Hello My Dear Journey Companions,

As I sit down to type this, I realize that it has been a month since I have last sent a posting. I am now in Phnom Penh, Cambodia - the nation's capital - and I've been in the country for nearly four weeks now.

Moving On 

After my lengthy illness in Burma from mid-March to mid-April and a long period of recovery in Thailand until mid-May, getting the strength to travel to Cambodia seemed to take a monumental effort. I had a false start one morning where, as I was my packing to leave, I became so exhausted and weak, I had to return to bed. This nearly had me return immediately to Seattle, and I even scheduled a flight home. I was reticent to go to another third world country, yet the thought of having my journey end that way did not sit well with me. It was truly, then, by the grace of God, that I somehow managed to move on.

Introducing Cambodia

Cambodia, like the rest of Southeast Asia this time of year, is hot. The dark green palm trees and lush tropical foliage of the countryside contrast brightly against the deep orange clay of the earth. Most of the land is flat and ringed by small mountain ranges of very dense jungle. The rainy season has begun, so the dusty air is frequently cleared, and the colors are fresh and crisp while the humidity becomes unbearable.

Cambodia has a pleasant, comfortable feel to it. Much to my surprise, I have found evidence of a relative "prosperity" compared to nearby Laos and Burma. Most families have motor scooters which were more of a luxury in the other countries. Cell phones are ubiquitous even in remote villages, and I think this will continue to be the trend in developing countries as the expensive and difficult infrastructure required for land phones can now be bypassed.

The Cambodian people and culture are called Khmer, and the Khmer call their country "Kampuchea". The population of the country is quite homogenous with the ethnic Khmer people comprising more than 90% of the population. There are increasing numbers of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants, and the expert population of Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Filipinos, and Thai are especially prevalent in the capital of Phnom Penh. Most of the expiates are here with a large number of non-government relief and assistance organizations, and with this expiate population comes many Western conveniences and services such as Western-style supermarkets, a variety of ethnic restaurants, numerous pubs, and an abundance of cheap, fast internet cafes. Phnom Penh is alive and well and fun!

Kampuchea

Cambodia's more recent political history is filled with hundreds of years of instability. During the 800-1400 AD Angkor Era, powerful kings ruled the area, and they created some of the world's greatest temples. If you've seen the recent movie "Tomb Raider", this was filmed at these temples. After the Angkor period, both Vietnam and Thailand - Cambodia's neighbors - had periods of claiming parts of Cambodia. Then, in the 1800s, the French colonized Cambodia, keeping the country intact.

After independence in the 1950s, however, an underground, internal movement called the Khmer Rouge eventually led to a horrendous period of genocide in the 1970s. Many Westerners associate this period with "The Killing Fields", the most famous area where thousands were killed. Yale University experts' most recent estimates figure that two million, or more, Khmer were killed during this time. While it is easy to compare this with the German Nazi ethnic cleansing of Jews, the Khmer Rouge were a group of Khmer killing their own kind in a particularly brutal, Maoist-style, communist "cleansing" revolution.

The Killing Fields

In this past week, I have visited the country's two major museums from the Khmer Rouge era. The first is an ordinary school in the middle of a Phnom Penh neighborhood. This school was turned into a prison, called Toul Sleng or "S-21", and used as an interrogation and torturing site by the Khmer Rouge. Thousands of innocent victims were processed here before being taken out to the killing fields for extermination. The Khmer Rouge were meticulous in their record keeping, and they photographed every victim that came through the prison. Today, the school is open as a museum, and I became physically ill as I was allowed to tour rooms that still had the original beds and tools in them that were used for the torture and imprisonment. Hundreds of pictures of the victims line the walls, and I was especially saddened and shocked to see photos of babies, young children, and elderly women. While the museum is overwhelmingly disturbing, it is effective and important for communicating the extent of these horrible events in the not-too-distant past.

It was after my visit to the prison that I went to the actual killing fields, a place 8 miles outside of Phnom Penh called Choeung Ek. To an unknowing visitor, Choeung Ek would appear to be a pleasant village, an area of beautiful countryside and fields, and more quiet and less polluted than nearby Phnom Penh. It was shocking to me, then, when I first saw the large pits where thousands of bodies had been exhumed from mass graves. One pit was about 12 feet by 12 feet and several feet deep, and it had contained the bodies of over a hundred women and children. Next to it was a large tree that had been used by executioners to kill babies and toddlers whose feet they held while beating their heads and bodies against the tree's trunk. When dead, they just tossed the bodies into the pit. At the tree's base was an urn of bones that had been found by visitors to the area. 

