FACES OF CAMBODIA

Angkor Temple

New Hope for Cambodian Children 

While taking a trauma training at Esalen this past March, I had the amazing good luck to meet a wonderful woman who invited me to go to Cambodia with an NGO called Buds to Blossoms.   This group is dedicated to providing massage therapy to infants and children.  Six weeks later I was landing in Phnom Penh and on my way to an orphanage with 240 HIV+ children.   The founders and directors, Kathy and John Tucker, are Americans who have been living and working in Cambodia for 12 years.  Initially their big hearts took them into caring for HIV+ orphans who were living with extended families.  Over time, what they found is that most people didn’t understand and/or were unable to afford the extra care and nutrition that is required for these children to survive.  They found  land to purchase to create an orphanage and very quickly they had clinics, hospitals, neighbors, doctors and other orphanages making referrals to them.  Their organization now not only cares for 240 orphans but has a nursery that cares for HIV+ babies,  has an income generation project for HIV+ widows, has a support house for their graduates who are going on to university or job-training, and they continue to care for 1600 HIV+ children in the surrounding nine districts. 

New Home

I received permission to travel with one of their outreach workers who was doing his twice weekly visits to the children to check on their adherence to the ARV medication and to give them money for supplemental food supplies and school supplies. As Kathy said, "we only go to the poorest of the poor" and I certainly saw some extremely impoverished living conditions.  We visited about 12 homes with children of all ages.  A few of the homes were on sticks above stagnant water, with only scrap planks for a floor, and corrugated metal for siding and roof, with a tarp hanging over the bed to keep out the rain.  It was heart-wrenching to see people struggling so much for so little. 

Planning Meeting

Fellow Volunteers

My Adopted Family

Village Street

 Kathy and John (both in their 60’s) are a force of nature and have hearts big enough to hold all of the children under their care.  During my two weeks there, I joined with the other masseurs and offered massages to the children and staff.   We also danced and played with and hugged a lot of children. 

Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity

During these two weeks, the masseurs provided  massages to a nearby NGO helping victims of acid burn violence.  This is a very impressive organization that covers all aspects of recovery from this horrific injury.  Besides medical and rehabilitation services free of charge they offer counseling, physiotherapy, vocational training, legal guidance, and awareness training.   While visiting them I mentioned my social work background and the possibility of my offering a training in the Trauma Releasing Exercises that I had just received training in.  The outcome was that I was able to offer 3 different  sessions  to their staff and patients in TRE.  One of their social workers functioned as my interpreter and  they were very enthusiastic about the possibilities these exercises could offer in trauma  resolution. 

 

Phnom Penh

During these two weeks we had several days to spend in Phnom Penh, rejuvenating ourselves with showers, air conditioning and great food.  PP is a surprisingly sophisticated city with wonderful restaurants, beautiful temples and ample shopping.  We always chose tuk-tuks as our means of transport and found sight-seeing very easy once you got the hang of bargaining with the drivers and vendors.  I haven’t mentioned the heat.  The day we arrived I was told that it was 101 F with very high humidity.  By 8am every morning it was too hot to be in the sun.  I became accustomed to salty sweat in my eyes, and droplets off of my nose. Some evenings we all laid in our wet sheets until we hopefully fell asleep.  One could never drink enough water to keep-up with the out-pouring but somehow this facet of the trip has faded into the background.

Mekong River through Phnom Penh

Tai Chi on the boulevard

Young Monks at Play

SIHANOUKVILLE

 After ripping myself away from the orphanage and my new adopted family, I headed for the beaches of Sihanoukville, about a 5 hour bus ride from the capital.  This is a delightful place for relaxing, swimming, and walking the miles of white sand beaches.  It happened to be on the week-end of the King’s birthday so it was a holiday and the beach was teaming with Cambodians at play.  It was wonderful to see the families together, and really feel  the spirit of the people.  Everything in Cambodia is extraordinarily inexpensive so it was easy to have fresh grilled shrimp every day for every meal if I wanted. Unfortunately, because the country and the people are poor, it is also a place where old white men come to find beautiful young women.  There are also signs about child trafficking everywhere as this has become a major problem in the country.

Feet cleaning by the fish...TICKLES

While lounging at the beach, beggars in abundance would approach.  Many were kids selling either postcards or adorable little crocheted animals that they or their mothers had made.  Many of the kids speak English, so I enjoyed engaging them and finding out about their school and their families.  The adult beggars nearly always were missing an arm, a leg or were blind….all part of the aftermath of their war and the remaining land mines.  

