In year 2008, I went with a few friends over to Cambodia. It was a really insightful trip as we visited homes, orphanages and even went to an Island called the Widows' Island. I can't say that the place is beautiful beyond words because it is really underdeveloped. I can't say they have the cleanest country as there is mostly mud everywhere, on public transport, on the roads and even in the homes. I can't say that they have the least crime rates as there are beggars everywhere and it was quite apparent they belonged to some syndicates. Yet, these Cambodians who speak in Khmer are very friendly people. Somehow even though I could not understand their language, they just made me feel at home.
1) children sitting outside their house, not going to school
2) At the slums, these children are happy just to see that they have the attention of the camera, one which they might never be able to afford...
3) a boy carrying ice back home the old-school way
4) the slums- a place they called home. The last I heard, the Cambodia government decided to tear down this place and I have always wondered what had happened to its residents after that.
5) Naked babies are a common sight due to the hot weather and lack of clean clothes
6) In Singapore, we always say "moving forward, we need to blah blah blah..." Yet, I wonder what these young kid can move forward to in his future..
Other than an impactful visit to the slums, we always had a pretty tough journey to Widows' Island, where we had to take a really long tuk tuk ride, walk up and down steep and slippery steps of mud, get into a boat before we got to the island. True to its name, the island had widows and orphans living on it. It was a project by the Girls' Brigade. These widows learnt sewing skills on the island and make a living from that skill.
7) The sewing room
The people on the island also grow their own vegetables and they eat them raw!
8) the kind auntie who offered us the fruits of their labor...raw.
9) Here is the children's playground. How is it compared to ours?
As we walked around the place, we could not help but notice the living condition is almost in no condition to be lived in.
10) one of the more sturdy house on the island, where the residents use just about anything they can find to patch up the gaps.
11) and yes.. Even the cat looks malnourished.
One of the most stunning experiences I had in Cambodia was the visit to the Civil War Museum. Every exhibit in the place spoke of the suffering the 2million people went through when they were in there. Chains continue to dangle, old clothes were left in the glass cupboards, human skulls were on full display. The whole place simply reek of death.
12) Prisoners were chained in small cubicles like this
13) one of the many torture chambers
14) Blood stains from the past still can be seen on the floor..
15) barbed wires were in place to prevent prisoners from jumping off the building, attempting suicide
16) The no smiling sign, in respect of the victims. But honestly, no one could even smile in there.
17) Pol Pot, the man behind these hideous tortures, this destruction civil war.
Overall, Cambodia holds a deep impression on me up until today. It's is definitely a place worth going, if not for anything then just go and have a taste of friendly and warm humans. No, I don't mean that literally. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment