Phnom Penh Cambodia

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Entering Cambodia you are immediately hit by the widespread poverty. We could not leave the bus without being bombarded by children begging for money and selling local fruits. They stand in your way when you walk and say phrases in English like “buy something” or “I can’t go to school unless you buy.” We have encountered this everywhere we go in Cambodia. It’s very heartbreaking. The people who live in the countryside have raised houses on stilts made of wood, bamboo and grass. Some are modern structures. Underneath the house they lay and sit together on large grass beds trying to avoid the heat. Kids run around with bleached hair from the sun, no shoes and sometimes no clothes. There were people working the fields but way less than in Vietnam. Most of the land looked undeveloped. This is just what I saw from the side of the road. Our guide told us that most Cambodians live off of less than 63 cents per day.

In Phnom Penh it is completely different. The discrepancy between rich and poor in the city is extreme. I was not used to all the fancy cars and SUV’s on the road. In Vietnam there weren’t many cars at all. The monuments in Phnom Penh are extravagant and beautiful. It’s definitely worth going for a cyclo ride or a tuk tuk ride (motorbike taxi car) to see them. There are also a lot of temples and schools of Buddhism. We saw monks everywhere. Amongst all the fancy buildings there are also run down streets filled with trash, many people living on the street and lots of homeless families, children and people with disabilities.

On a positive note there are a lot of NGO’s based in Cambodia including UNICEF, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and World Health Organization (WHO). We visited a project called Friends which is a school and training program for street children. They have a really nice restaurant with delicious food and excellent service. They serve spiders, a local food, for any brave souls who want to try it. The profits of the restaurant and neighboring store go to paying for the school and medical clinic. The waiters have t-shirts that either say ‘teacher’ or ‘student’ on the back. Once the teenagers learn the tricks of the trade, they become teachers. The restaurant closes early because they have to get up in the morning for school. I really enjoyed the feel of the place. There were art pieces on the wall done by the students and collages of student portraits.

Killing Fields of Cheung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes otherwise known as S21. The story of what happened in the 1970’s in Cambodia is complicated. I learned a lot about the events that led to genocide and about the way in which it was carried out. If you have a chance to visit, I highly recommend it. The 3 million people who lost their lives must be remembered. If we as humans pretend like this event, and other events like it, did not happen, we are risking it happening again. Learning about the Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge regime gave me a lot to think about in relation to how people can be connected despite various socio-economic differences. If we become disconnected we lose all humanity. That is what happened here.

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Comments

[Cris]

Have Mami and Papi Landed?
Hi Tere, Looking for news of Mami and Papi hooking up with you. I remember learning about the killing fields and the sad history there. Glad you are honoring the memory and noticing the people and conditions. Glad you found some positive change and the resilience of humanity. Love you, Cris