February 20, 2008
Quote of the Day: We are all prisoners of Sin
We are gelling as a team now. Earlier in the mission when we first met in the morning for breakfast it was WAY to formal. We were to stiff and professional. We would look at each other with a serious face, nodding at each other for acknowledgement and saying, “Dr.” “Dr.” “Nurse” “Dr.” “Pastor” “Mr. Bruce” “Dr.” “Nurse” “Dr.” “Dr.” “Nurse” “Nurse” “Dr.” “Dr” It’s been 5 days and now well gelling. We’re more comfortable around each other and more camaraderie. Now it’s, “Whassup doc” “doc” “Whassup” “doc” “doc” “What’s happenin’” “Say what?” “Get out!”
Chiang Rai Prison Resort
We headed for a new venue. We are going to Chiang Rai prison in the outskirts of the city. Watching Prison Break makes me nervous but gives us ideas just in case. We know how it is in the United States where prisons are like there own city with their own government. What goes on behind closed doors is anyone’s guess. It could be worse than communism (but not including Laos where we are going to. We like Laos!). We don’t know what to expect and who we will meet and how the prisoners are going to receive us or if they will hold us hostage. We know that there are no hostage negotiations. But if they want a hostage, we elect Bill because he would have been responsible for getting us in this mess. We are going into the lion’s den. I hope we are as lucky as Daniel. We want Pastor to check it out first. Luka says, “Don’t worry, I know them.” Hmmm, “old Luka hangout?” Don’t ask and don’t tell. There may be a bunch of BAAAD A__ dudes with tattoos and serial murderers with primal lust burning in their veins in their bulging biceps. Will they look at us and think “fresh meat” and smack their pursed lips feigning a kiss? Do they like Chinese food? We will soon find out. My paranoia is mounting. Will we be able to get out? I hope they like Luka. Luka, head of T-AMF (Thai Akha Ministry Foundation) is involved with a Christian ministry that offers medical care and dental care, when it can, when professionals are available to Chiang Rai prisoners. We approach the prison and curiously there was a statue of a little naked woman perched under the prison sign. I wonder if it is one their idols. For Americans it is certainly one of ours. (Commandment 2: no idols). I’m not sure if it is supposed to tease the men as they go in reminding of what they are missing on the “outside.” We drive up through the guarded gates and get a pass. Fortunately this is a minimal security facility. We nervously approach the guarded gates. Hey, they look friendly. We relax. We are led through tall thick metal doors and have to get a badge and give up our cameras and cell phones. You can imagine they may not want us to record anything or show the layout of the prison for obvious reasons or allow prisoners outside communication. We hear the ominous baritone “Clang! Click! as the heavy door is closed behind us. “Does someone have a spare key?” We hope that this trip is one way. I pretend to sneak a note to an unsuspecting gentleman just on the other side of the bars. Oops! I think he is the warden. Bill slaps my hand and says “behave!”
We are surprised. It is a relatively new, 10 year-old facility, with gorgeous landscaping. People are smiling. I’m not kidding when I say it looks like a resort. Expensive palm trees surround a play area. There is lush greenery throughout. There is a billboard advertising “Sports Behind Bars.” Hey maybe I’ll give up my Gold’s Gym membership and join…naught. The barbed wire takes a little away from the landscape and reminds us where we are. We are surrounded by a bunch of capped uniformed gentlemen in black shorts and tee shirts with some writing on the back. I don’t think it says, “Got Milk?” They have batons. They are fit and see their muscular definition through their thin tees. The men in our group instinctively surround the women in a protective circle. If we have to make a break for it, “women and children and ejournalist first” is my suggestion. It is very orderly. They corral us like sheep and direct us watching out for strays. I don’t think that they are there to protect us but to guard us. We head to the building. There are tents and it looks like we are expecting over a hundred patients who are sitting there. We were told not to wear the blue scrub tops since they looked too much like the the prisoners. Good idea. We wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a prisoner. Ghan, Luka’s wife, assured us that certain individuals wouldn’t have a problem (like Richard and Jack) but Bill would not have a trouble blending in. He kind of looks Thai, and with those beady eyes, well, make yourself at home. The prisoners are wearing either blue uniforms (sentenced) and brown uniforms (awaiting trial). It’s fitting then as Christians missionaries we are wearing blue. Believers have their life sentence in heaven and non-believers are awaiting trial at judgment day.
Prisoners of War
What do the prisoners look like? Like you and me. In other words, they look like any one else, your relatives, or friends. In fact, Luka saw his former policeman friend in prison. He asked, “Hey, why are you here?” ”Drugs.” Luka says his was a bad policman. There is definitely a war on drugs. Ghan was surprised to see a distant relative here. So, now she knows why she hasn’t been coming to family functions. The patient/prisoner do not look like hardened criminals. It is surprising that the overwhelming majority of offenses that got them into jail is drugs. You do the crime you serve the time. Mostly life sentences. Apparently drug trafficking is big business in Thailand but a No-No. Methamphetamine is overtaking opium as drug of choice. I had a glimpse through the window of men bathing outside at the community wading pool. They were pouring buckets of water gathered from a common tank of water, similar to how you would bathe camping. Other workers were putting clothes into a large bin and pushing down clothes, lifting up, pushing down, add soap, add water and rinse-The human washing machine.
