Nang’s Hasty Decision

Nang Shan Johnson glanced at her watch and decided to put her book back in her hand carry luggage. She then looked at the screen at the top of the departure gate in Bangkok and noted the flight was still on time so she needed to be ready to head for the gate for boarding where some were already gathered waiting impatiently and consulting their cell phones for final messages before switching to airplane mode and putting the phones away. She was booked on Kenya Air proceeding to Mombasa via Nairobi to take up a position as a doctor at Coast General Teaching & Referral Hospital and now wondering what had prompted her to make that decision.          

Nang was feeling both sad and apprehensive about this change in her life. She’d spent most of her life in Thailand since entering the country as a refugee from Myanmar where insurgency against the military rulers had continued from living memory. The rulers were of the Burman race and the Shan territory she was from encompassed much of northern and eastern Myanmar where they mingled with other tribes along with portions of the tribe straddling Chinese border regions and parts of neighbouring Laos and Cambodia. They were loosely tied to the Thai linguistly though some of Thai tones in their spoken language were difficult for Shan to pronounce. Nevertheless, their ancestors had been common.

She only vaguely remembered her birth parents. She’d been out playing with other children when the Myanmar government forces bombed her village in the hope of wiping out insurgents who ruled that area. There were no insurgents there in reality and it was the innocents who were going about their daily survival activities who were wiped out. When dust cleared, she raced home but where her home had been was now a gaping smoking hole in the ground. She remembered weeping uncontrollably along with others who’d lost members of their families then word began to spread that government soldiers were on their way and villagers had heard what usually happened when soldiers entered a village considered to be sympathetic to insurgents. After hasty consultations the village elders fled leaving an empty village which they later learned was burned to the ground by troops after plundering everything of worth.

The original plan was for them to flee to nearby villages where they knew they’d be welcomed and after time had elapsed, they’d send spies to see if it was safe to return and rebuild their village. The orphaned children were immediately adopted into other families and began to settle into a new reality with their adopted families. But word spread that government forces had decided to advance further into Shan territory to subdue and establish control over Shan culture. They managed tenuous control over major cities, but the bulk of the population remained in rural areas under insurgent leadership fighting against cultural absorption and the hearts of the people were with the insurgents fighting for independence. The Burmans were not fully in control of the cities they administered in Shan territory and often called in their air force to bomb suspected insurgent strongholds.

Fleeing civilians headed for the Thai border and Nang found herself eventually safe in a place called Chiang Mai in northwest Thailand. The language was similar, but Nang found in mixing with the local Thai she had difficulty with some of the Thai language tones and struggled through those initial years in a school for refugees supported financially by NGOs. It was in that place Nang Shan first met Dr. Dwane Johnson and his wife Evelyn who as a nurse accompanied him in his visits around villages and schools supported by the NGO. From time to time, she came to know their children James, Charles and the twins David and Anna Sue.

The doctor and his wife were fluent in Thai language and as their children grew the doctor saw his children received that language as part of their education though primarily, they were educated in the American home study educational system through a series of student teachers on temporary assignments for a year at a time on the payroll of the NGO before returning to finish their college work in America.

Nang was from the beginning attracted to Evelyn Johnson the woman with blonde hair that fascinated Nang. When Evelyn made her periodic visit to check on student health Nang was a shadow by her side and slowly Evelyn grew to love this refugee child. She investigated Nang’s academic history and noted her struggle in those initial years in Chiang Mai but then seemed to have made a remarkable recovery and was now one of the top students drinking in whatever knowledge she could get. Nang immersed herself in her books and was making surprising advancement in the English language. Evelyn talked with her husband, and they decided to adopt this girl and give her opportunities in life to rise above village culture.

Being a refugee Nang had entered Thailand without documents, so this was a big problem as she had no official status. Evelyn Johnson made it a personal project to get this sorted out as she was determined to have Nang as part of her family and she made several trips to Bangkok to work with a reluctant American Embassy to have adoption papers created and attested. She was rebuffed constantly but through relatives with political connections in the US pressure was applied. Evelyn was resisted for a long time as she made frequent trips to the Embassy but eventually pressure from Washington DC yielded results and Nang became Nang Shan Johnson.

