Siem Reap - Repercussions

I’m really feeling it now – on the flight to Manila, the stewardess wouldn’t sit me in an exit row because I’m over 60 and a senior!  The older I get, the more  I ascribe to the Buddha’s teachings – especially that karma will get you in the end, and that for every action (or non-action) there are consequences – 99% of them unforeseen.   

And so many regrettable. 

The choices we make live long after we are gone with the ripples of repercussions.  I’ve certainly felt this on an individual basis, but am here referring to the bigger political-social scene.   In the Philippines, who knew that Imelda’s shoes (aka her voracious materialism and greed) would force the first People’s Revolution and plunge the country into economic despair, toppling the “Pearl of the Orient” to blood red in the global ledger.  Most countries in Southeast Asia have similar stories, but some are more striking regarding humanity gone amok.

In the 1960’s, Cambodia was a fairly stable and functional country until the
US-Vietnam war caused such friction. 

 In 1973, the US pulled out of Vietnam and many in Cambodia thought that democracy would gain hold, and that the former king would play a big part in the new government.  On April 12^th, the US left and on April 17^th, residents of the capital Phnom Penh were rousted from their homes and told that they had to leave for 3 days because the Americans planned to bomb the city .  

 Thus began the reign of terror of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.   A war against the intelligentsia, within 3 years 30% of the entire population was killed - between 1.7-2.5 million people – the educated and artists.  According to his youngest daughter – now a 24 year old student in Phnom Penh - Pol Pot (for "Political Potential") was only the  "driver of the car" – the car itself was supposedly China's Mao Tse Tung.  This daughter promises to make it up to the Cambodian people when she graduates, but I don’t know how that is possible. 

In 1979 Vietnam overpowered the Khmer Rouge and saved Cambodia from Pol Pot, establishing the People's Republic of Kampuchea - and a guerrilla war existed from then until 1991, when King Sihanouk was restored to the throne. But, the prime minister, backed by Vietnam, is a former Khmer Rouge soldier and opposition was quashed during the 'free' elections.  In 1998 - only 15 years ago, the Khmer Rouge  was finally eradicated.

Things amaze me:            
1. Imelda and her offspring currently hold congressional and senatorial political office in the PH,
2. the Prime Minister of Cambodia was a soldier in the Khmer Rouge and
3. US school children don’t even study this ‘civil war’ of Cambodia to understand how things work globally. 

The impact of China on all countries of Asia is huge – China wields a big stick and going against a giant has consequences, but - as I began this writing,  every action – or non-action – has consequences.  

 

 I visited a small killing field in Siem Reap (most are in Phnom Penh) –adjacent to a temple and monestary, where monks were bathing -  not much was there – except a glass-enclosed kiosk filled with skulls and bones – thousands of fragments of lives from a mass grave filled with bodies and trash. 

 

 

 

I had been reading the signposts on the temple and a faded tourist history with maps, when I turned and saw the skulls.  My heart stopped and I gasped loudly.  You can read about things in far away places, but they mean little until you really 'get' what events transpired.  And you don't find the meaning in 5 star hotels and beautiful tourist resorts.

A 10-minute drive away was the equally minimalistic and impactful War Museum, where I saw my first Kalishnikoff – incredibly heavy weapons.  And I now understand why shrapnel kills and landmines are deadly.

In addition to Russian weapons were lots of US ammunition and tanks from the Vietnam War – the US involvement in the war was totally avoided by my guide, and I could only wonder what a Russian tourist’s  guide would have said about the US - my guide said not a word.   

 

The destabilization of Vietnam has had enormous consequences on Cambodia as many will tell you - many Cambodians hate Vietnam and view the current Prime Ministeras that country's puppet.    

Bones were found in the tanks because unwilling soldiers were chained into them – returning alive only if they were victorious.         My guide, Thom (which means “big” - until last month when he contracted malaria and lost 50 pounds) was a consequence of Pol Pot’s actions – whether or not it was dictated by Pol Pot himself, or ordered by Mao. 