We set up clinic in a relatively small room. The triage and pharmacy are set outside. They have a great view and fresh air. Dr. Owyang has the best seat in the house at the end of the ramp ready to greet them. It was really sad to see our patients, criminals in the judicial system, stuck for life, yes life. A drug conviction often results in life imprisonment. The language barrier (tribe vs. Thai) is a problem. So while some patients say that they were innocent, others tell you they shot someone. “I took methamphetamine and got crazy and shot my father-in-law.” Well justification in itself, the in-law probable deserve it. That is why I am going to choose the husband for my daughters; I’m going to make sure he likes me first. Some patients have a complex medical history and their medications don’t get continue after they run out. So they are very sick. One man we examined was swollen all over and hadn’t peed for 4 days. It’s likely he was in renal failure. He was also an alcoholic so his liver probably wasn’t functioning well. I think he may die soon but he can always get a 2nd opinion. We, at least, were able to encourage the nurse to transport him to a hospital today. I got to do a few procedures. On one patient I was reluctant to operate on due to a possible infected cyst. It was disfiguring his chin with a big bulge. I said I rather not chance getting the whole area infected. He said that today was the best day to do it. I asked him why. “Because you are here” he replied. So I removed the mass which was, incidentally, a fatty tumor growing deep into his chin. “The customer is always right.”
The dentists got first dibs in the medical clinic. They even had a nice dental chair; it looked modern. When Rachel went to crank it up, no suction and other things didn’t work either. So they made do like they always do. Rachel later that day said “Larry saved my butt 4 times!” There were some more complex extractions the Larry was able to help her out with. She was just being humble. She learned that from her parents, I guess. As I mentioned, some are very complex cases and there were two patients that took 43 instruments to fix them.
The optometrist start from the word “go!” They have now trained Gi (Martin) to help him make the lenses. He goes to work and they crank out lens after lens. They are a production line. It is becoming routine for them to close up shop last since they are so busy. They’re always the last to finish. The younger folk just can’t keep up with them. We don’t know how to pace ourselves since we just don’t have the foresight.
The prison provided us with snacks and water and prepared us a meal and omelet Pat Thai. We congregated outside and enjoyed the fresh Thai air, certainly better than our Fresno air. We were taken on a tour of the women’s work area after lunch. There are women in uniforms in a Marine type of posture surrounding an area and shielding the women prisoners sitting afar. They are like statues and expressionless standing erect with their hands behind their back palms open, right over left. Detailed and uniformed, they look straight ahead. We were taken to an area where they women cook bakery goods and have a sewing area. There is a store where we can taste some food and buy some. They are learning domestic skills so that when they get released they can be productive and work in a restaurant or factory. In contrast, in American men don’t need to learn those domestic skills because we just find and marry someone who has those skills already. I, for one, have those skills that I received in high school when I took a “Bachelor Living” course. We are taken back to the clinic and as we pass the women guards relax and go “At Ease” in sync. As it turns out, these “guards” are actually prisoners themselves who have earned their way up in the prisoner hierarchy who are close to being let out. We are impressed at their organization and discipline.
There was an obvious foreigner amongst them. There was a Norwegian guy who stuck out like a sore thumb. Not only was he collared by the authorities he had a collar on that signified some pardon so he would only have to serve have of his sentence. He said he, somehow, got a hold of someone else’s credit card=3 years time. Pastor spoke to him and the Norseman was glad to speak English to someone. Can you imagine him? His English is as foreign as a tribal language. Pastor asked if his parents were Christians. He said yes but they don’t want anything to do with him. Pastor asked if he thought about Christianity. He said yes because it seems that only Christians seem to care. Many are awaiting their court appearance while IN prison. Some have been waiting for over a year. The Thai legal system may be great for their country but I prefer OUR system where we are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
QUITING TIME
We close up shop. We tally our numbers and we have treated 687 patients in 3 days. In our last Thailand trip we treated around 1000 patients in two weeks. We’re cooking and we still can’t get to everyone. The numbers are high but as a team we still get disappointed.
We gather our things and it looks like they are going to let us out after all. We didn’t meet the warden or see all of the prisoners. Maybe we were lucky and got the nice prisoners. Richard is disappointed that he didn’t get to see the inside of the prison where the cells are and the inmates are kept. I suggested that he could of hit the guard. “I don’t want to see the cells, THAT bad!” he replied.
We are all prisoners of sin. Some are imprisoned and don’t have a way out. With sin there are consequences. We sin everyday but with God in our lives our sins are forgiven. God has given us that eternal “Get out of Jail Free” card: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and they are available to anyone who desires them. Don’t let Satan monopolize your life.
