Saving Fish from Drowning - Heal Burma

SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING
enough for one or two people. The walls were formed of the long
skeletal roots, their spacings woven with palm thatch. The roofs
were low, and bound with interlaced vines and runners. Other tree
huts and various small shelters lay beyond the perimeter.
“It’s so unchanged,” Wendy whispered to Wyatt. “Like the twen­
tieth century forgot to come here.”
“You like?” Black Spot said. He was bursting with pride.
The camp now massed with its residents—I counted fifty-three—
many of the older ones wearing turbans and red-and-black smocks.
My friends saw crackly-faced grandmothers and smooth-cheeked
girls, curious boys, and men with red betel-nut juice staining their
teeth, making it seem as if their gums were bleeding from an ulcerat­
ing disease. The people cried in the Karen language, “Our leader has
come! We’ll be saved!” My friends smiled at this welcome, and said,
“Thanks! Good to be here.”
Three children ran over to get a closer view—foreigners in their
jungle home! They stood in awe. Their young faces were solemn and
watchful, and as soon as Moff and Wyatt crouched down, they
shrieked and ran off. “Hullo!” Wyatt called after them. “What’s your
name?” Girls in white sackcloth dresses stood at a safe distance,
avoiding eye contact. When the white man was not looking at them,
they gradually moved closer with shy smiles. One of the boys ran
close to Moff, the tallest of the foreigners, and in that universal game
of dare, he slapped the back of Moff’s knee and darted off with a
high-pitched shout before the ogre could strike him down. When an­
other boy did the same, Moff let out a groan and pretended to nearly
topple over, much to the delight of the children.
Two more children appeared, a boy and girl, who looked to be
seven or eight. They had coppery brown hair, and both were dressed
in cleaner and more elaborately embroidered clothes. The boy had a
long white chemise, the girl a Western christening dress with lace
edging. Vera noted with dismay that they were smoking cheroots.
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