THAILAND-MYANMAR They are Burmese refugees and take care of a Thai girl abandoned by everyone

In the suburbs of Bangkok lives Father Adriano Pelosin, who recounts: “Joseph, Anna and Mary had to flee Myanmar after the coup; they did not know where to go. We welcomed them in the parish. Now they are preparing to receive the baptism and take care of Bang Eung, a three-year-old girl who was abandoned by her mother, a drug-addicted woman”. The priest’s wish is “that we can all live Christmas with the joy of the poor”.

Bangkok () – The poor show us the most authentic meaning of Christmas. Who says it is Father Adriano Pelosin – a PIME missionary, parish priest of the community of San Marcos, on the outskirts of Bangkok, and superior of the Thai Missionary Institute. In his Christmas letter, two stories are intertwined: that of a family of Burmese refugees fleeing repression and that of a Thai girl who has no one to care for her.

Bang Eung’ means ‘By chance’. Bang Eung is a very vivacious and talkative three-year-old girl. She scratches her head often, because she is full of fleas, jumps from chair to chair like a little monkey, and then returns to her great-grandmother, who has a heart condition.

Bang Eung was abandoned by her mother shortly after she was born. Her dad is in jail for drug trafficking; her mother is also a drug addict and ran away from her to avoid being caught by the police. Great-grandmother asked us to take Bang Eung in because she says that if she dies, no one will take care of the child. About thirty years ago, the same great-grandmother came to see me with “An”, a 14-year-old grandson who had never been to school and didn’t even speak; His parents had abandoned him when he was little and were in jail for drug trafficking. Three years ago, the same great-grandmother had asked me if she could take care of a one-year-old grandson, “New.” New is Bang Eung’s brother, born to the same mother but different father.

When we received Bang Eung in the parish, we wondered who could take care of the little girl.

And this is where another story comes in; that of Joseph, Anna and Mary (we avoid giving their real names… for reasons of political security). One night about two months ago, Joseph phoned me and asked if I could see him, his wife Anna, and his five-year-old daughter Mary. They are Burmese and they fled Myanmar because they were wanted by the army, which carried out a coup two years ago and began to persecute all the demonstrators who were protesting against the government.

Joseph was one of the leaders of the protest. When they arrived, the girl, Mary, was still terrified; she had spent many days without speaking, without eating, without sleeping and without going to the bathroom. I told Joseph to take a taxi and come to the parish, that I would pay for the trip. A young Burmese couple also came with Joseph’s family. They took a bath, ate and rested, after many sleepless and fearful nights. The next morning, all the Burmese fell at my feet and Joseph said: “I believe in God”; “I believe in God, because even though I am a Buddhist, last night I prayed to the God my father worships, Jesus, and asked him to help me. Someone gave me your phone number and now I know God was there.”

After two days, I rented two rooms and brought everything necessary to settle the two families. Later, the other Burmese couple went to work on a construction site. Joseph and Anna proved to be so kind, intelligent and helpful that we invited them to work with us, and Mary goes to the Maria Auxiliadora school and is doing very well. Now this Burmese couple, who come to church every day and prepare to be baptized, have offered to raise Bang Eung and be her mom and dad.

I want to end by asking everyone to pray for us, who are always tempted to escape the pain and suffering that our work entails. On the occasion of the approaching Holy Christmas, I wish everyone peace, the peace of those who recognize themselves as poor and disabled, like the people who celebrated with us the feast of the poor in the parish of San Marcos a few weeks ago. There was a great peace and an intimate joy that left us all amazed. All this is the work of the Lord.

* missionary in Bangkok