vietnamese through critical thinking and education and even began the first study abroad opportunities for Vietnamese students to Japan in the early 20th century. We spent the morning at his residence planting trees at his grave and those of his fellow patriots as a symbolic act of reconciliation between Americans
It has only been 3 days since I arrived and I am already in love with the culture, people, and environment. The climate however is a different story. The people of Viet Nam are the friendliest and kindest people I have ever met or read about. Their hospitality is breath taking. People will stop you on the street just for a chance to chat about America. Everyone is willing to lend a helpful hand and children smile and wave at us when we pass by.
A Washington state-based organization, World Neighborhood Fund has found a creative way to help Clear Path International. A big thanks from Clear Path to Mikelle Charlebois and Troy Haines!