At 12, Thom’s family tried to flee to Thailand, but the border patrol stopped them – Thom was separated and has never seen his family since (he is now 37 years old).  At age 14, he was captured by the government, issued a Kalishnikoff  and told to kill his countrymen.  (My motorcycle guide, Vuttha, told me that during this chaotic time, he did not attend school, but hid from such soldiers – both sides would simply kidnap schoolchildren – girls and boys above 10, and force them to fight.)  At 15, shrapnel from a land mine blew off most of Thom’s left arm.  He described to me how they had no medical supplies and sawed it off with barbed wire.  Neither was there any pain killer – the pain was excruciating – he screamed for them to just chop it off, but they continued sawing.  Thom was a growing boy, and twice, his bone grew through the amputated arm – two additional surgeries were done to cut back the protruding bone.  Thom is grateful to be alive and has three sons, who are taught nothing of their country's recent history in school – the Prime Minister must be ashamed of his past and schools are not allowed to teach that part of history.  Thom, however, says that he will make sure that his sons know the truth when they are older.   Much is made of the Holocaust and “Lest they Forget” but we humans seem eager to forget and are lazy – even re-electing officials who were formally and publicly punished for their crimes.  I’m all for forgiveness – but give them something to do other than running the country!

And, to think that this happened less than 20 years ago is staggering to me.  If you want to read an excellently written book of a personal account of an 'intellectual' - a public works engineer who somehow survived, read "Stay Alive My Son" by Pin Thay. 

  

I purchased it for $5 when I was noshing on nachos at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Siem Reap.  A man came up and "handed" me a well-thought-out flyer, stating that he could not speak English and was a land-mine victim, but needed to support his family.  He carried a basket of books around his neck - I had seen the book at the War Museum and remembered the title - his eyes lit up when he recognized it - I waited for change and he just looked at me - sigh - of course he couldn't reach into his pocket to give me change - so I took the change and thanked him.  I began reading at my table through rather misted eyes.

To read what Cambodia had been and to think of the most educated people being executed and see the Cambodia of today, is sobering.  And this happened when I was in my 40's!  It is one thing to think intellectually about this, but another to experience it by talking to the people who have been so scarred by the inhumanity of a few, and amazing to me that this happens again and again.   As the writer Thay says in the book, when everything is stripped of you, there is no will and you just submit and accept.   Or, you die, as 2 million people did.  We Americans have no idea of 'life' and strife as much of the world knows it.

But, the Cambodian people I met were just delightful - they delighted in speaking English with me.   I was lucky to meet a wonderful guide, who agreed to take me to non-tourist places, along with the more touristy ones.   

We went to local eateries where he knew people and he ordered for me.  Not things I would have thought I would like, but I did.  Cambodian cooking is milder than Thai, but still has many spices, as opposed to most Philippine cooking that I know.  And, although I knew that Thailand and Cambodia loved crickets, I hadn't seen their procurement.  Lights are placed behind hard plastic sheeting, and a barrel partially filled with water is placed at the bottom of the plastic. 

At night, the lights are turned on and the crickets fly at warp speed into the hard plastic, stunning themselves, and fall into the buckets, where they drown.  Once the apparatus was explained to me, I began to notice hundreds of them on our journey.  Quite clever.

We also waited for a man who was returning from fishing - he carried wooden mesh crab pots and had a catch of fish, crabs and huge sea snails.





The things I will remember about Siem Reap are the wide, tree-lined avenues

 
perfect for bike riding;





the night market where I bargained for harem pants and sarongs;









The many religious temples, tombs and memorials

 

 

and the artisan center 

                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the best was riding on the back of Vuttha's motorcycle through the countryside and seeing things through his first hand narrative of life.  

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           

  

Cambodia today is rebounding from the repurcussions of the Khmer Rouge regime, but has so far to go, and is wounded with scars that others cannot even imagine.  I hope to return to this land of atrocities and miracles since it was one of my favorite experiences in my life.

Thank you to the lovely people I met and especially to Vuttha who made it personal.