Last Days' Adventure in Mae Sot

12/12/12.. that has to be good luck, right?

Well, yesterday was a big day. We went out for a delicious early breakfast in downtown Mae Sot, and then we walked around the market. It is always interesting to see, but the smells were making me so sick. There is raw meat and fish everywhere. And pig heads. And frogs. And crickets. You name it, it is probably there. I had a hard time eating any meat for the rest of the day.

From the market we went for a tour of Mae Tao Clinic. Dr. Cynthia, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, started this clinic years ago for the displaced Burmese people. We saw some pretty incredible stuff. Maung Maung, a phenomenal Burmese artist, gave us the tour.

We started off in the maternity ward. We handed out maternity packs to the new mothers, and ogled their precious newborns. We got to see some premature babies, as well, thankfully babies and mothers were all doing well. But there was an isolated room. It housed very sick and/or abandoned babies. The baby closest to the door was the only one I noticed, and she had what I assume is a brain tumor. It was so unbelievably heartbreaking. Her parents abandoned her there. We also learned that the clinic sees about 500 failed abortion cases a year. That is terrifying to me.

We moved onto the prosthetic shop from the baby clinic. There were a few people there who needed new proshetics made. We were able to hear the story of a husband and wife who both have a leg blown off from landmines. It was so touching to hear the ordeal they have been through and yet how strong they have had to be. They had to move forward, for their children. Seeing the effects, with my own eyes, of what the Burmese government and army have done made everything more real.

We also visited the surgical building. We met  woman there who had both of her legs blown off by landmines, one completely gone and the other above the knee. She was only 18 when it happened. She has been at the clinic for 10 years, and probably won't leave. Her life is so limited now, but she still helps others at the clinic. It makes me so sad, and sick to my stomach, that there are people in this world capable of these atrocious acts on human life.

There is also a dental, accupuncture and eye clinic at Mae Tao.

To be continued...