  

Before coming to Cambodia, I had known about the Killing Fields and the Pol Pot era of the 1970’s where one quarter of the population (2 million) perished, but it is much more profound and impactful to see the walking wounded and talk to people who have lost multiple family members during this time.   Seeing these sweet families playing so beautifully with their children, I had a difficult time imagining how so recently the country was involved in mass genocide.  To help me understand this more clearly, I read a book called Why They Kill which specifically addressed this question.

Cambodia’s Tragic Past

Cambodia had been colonized by the French and was part of what was called Indochina (Cambodia, VietNam and Laos).  The fight for independence from France helped solidify the Communist Party and the Khymer Rouge which came into full force in the 1960’s and 70’s. 

Victims

Tuol Sleng Prison

A civil war began in the early 70’s and the Communists quickly gathered forces as their country was being bombed by US forces as part of the Viet Nam war. In 1973, the ruling Cambodian government and the US dropped a half a million tons of bombs on the country, killing up to 300,000 people.  In 1975, the Khymer Rouge army marched into Phnom Penh and ended the civil war. The Khymer Rouge immediately executed anyone that played a part in the former government.  They evacuated the entire city of Phnom Penh sending families into the countryside with only the belongings they could carry. The idea was to completely uproot capitalism, feudalism and corruption. They felt that cities were evil and only peasants in the countryside were pure enough for their revolution. Subsequently over the next three years,  2 million people died through execution, starvation or disease.  Everyone lived with the fear of being executed if they drew the least bit of suspicion or disloyalty.  Family loyalties were discouraged and children were sent away to work camps or to support the military.  Two classes of people developed, the “base people” and the “new people”.  The base people were the peasants, farmers and laborers.  The new people mostly came from the city and were considered as “parasites” and had no rights.  They were hated and looked upon with suspicion. Because much of the food supply was directed towards the soldiers, the majority of the new people were starving.  If someone was caught stealing any food, they were executed.  Torture facilities were established to extract confessions from people with Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh being one of the most  infamous.  The brutality that is described in the personal stories is a horrible testament to man’s inhumanity to man.  The ingredients that led to such conditions include a cultural history/norm of delivering exaggerated vengeance (some punishment greater than the one done to you).  This served as a face-saving act.  Another facet was the brain-washing and the fear that the government and leaders instilled, separating  one group/class from another – creating an enemy within then intimidating and frightening everyone into pointing fingers and accusing others for fear of being seen as disloyal if they didn't. 

During this time Cambodia was having a war with Viet Nam over border issues.  Many Cambodians fled to Viet Nam to help them win against the Khymer Rouge.  In January, 1979 the Vietnamese captured Phnom Penh and soon after the entire country.  Fighting continued within the country against the occupation by Viet Nam.  Most people were able to return to the city and attempt to reconstruct their lives.  With the death of Pol Pot in 1999, the Khymer Rouge movement collapsed.

Current Cambodian Leaders

Today, only 10 of the former Khymer Rouge leaders are being brought to trial within Cambodia.  Some former leaders have died and most will never see a courtroom.  One sitting judge has already resigned stating that due to the current level of corruption within the government and the court system,  he sees no way justice will be accomplished.   The Cambodian people are left feeling betrayed, discouraged and angry.

Temples of Angkor

The magnificent temples of Angkor date from the 9^th to 13^th century.  Some are Hindu temples and some are Buddhist. 


 


 Some have places of worship for both Hindu and Buddhist.  Some are built with the visage of kings and some of the Buddha. 






  








 With my wonderful guide and tuk-tuk driver, I spent two days touring the area to include the most famous Angkor Wat complex,  the astonishing Ta Prohm with the magnificent fig tree roots climbing through the ruins, and many other larger and smaller temple sites.  The photos will tell the story.

Cambodia’s people are recovering from one of the worst human tragedies of the 20th century.  They were left with no doctors, teachers, or educated persons.  The wounds run deep with so many having lost their families, lost their health, or lost their mental well-being.   Yet, they seem to be like phoenix rising from the ashes.  They continue to play, sing, dance and love.  My heart has been opened to the Cambodian people and I hope someday to return.  Their smiling faces are calling me back.

New Hope for Cambodian Children.com

      THECASC.org  (Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity)    

           Buds to Blossoms.org