Cambodia

For those of you who need a brief on Cambodia please read the following:

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and it relies heavily on aid. Foreign donors have urged the government to clamp down on pervasive corruption.

The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

In pursuit of a rural utopia, the Khmer Rouge abolished money and private property and ordered city dwellers into the countryside to cultivate the fields.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians perished during the next three years - many died from exhaustion or starvation, others were systematically tortured and executed for being "enemies of the state".
Compliments of BBC.com

My four day trip to Cambodia consisted of flying in to the capitol Phnom Penh going to Siem Reap (closest city to ancient ruins) and then driving back to spend one last-full day in Phnom Penh. There were five of us who went together, which helped make for cheap hotel rooms and we all split the cost of a driver/mini van for the days we were there.

Cambodia was devastating, yet beautiful. I would never want to return just as a tourist, but would be very interested in going back with more resources and a purpose. Evidence of the Khmer Rouge's great destruction is everywhere, from the lack of infrastructure, to the high number of young people, to the killing fields and genocide museum. While seeing the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat was astounding, there was the constant reminder of poverty. Children whose bodies looked to be no older than nine had faces that showed their real age; most of them teenagers. They crowded tourist in order to sale postcards, water, bracelets, small Buddha statues and other souvenirs. These kids where robbed of their innocents and have no choice but to make business their business.

The Genocide Museum was originally a high school that Pol Pot turned into a prison. Classrooms had beds for torture, with photographs of the bodies found in each room when the regime was overthrown, and others were divided into tiny makeshift solitary cells. Walking through each room made me grow more and more numb. A place that once promoted learning had been transformed into hell on earth. Individual photographs of the prisoners were in other rooms. Faces of desperate mothers holding their infants, strong men with looks of anger, young girls who decided to smile not knowing their fate, fear on the faces of children and one man who's eyes captured horror that will always be with me. No one was spared, no one was free. The killing fields outside of Phnom Penh, were over 20,000 people were murdered by beatings in order to save bullets, completely numbed me of all senses. How could one man be so evil? How could so many follow his orders? How, only thirty years ago,could such atrocity be allowed? How are similar atrocities still happening today? And what can I do to stop them?

My strongest feeling after experiencing Cambodia was not anger, or pity, or anything else. Reality can be overwhelmingly painful and can cause all sorts of emotions, making it easy to cast blame, feel guilty and even more-so, hopeless. But in all this I realize that while going through each of those is fine, the real issue is assuming some responsibility. Sure, I did not directly partake in any part of Pol Pot's regime, but I am responsible to take what I have seen and act. If everyone would assume some some responsibility instead of casting blame and shying away from action, I think some positive change could take place. I may not be able to rid the world of poverty, but I am capable of seeking where it is and what it is that I can help change for the better. And right now I am on that journey, finding what exactly I should do with what I have seen, not just in the past week, but in my twenty-two years.

Here are some sites of different charities I came across while there, in case you are interested in learning further:

www.beatcello.com

www.villageworks.com