| Survival History: The Construction Of The Burmese Railway (I) |
 Pablo Edronkin
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The history of the construction of the Burmese railway tells us that true Survivors know that opportunities never disappear, but just go elsewhere, with someone else. this is a truth that thorough history some took advantage off, and these people became the successful millionaires that we know about, or great military leaders, politicians, explorers, adventurers and discoverers of our world. This is something that we have to ponder seriously every time we come across an opportunity, for whatever use or need we have in mind. Many times we surrender before fighting, while all facts demonstrate that those who win are those who fight even while others may think that they have been vanquished. When the Japanese military commanders during WWII decided to build a railroad through the jungles and rainforests of Thailand and Burma - now Myanmar - to supply their frontline troops near the border with India, they decided to ruthlessly use tens of thousands of Asian, North American and European prisoners of war; it was a terrible affair to work under such extremely dangerous and unhealthy conditions, but they went ahead, anyway. Working conditions were extremely harsh, the treatment given by the Japanese guard was awful and food was so bad that the whole construction site became a virtual extermination campo with no need for firing squads or chimneys. scape was almost impossible, for there were hundreds if not thousands of kilometres of very hostile enemy territory to cross, and no military liberation of prisoners was possible; in fact, most surviving POWs remained as such from the beginning to the end of world war two. Death and survival became the absolute goals of those there, and when people is confronted with such options, they either give up completely or fight as much as they can.  Imagine yourself doing forced labour in a place similar to this one... |
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