⏱️ Lose Everything To JAH ⚰️ | #APART {A Picture And Reggae Tune}
Long overdue for an #APART post, @Sreypov, Monkey-B, and I headed over to the nearest open air space we he have access to here in Paramaribo, Suriname. This space just happens to be a cemetery, and ironically is the best space in which we have some breathing space.
Big Sacrifices Are Never in Vain
A Conscious Choice
We have lost a lot of over the last couple years, but our family is still full of love and life. In our journey to give my American family members an easier chance to meet my Cambodian family, we gave up everything in Cambodian to temporarily relocate to the western hemisphere.
taken just after we were denied permission to board a flightIt's now been nearly a year and a half in the western world, and we haven't had one visitor from the USA. We had come here with a promise that my family members would come to see us within three months of our arrival. It's certainly a let down to sacrifice so this much and not even see things work.
Sacrifice
As we are salt of the earth, we couldn't afford to keep our restaurant in Cambodia, so we had to shut it down and sell off everything to be able to afford plane tickets.
It would've been much easier for my American friends and family to visit us in Cambodia, both due to the easy visa situation and much cheaper cost of living there. They also wouldn't have to lose everything they own to come to Cambodia for two weeks.
Us Against The World
But here we are now, stranded in Suriname, nearly broke, life's possessions reduced to 6 suitcases for a family of 4, and now we only hope to find a host country with a cost of living and wild-west-style economy that we are used to.
Until things change, we have nowhere to go, nowhere to call home, as both Cambodia and the USA won't take us as a family. We can't even easily access our funds and non-rotten vegetables in Suriname, but we give still give thanks for life. Our daughters no longer believe borders, passports and visas should be legal forms of controlling basic human freedom of movement, as they have seen the wickedness of these policies firsthand too many times.
Haven't Lost Everything Yet
graveyard across the street from our house in ParamariboNow that we must pass by a massive graveyard every day, I am constantly reminded I am still above ground, and therefore can still struggle, so there is no giving up as long as I have my vessel. I have a lovely family, we are healthy, and our love only grows with the passage of time.
In The Dungeons Of Wrong Conceptions
Staring into a stinky slimy pit at a run-down cemetery in a place we have been stranded far too long provides me with far too many allegorical ideas, but it somehow gives me hope too. With JAH in my heart, I don't fear death, and am far from ready to bow down to a system that is wrong. We will keep moving until we find a place somewhere on this Earth that respects our livity.
Lose Everything To JAH 🙏 Midnite
Listen with intent, the Wordsmith Vaughn Benjamin's lyrics are powerful. The key message of this song is that Selassie I truly protects us, and losing ego is no different than losing possessions, for the goal of life is not "having," but "knowing."
🙏 THANKS FOR READING / WATCHING 🙏
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That’s a grim view but a great reminder that is one life. A graveyard for fresh air? How the kids feel being there? At least they will not fear life or death.
Your daughters have the global mindset, this visa and passport thing really put up some walls around the world that separate and complicate but make Babylon great ( Australia tief $200 from me in visa fees and I didn’t get a visa, the amount of poor people that happen too)
I think your US fam and friends would have come to Cambodia eventually, its more exotic, but what do I know 🤷🏾♂️.
Lose everything to know Jah, it sound like you literally living out Vaughn's words. The song is heavy conscious.
Ecuador had tons of public parks and free spaces, but they are almost non-existent in Suriname unless you have your own car. Suriname is certainly no place for a pedestrian. Cambodians are so used to death it doesn't even phase them. Most rural Cambodian kids have washed a dead ancestor's body in preparation for a funeral, so they are well aware of the cycle of life.
I remember seeing tons of backpackers with wallets full of cash in Cambodia. I would ask them where they got their funds, and it was always working on an Australian farm for a year. Apparently there was a special working holiday visa, but by the time I researched it, I discovered there was a 30-year-old age limit, and I was 34 when I discovered that, big bummer.
Because of the genocide and Vietnam War, too many rednecks that fought in Vietnam have only bad things to say about SE Asia, especially Cambodia. I tried for 10 years to lure a visitor, but it never manifested. It was frustrating to see young kids who'd only been in Cambodia for a half a year have their parents come visit for a month. I guess that is the difference in being from California vs Kentuckiana.
Give thanks for the visit and support @dmilliz. !ENGAGE 55
ENGAGEtokens.This post is deeply inspiring and also chokes me up. I will stop feeling sorry for myself. You and your amazing, loving and talented family teach me how to have strength.
Well, don't get too choked up, we were clowning around and having a good time there regardless. We have a feeling we are stranded here because it is our duty to find us a nation, and more and more I-thiopia beckons. Maybe only Zion will take us now, but still there is some unfinished business in Suriname. !ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.Another song that might give you some comfort is "If Jah is by My Side" by Tony Rebel:
I do wish the best for your family. Your love seems to be strong enough to conquer all the dragons that fly towards you. Blessings to all of you! ❤️
Tony Rebel is classic, my favorite tune from him is the "Nazarene Vow." We've started from scratch so many times in life it's nearly our wheelhouse now, and we no longer fear it. Thanks for the positive vibes @thekittygirl. !ENGAGE 50
ENGAGEtokens.Give thanks @thekittygirl and @innerblocks, truly blessed. !ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.Hello @justinparke
What a life experience, reading you makes me think that life has strange purposes for each one of us, things in the world are changing, but I am afraid that not necessarily for a better life, with less borders and limitations, but rather for a world in which politics tries to limit everything with superfluous excuses. But as you say, we may at some point find that point in the world where consciences are not so corrupted, and being and knowing are valued more than having.
Blessings to you and your family.
Give thanks for the kind words. I know you are in a tough situation as well my friend. We just have to do research to see where a better place for us may be. If Cambodians were eligible for Colombian visas, we'd be there with you my friend. For now Ethiopia looks very promising. It has a cost of living similar to Cambodia, delicious food, and an most importantly, an economy not in freefall.
Things are getting tighter here. I had to get permission and a written note from the Western Union agent which allowed me to go to a nearby Cambio and exchange for the "proper rate," whatever that is. Inflation is at an all-time high, a year ago 8 Suriname dollars were equal to 1 US dollar, but now the exchange is 18.50 to 1. This would actually be great for us if the shops hadn't increased prices by 200% to 600%. !ENGAGE 40
ENGAGEtokens.