Thursday, February 11, 2021

The Railway Line

PHOTO PROMPT © Alicia Jamtaas


In happier times it would have been the job of a lifetime. 

Imagine building a train line that traversed inhospitable rain forests, deep valleys, climbing high mountain ranges and lengthy mountain passes and over great rivers. 

Now imagine doing it under the barrel of a gun, incessant floggings and inadequate food.  

The Burma-Siam Railway built between June 1942 and October 1943 laid some 415 km of track giving birth to stories of heroism and the bridge over that river immortalised in a film. 

The forgotten heroes were the labourers who lived and died during the construction of the railway. 

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Written for Friday Fictioneers. Word Count : 100

To read the other writers this week click here

It is estimated that 16,000 allied POWs and 75000 to 150,000 Malay and Indonesian laborers died during the construction of the Burma railway. A total of 6,982 Allied prisoners who died in captivity during the war are buried in a beautifully maintained cemetery with rows of flowering plants. Some died building the Bridge Over the River Kwai and others perished while laboring on the notorious "Death Railway" to Burma.






I'd love read what you think about this post...

18 comments :

  1. Such a sad piece of history. Thank you for sharing it, Subroto.

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  2. I'm glad someone did the Burma railway angle. And did it well.

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    1. Thanks Sandra I am so glad you liked it.

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  3. Dear Subroto,

    Powerful story. Well done and thank you for the info.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Thanks Rochelle the story behind the construction of the railway line should never be forgotten.

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  4. A tragic period. Like so many manmade marvels, it came about through abhorrent actions.

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    1. Thanks Iain. It was a most cruel way to go about it.

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  5. Blood spilled and lives spent building a railway. What a hollow achievement when it's at such a cost!

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    1. Totally hollow - it was a horrific and cruel time.

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  6. Tremendously sad bit of history, written so well!

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    1. Thanks Brenda I am glad you liked it.

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  7. Thank you for sharing this bit of history and memorial. As a mixed-race Okinawan Japanese person (the nearest and first people conquered by mainland Japan), this is why to this day I'm only willing to respect other cultures up to a point. I feel like this kind of story needs to be shared with a Western audience that may not appreciate the significance of Japan's willful alliance with Hitler in WWII. Or America's continued presence on Okinawa, and in mainland Japan. There is still a LOT of racism and sexism and systemic exploitation there, and we should not forget that. Thank you so much for sharing this.
    My story.

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    1. Thanks for sharing that personal information Anne. Yes many people are not aware of some this brutal history of the war.
      However the war ended 75 years ago, it is time the Americans left Okinawa.

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  8. Subroto, I watched the first video and learned more than I knew about it. Humans are not a noble species by any stretch. Our history is etched with abuse and exploitation and it isn't over by a long shot :(

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    1. Thanks for reading Lisa, that documentary can be an eye opener for those who are not aware of that history.

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  9. so many helpless people were sacrificed not in battle, bus slave labor for the warring sides. Horrible loss of life. I don't have time to watch the longer video, but I'm going to come back to it later. I've watched several of his videos, and they are always interesting.

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    1. The slave labour was a mark of domination too. Thanks for your comments Linda.

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