Monday May 23, 2011
Rebuilding
After an awesome and extremely busy weekend in Siem Reap where we saw the temples of Angkor Wat, shopped the day and the night markets, had a sort of art crawl- Cambodia style (6 people to one tuk tuk going hut to hut visiting the artists themselves and buying paintings), and saw traditional Cambodian dancing at a buffet dinner theatre, it was time to head back to Phnom Pehn. Today was good to help digest all we had seen and also gave me some time to reflect on things thus far. Seeing the temples of Angkor Wat at sunrise was an amazing experience. People from all over the world gathered in this one place and stopped and quieted themselves for just long enough to take in the beauty of the day beginning over this ancient architectural, cultural, and spiritual wonder.
While on the bumpy bus ride back to Phnom Penh, I took the time to do some reading, listen to music, to the outers, and think about things. As we talked and laughed with our guides for the weekend, Ratinah and Niron—two native Cambodians who are brother and sister, I also read a chapter or two from the book Bones That Float. After reading one particular passage I was especially taken back. In this passage, I learned more details of America’s role in Cambodia’s darkest hour: the horrific events and genocide of millions of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge. In supporting the coup of King Sihanouk, instatement of the Lon Nol government which lead to war with the North Vietnamese, and bombing Cambodia with more than 500,000 tons of explosives (more than all that fell on Japan in WWII), the U.S. helped to strengthen the Khmer Rouge. The bombings alone killed between several hundred thousand and one million innocent Cambodia civilians and motivated the Khmer Rouge to overthrow the Lon Nol government and viciously murder millions more Cambodians who were deemed “traitors.” Even more disheartening is that most Americans don’t even know a thing about it.
However, as I read I overheard Niron talking and laughing with us as if we had all been friends for years after just knowing each other for three days. This stark contrast to the relations of America and Cambodia in the 1970’s and then now as we all sat together made things very clear to me as far as one purpose of this trip. In being here and working in the hospital, seeing the sights, and meeting and living alongside the Cambodia people we’ve met and become friends with, we’re also being a part of something much bigger: rebuilding the diplomacy and views of each other together. The people we have met here all throughout Cambodia have been among the most accepting, kind, and positive people I have ever met. Even after all that has occurred in the past, they still remain so gracious and welcoming to all of us. It’s really encouraging to see such beauty within people.
– Michael Seamon