Gratitude

A few days back I went to CVS to get an antiemetic tablet for someone in the family. The cashier was a middle-aged Asian man. He looked at the Domperidone tablet carefully and asked me: "This name sound familiar, what is it used for?" I told him that it is to stop vomiting. "Yeah, how can I forget?" he replied. "I ate a lot of it when we escaped from Vietnam 30 years back." he kept talking without me asking anything, reliving the memory. "Close to 100 people in a 30 ft long boat. No space to move, no food, no restroom. We spent 30 days in the sea to reach Malasia." He went on saying how he got into the USA and few more things. I looked into his eyes, what I saw was not a single Vietnamese refugee, but the faces of tens of thousands of peoples forced to flee their homes, relatives, and culture to embark on a torturing journey to the unknown. People who lost everything. Children separated from parents, family ties dismantled forever. Few lucky people would end up in friendly and generous societies. But for every person who remains to tell such stories how many might have lost their lives?

This is Thanksgiving evening. I just read three books to my daughter to put her to bed. We laughed, we hugged and now she is sleeping peacefully. Millions of fathers around the world could only dream of such a peaceful night for their children. In this night of gratitude, I remember those unfortunate millions. I wish them a peaceful and happy day. I hope that I would hear stories of great survival from them one day that would help to keep all of us grounded and be grateful for the fortunes we have.

Image Courtesy: http://www.newslocker.com/en-au/region/brisbane/cabinet-archives-1992-93-forget-tampa-boat-people-panic-began-under-keating/