thoughts to the past

If you’re over 40, you’ll likely remember the classic film Bridge Over the River Kwai. If you’re younger and think that The Beach (Leonardo DeCaprio) is the only famous movie filmed in Thailand, then I urge you to watch Bridge Over the River Kwai. For it’s vistas of Thai countryside and of course the lesson in world history. (note – there are varying opinions on how realistic the movie is most say the conditions in the film far understate the harsh conditions on the ground, but still, the movie gives you an idea of what took place historically at this location)

I won’t drone on about the history lesson. You can google it if you want the more in depth story. The short story. In WWII the Japanese military built a 415km railway to connect Thailand with Burma for the purpose of goods supply. As with many construction projects during wartime it was not an easy task and many people suffered for what was seen (at the time) as the greater good. Prisoners of War (POWs); British, Australian, Dutch and American, as well as laborers from local Asian countries were used as forced slave labor to complete the project. Working conditions were horrific. The railway (and preparing the land for it) was done entirely by hand. Imagine trying to bore through a rock cliff with only hammers and pickaxes. More than 300,000 people lost their lives in the name of ‘progress’. Historians have named this the Death Railway with good reason.
Bridge #277, of the 600 included in this railway, is the Bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi Thailand.

​The bridge I stood on was the 3rd to be built. Originally constructed from wood, the bridge was bombed during the war. As you can see the current bridge is metal and now the only rail traffic is a tourist train. The area around the bridge is essentially a tourist site but the view down the river is lovely.

It was good to see that the history lesson is being taught to Thai children. We saw a couple of uniformed school groups on tour. Peter took the opportunity to 'ham it up' with this group.

It's obvious the Thais respect the magnitude of what happened here. There several monuments and a very well maintained POW graveyard in Kanchanaburi.

​After the bridge, the most famous section of the railway is known as Hell Fire Pass. A push was put on to move progress forward and crews labored through the night.  Lanterns were used to light the area for round the clock work. The pass is named because the emaciated laborers working by torchlight had the look of a scene from hell.  Not only was the work stepped up in pace, this portion of the terrain involved cutting through the rock formation to make way for the railway.

​When we walked through, I found it was tiring to trek. Over 35C, hot and humid, I was glad for the bottle of water I brought.  So, I was forced to stop and think about the men working there – literally chipping away the rocks with hand tools, usually bare-foot, fed a cup of rice a day, plus the injuries and diseases they faced. Incredible, the human will that must have prevailed to keep these men working. I’m not sure it’s something I could even really comprehend?

Another item I found really hard to wrap my head around was a letter in the museum. It was to the POWs announcing that the war was over and they were now free.  The letter stated: stay calm, don't eat excessive amounts at first and don't worry we are coming to get you....although we are not sure how long that will take, but remain where you are.  I really can't even imagine having gone through what those men did and then to get a letter to "remain calm and remain where you are".  
​But that’s not the point really. Iit’s not whether I actually comprehend, but the attempt to see the lesson, to learn the history. I think that remembering our past – the mistakes made by humanity – is one key to helping to prevent repeating (bad) history.