Flower Child

As much as I love Thailand and think it's a beautiful place, it's also a real sad and lonely place.  I met a new friend named Sam, who is here with a group of other American Christians from the Washington State area.  We went out and visited the Naam Tok (a different one) and Sam was telling me about the work he's doing with the kids n the slums.

As we were driving, a boy came out with flowers in his hand and a sad expression on his face.  He walked up and down the middle of the bust highway intersection, and tried to sell his flowers to anybody--though nobody was buying.  Then Sam said, "I know that boy."

He explained to me and everyone that the boy ws forced to sell flowers all day long on the highway, and if he didn't maker enough money his parents would beat him senseless.  He told this story right when the boy came to our car, and tapped on the window.

I've never felt so powerless.  What was I to do?  Was I to ignore him, or was I to buy his flowers and legitimize the abuse his parents subject him to?  It seemed no matter what choice I made was wrong for the boy.

I've never known a life like that boy's.  Sad thing is most of the world lives in conditions similar to him and not to me.

I see the boy as a call to action.  He's the poser child for what's wrong in the world.  I'm not going to feel guilty that I was born in middle class America and he wasn't.  Instead I'm going to take full advantage of the privleges granted to me to help build a new world where children aren't beaten by their parents if they don't risk their lives to sell flowers on a highway.