Mae Hong Son is a northern province in Thailand. As is the way here, Mae Hong Son is also the name of the provincial capital, which is where I went. The province is on the border with Myanmar. On the other side of the border is Loikaw state, home of the Karenni people. This is the smallest of the ethnic regions of Myanmar. It is also the most Catholic part of the country. So the two refugee camps near Mae Hong Son are for Karenni who have fled years of conflict with the Myanmar military, dating back much further than the present, brutal and tragic revolution, which only serves to escalate the enduring suffering of the brave people of Myanmar.
I went to Mae Hong Son to visit two good, Burmese priests of Loikaw, working with their people there, to see where they work and to whom to they minister. My experience of the camp began on my arrival in Mae Hong Son town, where I was immediately overcome by the beauty and the quiet of where I was. The beauty and the quiet stayed with me during my short stay there.
In the camp, I saw the beauty surrounding this place of human isolation. As we walked around, I was struck by the quiet. As I met people of the camp, I sensed their graciousness and strong human spirit. Given their few resources, the place was well organized. They had built their home with outside help, but with their own hands. As the climate is harsh and their homes are built of basic materials, they have to keep rebuilding. Life is tough. I came across simple churches, which spoke of true and living church, within a reality as harsh as the tropical climate. Finally, as I wandered and talked with the two priests, I was touched by men of deep commitment and great strength. The bottom line was my being struck by a love for their people and a depth of faith that allowed one of the priests and a Loikaw Sister, a member of the mission, to live in the camp with their people, being with them and so serving them.
What sense did I make of my Mae Hong Son experience? I went away knowing of human tragedy, but also knowing that God is there. God was revealed in the beauty and the quiet, in the suffering and courage of a people enduring continuing evil launched upon them, in the commitment of church standing with its people. God was revealed. God was there. God is here.
This is all mystery for God is Mystery. The Mystery is in the midst of life as it is. What stops us from seeing, knowing, feeling this? Despite all barriers, God wants to be with us, God is with us. The Mystery is with us everywhere and at all times. Do we believe that? I knew it in a refugee camp in Mae Hong Son.
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