Chris went to visit a friend who was working with Laotian refugees all along the Mekong. He saw a Thailand tourists to Pattaya, Bangkok or Chiang Mai never see. In places it was like the wild west, with anti-communist private armies. But employers took an interest in their employees' children, and bought them gifts, and found work for the protegees of their protegees.
On the airplane, Chris was friendly to Yong Y'oud. He said something simple like "What will you do in England?" Instead of being rewarded with a delighted smile, there was an awkward, bitter smirk. "I live there," Yong Y'oud said.
Christopher knew then: this one has lived in the West. This is what we do to them. To each other.
Chris think of the monks under trees, the women serving soup from corner carts, the beautiful children in uniform. He decides: it is time he saw Thailand again.