13th Nov 2010
On Dec 3rd, my friend Duncan Parker and I plan to run 136 miles from Amsterdam to London. It is just over five marathons in six days – enough to stretch the body and mind to new limits. It is in part an experiment to discover what lies beneath for me when the veneer of easy living is stripped away.
That is important because I need to find ways to identify and remember that for many people, life is not comfortable.
UNICEF for example, cite that 1.2million children are trafficked each year. Children sold and transported into slavery for sexual exploitation, sweat shops, child brides, circuses, sacrificial worship, forced begging, sale of human organs, farm labour, domestic servitude. That is the antithesis of comfort. The trend is growing too – with over 2-4million people in total trafficked each year.
For many people, enduring their daily routine is much more demanding than running long distances will ever be.
I remember seeing that endurance in the eyes of a village elder called Waling when I visited Shan State in Burma several years ago. Standing on the spine of a mountain ridge with incredible vistas of Burma’s jungles, Waling told me how he had fled his village when the Burma Army had attacked. Out of 70 families, only 4 had made it to safety. Just before I finished speaking with him, I asked if he had lost any family members in the attack. He told me that his elderly parents had been too slow to leave and were burnt alive in their home.
Pain like that takes some carrying. Waling carried it without a trace of self-pity. Our conversation has stayed with me because as I returned to my life in the UK, I didn’t want indifference to corrode my soul.
So, this run is a simple way to keep me connected to people like Waling and those caught up in the murky world of traffiking. I want to send a message; I do care; I will act; their plight is not forgotten.
To support our run go to; www.justgiving.com/markdrowland
See more info; www.partnersworld.org and www.stopthetraffik.org
ENDs
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