Hellfire Pass

Located in Soi Yak which is in Kanchanaburi Provence, Hellfire Pass is the name of a railway cutting on the former Burma Railway in Thailand which was built with forced labour during the Second World War, in part by Allied prisoners of war. 20 months of the most inhumane conditions. The back breaking work of cutting through stone to make the Thai-Burma railway. 18 hours each and every day. Disease, starvation, beatings, death. Thousands of Australian, British, and Dutch POWs, as well as Malayans who were given false promises of good jobs. Why is it we were not taught about this? Why was this not important? It was happening at the same time as Pearl Harbor. Does that make it less important that it did not take place on our soil? Many Americans were also POWs here and worked on the railway.

The beautiful tented camp that we stayed in last night is where many of the POWs called home every night after their back breaking labor. No, they didn’t have the amenities we were afforded. Maybe they had the rooster who crowed a “half crow” all night long. Maybe they had the goat who wouldn’t stop bleating at the rooster to shut up! No. their accommodations were for sure not what we had. I am so very lucky that I have been taught this history that I had not known. It has changed the way I view many things. This entire trip has been a history lesson of some sort. I have learned the history of Thailand. I have learned the history of Sakai. I have also relearned my own history.

I have, as I have said in prior posts, grown during this trip. I have changed. I will not be the same person who returns home. And that is ok. That is more than ok. That is why I came on this adventure. I am coming to learn that my adventure may actually only just be beginning. Maybe my adventure really starts when I get back. What will it be like? Will life go back to the way it was? Will I? I can’t. I worked too hard on this journey for that to happen. But how? How will I take all that I have endured and learnt here back with me? How do I do I bring it ALL back home. Back to Marc and Ari? Back to my friends? That is when my new history will begin to be learnt. (That damn Aussie spelling again 😜).

I won’t have Sakai to help me on that journey. That journey is up to me. It is mine to decide how it will be……