Maureen Bird

On our last weekend, the 10 “newbies” to the Cambodian Sweat Equity flew to the capital of Cambodia. The ride from the airport was crazy as mentioned in an earlier blog. Motorbikes everywhere but fortunately there was a barrier down the middle of the main road into the city.

Saturday we visited the King’s Palace compound along the river with beautifully decorated buildings and viewing areas. We also saw the national museum which was good with some amazing treasures but the museum in Siem Reap is even more outstanding – certainly worth the visit. And of course we went to the main market. It is a little more roomy than the very cramped one in Siem Reap and had a more interesting variety. As befits a capital city there were wide boulevards and parklands.

Sunday was more sombre. Between 1975 and 1979 the Khmer Rouge brutally murdered or starved to death 2.1 million people, leaving the country with almost no educated citizens. There were about 300 “killing fields” around the country and Choeng Ek on the outskirts of Phnom Penh was one of the largest, with over 17,000 recorded killings. Over 9,000 bodies have been excavated with the bones examined by anthropologists, categorized, blessed by Buddhist monks and stored for display in a large Stupa on site. This was done with dignity and care and was truly moving. A Buddhist group was there that morning and the prayers they were offering were comforting in such a chilling place.

From there we returned to the city and the Toul Sieng Genocide Museum. This site had been a school but with teachers the first to die and the city emptied into the countryside, the school was perversely converted to a jail. Here prisoners were photographed, shackled and tortured for confessions before being trucked out to Choeng Ek for the “final solution”, being beaten to death because bullets were scarce.

We have been there, we saw, we learned but there is a reason only the newbies go.

Photos courtesy of Maureen Bird

Team Two will be leaving for home today after their several weeks of work around the Siem Reap area. Thirty-three participants is a record to have all in one place and it was amazing to have so many hands at work. Much was accomplished at the Landmine Museum and Orphanage and local schools but still there is much more to be done. The work will continue even after our departure for years to come. Thank you to all donors who gave so generously to the project. The participants will be returning home with many stories and fond memories of their trip. So THANK YOU for taking the time to help those in the developing world!