At the center of the killing fields site, a large monument has been erected and houses shelves upon shelves of the hundreds of skulls exhumed from some of the pits. Many of the mass graves have been left unexhumed. When I went inside the monument housing the skulls, I could see holes in the bones where some of the victims had been bludgeoned to death. The experience was so overwhelming that I began to weep. Even as I write this several days later, tears well up in my eyes from the profound impact of the experience.

The Living Fields

After witnessing the destruction of the Khmer Rouge era, I feel great sympathy as I meet locals who lost their parents, family members, friends, and whole communities during the exterminations. While I feel sympathy, I do not "feel sorry" for these people. The Khmer people seem like they don't want you to feel sorry for them either. They are survivors in an amazing sense. Not only have they survived, but they are trying to thrive. They offer huge, warm smiles and genuine friendliness, despite their tragic histories. There is an incredible resiliency here - a great sense of hope and developing prosperity - materially and spiritually. As a visitor, the wave of growing success is infectious, and I find myself loving being here and getting to experience the magic as it unfolds before my eyes.

This is an era of "The Living Fields". The people here have a unique kind of drive, ambition, and motivation that I did not sense in the people of Burma or Laos. Perhaps it is the large number of relief and assistance organizations here that have given these people more opportunity than their neighbors. Yet, they don't just stand around waiting for the next hand out. They are appreciative of the assistance, and they are taking their abilities to the next level. When the French discovered the extraordinary talents of the Khmer exhibited in their temples at Angkor, the people of Kampuchea took on a new perspective of themselves and their gifted abilities. It is this strong sense of cultural identity and pride that is apparent today.

Striving and growing are everywhere. There are small, private schools all over Phnom Penh advertising English and/or computer classes. They believe, correctly, that education is the tickets to success. The population here, in general, seems to speak more and better English than those of Thailand, Burma, or Laos. In some ways the Khmer drive reminds me of the drive of some of my Jewish friends who tell me that their desire for success comes their people never wanting to be persecuted again. The Cambodians seem to have a similar drive arising from their persecution, yet they are able to quite open and trusting of the outsiders who have come in to offer them help.

Khmer Materialism

The Khmer are social climbers. I notice that the women wear large amounts of extravagant jewelry made with gold and precious stones - diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. I'm told that this is how they "save" their money, since there are no banks in the villages, but even the city dwellers with access to proper banks exhibit this kind of flashy materialism. Two young women here even frowned at my simple silver earrings, thinking it would be better for me to wear fake gold and precious stones than my these sterling silver earrings I had purchased in Burma.

I was invited to a wedding in a village that took three hours to get to on very bumpy, horrible roads. The attire "out in the middle of nowhere", in a simple village of wooden stilt homes, was that of a black tie affair in the States. I had to borrow an elegant, formal dress for the occasion. I was more dressed up that day than I had ever been for a Seattle occasion. The only experiences I've had rivaling this kind of cosmetic exhibition was when I lived in the American "Southern Belle" city of Atlanta and attended numerous black-tie affairs.

Don't get me wrong, though. Cambodia is indeed a very poor country, and the people struggle to make ends meet. For someone coming from the West, Cambodia would be shocking and sad. After Laos and Burma, I am just able to see the relative prosperity, and I am surprised by the blatant displays of material wealth. In some ways, however, I find it refreshing and evident of the hope for a bright future here.

Working in Cambodia

My first week in Cambodia was spent enjoying the pristine, undeveloped beaches and national parks of the country's south coast. Since then, for the past 2-1/2 weeks, I have been in Phnom Penh working with a Filipino missionary to Cambodia, Paula Guazon. I've been putting my computer skills to great use, installing and updating her current systems and training university in skills such as basic computer maintenance, Microsoft Word, and using the internet. It's been really fun, and I've enjoyed putting my brain to work, realizing that I miss my high-tech roots! When this journey is all over, can you believe that I am actually looking forward to going back to work ?!?!

Warmest Blessings My Dear Friends,

Heather