Long overdue for an #APART post, @Sreypov, Monkey-B, and I headed over to the nearest open air space we he have access to here in Paramaribo, Suriname. This space just happens to be a cemetery, and ironically is the best space in which we have some breathing space.
Big Sacrifices Are Never in Vain
A Conscious Choice
We have lost a lot of over the last couple years, but our family is still full of love and life. In our journey to give my American family members an easier chance to meet my Cambodian family, we gave up everything in Cambodian to temporarily relocate to the western hemisphere.
taken just after we were denied permission to board a flightIt's now been nearly a year and a half in the western world, and we haven't had one visitor from the USA. We had come here with a promise that my family members would come to see us within three months of our arrival. It's certainly a let down to sacrifice so this much and not even see things work.
Sacrifice
As we are salt of the earth, we couldn't afford to keep our restaurant in Cambodia, so we had to shut it down and sell off everything to be able to afford plane tickets.
It would've been much easier for my American friends and family to visit us in Cambodia, both due to the easy visa situation and much cheaper cost of living there. They also wouldn't have to lose everything they own to come to Cambodia for two weeks.
Us Against The World
But here we are now, stranded in Suriname, nearly broke, life's possessions reduced to 6 suitcases for a family of 4, and now we only hope to find a host country with a cost of living and wild-west-style economy that we are used to.
Until things change, we have nowhere to go, nowhere to call home, as both Cambodia and the USA won't take us as a family. We can't even easily access our funds and non-rotten vegetables in Suriname, but we give still give thanks for life. Our daughters no longer believe borders, passports and visas should be legal forms of controlling basic human freedom of movement, as they have seen the wickedness of these policies firsthand too many times.
Haven't Lost Everything Yet
graveyard across the street from our house in ParamariboNow that we must pass by a massive graveyard every day, I am constantly reminded I am still above ground, and therefore can still struggle, so there is no giving up as long as I have my vessel. I have a lovely family, we are healthy, and our love only grows with the passage of time.
In The Dungeons Of Wrong Conceptions
Staring into a stinky slimy pit at a run-down cemetery in a place we have been stranded far too long provides me with far too many allegorical ideas, but it somehow gives me hope too. With JAH in my heart, I don't fear death, and am far from ready to bow down to a system that is wrong. We will keep moving until we find a place somewhere on this Earth that respects our livity.
Lose Everything To JAH 🙏 Midnite
Listen with intent, the Wordsmith Vaughn Benjamin's lyrics are powerful. The key message of this song is that Selassie I truly protects us, and losing ego is no different than losing possessions, for the goal of life is not "having," but "knowing."
🙏 THANKS FOR READING 🙏
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