1) it may offend, even though it is not intended to;
2) it makes no attempt to be politically correct, and never will;
3) it is the biased viewpoint of a abnormal mind working in tandem
with an extremely warped sense of humor.
WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET
 |
| The manicured lawns and access road from the airport are a far cry from the reality faced by most Cambodians... |
 |
| Not uncommon are naked kids with bloated bellies, a family of 6 living on a 10 by 10 foot houseboat.. |
 |
| ...reselling 2 liter Pepsi bottles filled with gasoline on your lawn... |
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| ...this family is fortunate enough to have their own shack |
 |
| ...these are privileged children, they get to go to school... YET LIFE GOES ON...EACH DAY IS LIVED OUT FULLY  
in prayer and service...
 CAMBODIA, A LAND OF BEAUTY ... |
Royal Cambodian Palace, Phnom Penh
Mundain was there...
Magnificent!
Angkor Wat...awe inspiring
AND THE BEAST THAT WAS THE KHMER ROUGE
At this tree, in The Killing Fields
on the outskirts of Phonm Penh,
babies were swung by their ankles
and their heads smashed against its trunk
while mothers were forced to watch...
3 million of Cambodia's 8 million people
were systematically exterminated by Pol Pot
The stupa at The Killing Fields is filled with
bones of its victims and serves to honor
their memories as well as to remind
future generations of the horrors and
brutality of the genocide camps.
The Cambodian experience must be taken with the realization that it is a 3rd world country whose entire intelligentsia, 3 million of a total population of 8 million, were wiped out during the genocidal campaign of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, only a short generation ago.
To put this into context, imagine what it would be like if every well-off or educated person in Greater Vancouver was exterminated; from the obviously materially advantaged, to those with any formal education to even a person wearing eyeglasses because they were likely able to read.
If such purging had happened to Greater Vancouver, the only survivors would have been people from Surrey (apologies to Surrey)! Now, further imagine the societal impact of Surrey values on an entire population, a generation later...catch my drift?
Cambodians on the whole are struggling to raise families, to better their lives, to simply survive. Khmers are exploited by their own people and are victims of corruption at every level. Massive discrepancy exists between the lifestyles of the handful of rich and the subsistence of the poor masses.
It is no wonder that foreign tourists are viewed as geese who lay golden eggs. We have everything material Khmers desire...
So come to Cambodia...
...spend a little of your money...play along and allow yourself to
be scammed by someone who needs it more than you
...fast for a day and feel what it is like to be hungry...
...find inspiration in the perseverance and resiliency of her people
...break your heart watching homeless, naked 2 year olds cared
for by 8 year old siblings
...experience caring community as you observe orphaned,
abandoned street kids looking out for one another, laughing
and romping, scavenging garbage together...
...bring joy to a child simply by trimming his nails or bathing
him, letting him know that someone cares about him
...sick of whiny, spoiled, pampered brats who have everything but
don't appreciate it? Contrast that attitude to that expressed
in the joy and gratitude in the faces of children happy to
receive a simple stick of bread
Mundain out.
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