Of course, all of this was far beyond her comprehension. All she knew is she now had a new family and brothers and sisters and while her initial reception from her siblings was not warm eventually, they came to accept her as one of them. The Johnson children had noted all the attention their father and mother showered on Nang and initially they’d considered her to be an unwelcome invasion trying to take their parents affections away from them. Eventually Everlyn understood what was going on and sat down with her children to listen to their fears and assure them they’d always be special and perhaps they could all help to rescue this child who’d had such a sad beginning to her life. Evelyn put her eldest son James in charge to protect Nang against children of the city who found refugees less than welcome and James being given this responsibility was complemented at being given recognition and made sure his other siblings fell into line. Eventually Nang and Anna Sue became very close.

Nang immersed herself in the American distance learning studies under the assigned tutor serving the Johnson children and quickly caught up with studies beyond the normal study group age and eventually finished SAT college entrance exams performing very well with a score of 1400.

Dr. Dwaine Johnson had observed Nang had a particular interest in the work he did and she’d begged him to take her on her school vacations as he circulated around the NGO supported schools and village clinics. Now she had her US Passport she’d even accompanied him on NGO work in Laos and Cambodia which was part of Johnson’s territorial responsibility. So, he and Evelyn sat with her as they had with their other children to determine what careers they’d like to follow and talked with Nang about her future.

James was already back in the US staying with relatives as he pursued his studies in medicine. Charles was in college in the US pursuing a career in education. The twins David and Anna Sue were still in Chiang Mai with their parents finishing high school studies and undecided as to what their interests were, but it was obvious Nang was interested in a medical career

The NGO Johnson worked for subsidized their employee children’s education as part of the salary package, but it was still a strain on the family partially supporting their children through higher education. Both Dwaine and Evelyn’s parents were socially connected and wealthy and they’d put aside considerable funds for their grandchildren’s education, but when that had been done Nang was not even known to the grandparents and the funds had already been divided between grandchildren and placed in trusts before Nang appeared on the scene. So, Nang would be the total responsibility of Dwaine and Evelyn to finance through her higher education. They needed to know what career she wanted to follow in life. Naturally she chose a career in medicine, but she wanted to complete her work in Thailand as she intended to stay and serve the people of Asia as her adopted parents had done.

So, working through NGOs contacts and some contacts at the Embassy an approach was made to the most prestigious university in Thailand Mahidol University in Bangkok. Nang had pled to be placed in Chiang Mai University for her medical training as it was close to the family, but Dwaine Johnson wanted her to have access to the best training for preparing a career in medicine and when a place became available Nang was accepted in Mahidol. Some in the university not happy pressure had been applied to see Nang put up near the top on the waiting list to get in determined to work her hard hopefully to have her drop out from the exhausting oversight they’d apply to her. But no matter what obstacles were put in Nang’s way she applied herself and slowly faculty realized she was worth their investment in teaching. Eventually over the years her tormenters grew to respect her and mark her as a potential valuable university trainer after she’d gained years of practical experience. Learning she intended to serve the Thai nation for life they encouraged her when the long hours in practical training in residency looked like overburdening her.

It was when Nang was in her second year of medical training Evelyn’s doctor in the US diagnosed cancer though reported she had an aggressive form of cancer which even surgical intervention and chemotherapy had little chance to cure. Evelyn opted for no intervention and just requested comfort care as she endured her final few months. Dwaine had been given leave of absence to spend the last months of Evelyn’s life with her looking after her comfort care needs as she slowly sank into a sleep she rarely woke from.

Surprisingly Evelyn passed away two months after the diagnosis with the request she be cremated and her ashes returned to Thailand where she’d spent all her working life. Dwaine and the children now living in the US returned to Chiang Mai with Evelyn’s ashes, and the ashes were scattered in the Ping River that travels through Chiang Mai province one of Evelyn’s favourite places for recreation during her long service there.

The children returned to America and urged their father to return to the US with them where they could have easy access to him to support him in his grief. But Duane wanted to stay and continue to serve the people he loved and remember the wife who’d served at his side in Chiang Mai. His children departed annoyed at what they viewed as his rejection of them. They’d dreamed of sharing their eventual grandchildren with their parents in the US in their parents’ retirement. How could their children grow to know their remaining Johnson grandparent when he was located at the other end of the world.

To be continued.

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