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January 15, 2006
Cambodia has been a hugely eye-opening experience for me...and I think for all of us. From the rich history of Angkor Wat, which was beautiful although somewhat of a reminder of how even great kings and kingdoms at some point are just a bunch of ruins to take pictures of. Nothing lasts forever...especially this trip...the time is just going so quickly. And then there's the gruesome, much more recent history of the Khmer Rouge genocide. I don't remember hearing much about this while I was growing up...or maybe it was because I wasn't really interested in world issues at the time, but much of the hurt and heartache that has taken place in Cambodia has been in my life time. The effects of it are still so real and fresh in the Cambodian minds...there are almost none who are untouched. For those of you who don't know, the Cambodian government was overthrown and taken over by a communist revolutionary group called the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Their goal was to completley agriculturalize the country and eliminate all those who had an education (or who knew more than they did...as they were uneducated group). So all the intellectuals, teachers, doctors, government officials, even those who wore glasses, and their families were thrown into prison and tortured/executed...while the rest of the people were evcuated into the country and forced to work the land...and many of them were killed also. Over the next four years almost 2 million men, women and children were killed...until the Vietnamese invaded and forced the Khmer Rouge into hiding in western Cambodia. From there they fought a guerilla type war with the government army right up until 1998.
Today you can see the effects in so many ways, one of which is that there are not many middle aged people...there are alot of young people and some older but there is definitely an age gap. There are also many people who still make their living searching for landmines...
In the capital city, Phnom Penh, they have turned 2 major sites from the Khmer Rouge period into museums. We visited both of them. One was the main prison where over 17,000 people went through, but not more than 5000 at a time...and only 7 were found alive when the Vietnamese found it. The Khmer Rouge were very concise in their documentation of their prisoners, and displayed in some of the former cells are thousands of mugshots that were taken of the prisoners upon their arrival to the prison. It broke my heart to see the fear, confusion, humiliation and hatred on their faces. The pictures of the children were really hard to take... they just didn't know what was going on. The other museum was called "The Killing Fields", where the prisoners were taken to be executed. They have made a memorial at the killings fields that showcase hundreds of skulls that have been excavated, all categorized into age and gender. You are also able to see the mass graves, some of which have been excavated, some of which haven't...but what you realize before too long is that the whole place is a mass grave as you see bits of clothing and bones coming through even on the walking path.
It made me sick and angry to see what man is capable of...so many people died needlessly. And yet, I know that as a human, I am also capable of doing all these things. The Cambodians called it "the darkness that lies within all of us".
So Cambodia is very much a country in need, but we were also encouraged to find that there are things are being done. World vision has a headquarters in Phnom Pehn that we stumbled upon, and found out all sorts of cool things that they are doing to help the people and country get on their feet. We also ended up in a really cool coffee shop that is run by a lady who employs "at risk" women and gives them skills that they can use to make a life for themselves. And I'm sure there's much more also. But I just want to say that if any of you are considering sponsoring a child or even adopting a child, Cambodia would be a great option.
So yah, I guess this has been a bit of a heavy blog entry...thanks for those of you that have made it this far. In all, Cambodia has been awesome. We went to visit an orphanage the day before we left Phnom Penh; we had such a great time playing with the kids...but it was hard to leave. Like I said, I think Cambodia has left a lasting impression on all of our hearts.
Posted by Maureen at January 15, 2006 9:16 PM