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Cambodia's Journey of Hope |
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Cambodia's Journey of Hope |
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Cambodia's very real Holocaust and the murderous Khmer Rouge are now history. Religious and humanitarian groups from around the globe are helping a decimated and impoverished nation rediscover hope following the loss of about 20% of its total population. This website focuses upon the hands-on work of primary Catholic ministries working with Cambodians recovering from the wounds of genocide.
If we are moved to be generous with time, talent or resources towards a particular people in need, we expect to know what the needs are, why our limited resources are needed, and how they will be used.
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The purpose of this website is to tell you accurately the stories and factual information you deserve to know in forming your communal or personal decision to do something, anything, on behalf of Catholic outreach initiatives already well underway in Cambodia.
Cambodians and U.S. Catholics alike are already blessed by the fact that the Catholic outreach presence in Cambodia already includes the following among our best global outreach ministries:
Catholic Relief Services Jesuit Refugee Services and Jesuit Services - Cambodia Maryknoll Community (Sisters, Priests and Lay Missioners) Salesians and the Don Bosco Technical School
For many of us, Cambodia is one more of those faraway neighbors of Vietnam where we once waged a war we struggle to both remember and forget. We've seen names like Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot in the news for decades. We have heard of mine fields and killing fields, perhaps not sure of the difference.
And, for all of us, Cambodia is only one among scores of poverty-stricken nations deserving our generous attention, whether as parishes, individuals, companies or organizations.
There is ONE fact about the recent story of Cambodia which is inescapable. Our world swore "never again" to the Nazi genocide against Jewish people in Europe. But the Holocaust DID happen again, hardly three decades later, in a place so far away, and so connected with our troubled remembrance of Vietnam.
In addition to the call to us by our U.S. bishops to Global Solidarity with all peoples, we are called to remember that between 1970 and 1975 our armed forces dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Cambodia in a secret war carried on without congressional approval. 43,415 U.S. air attacks took place within Cambodia, and some scholars cite the devastation they caused as a reason for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and their ability to attract the initial support of the mostly-rural villagers.
There are plenty of links on this website to tell you the stories on what really happened to the Khmer people.
The Khmer Rouge as an organization self-destructed, but only VERY recently, and the surviving peoples of Cambodia are just now beginning to pick up the pieces of shattered cities, villages, families and individual lives. The Catholic outreaches working in Cambodia, in our name as Church, deserve our awareness of their projects and needs.
At the very least, please use this website as a tool to familiarize yourself with what really happened in Cambodia during the U.S. war with Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge reign of terror and genocide, their own war with Vietnam, and many more years of national instability and suffering until very recent times. You see, if you at least KNOW the Cambodian situation, you just might be able to spark an insight for somebody else you know or have yet to meet. A somebody else who might get things going in another parish, even a diocese, or a business. We even tell you stories about how even one person or family can make a real difference in a village or orphanage, but we especially encourage you to support Catholic ministries already in place with a reputation for using money and other resources wisely.
Becoming AWARE of the needs - and the opportunities - is the first step.
Website Author's Personal Note
That is exactly what happened to me. For several months I was uneasy about my best friend's recent decision to commit to long-term pastoral service in Cambodia. But, the more I learned from him about the people of Cambodia, the more I understood his commitment to learn the Khmer language and journey with them. I felt compelled to learn much more about the stories and needs of these people and to use this website to share with you what I have discovered. So, this site is one small example of what just one person can do.
A whole village's health can benefit beyond our comprehension if it could have just one sanitary latrine or "outhouse" for ALL its people.
Helping Cambodians is not at all about dealing with primitive cultures and unspeakable, seemingly hopeless, poverty, as we hear about most especially in Africa. For Africa's needs, we can be grateful for the high profiles, muscle and focus of the Carter Center, Catholic Relief Services, the U.N., and other large-scale relief initiatives.
Outreach to Cambodia is a process in which we can support experienced missioners in the patient process of helping the wounded but willing people of this nation help themselves.
The Power of the Internet
There are many websites by people who have visited or lived in Cambodia. Their stories, travelogs and photos are the real thing. Worth noting is that this whole website was assembled by one person who has never set foot in Cambodia but who is in easy email contact with folks who are there.
We should not become distracted by beautiful photographs of the ancient Angkor Wat or a bit of new construction. While the beauty of Cambodia is very real, so is the painful life of the poor people upon whom Catholic outreach is focused.
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The situation is worse in the villages than in the cities. "Boiling" water is not such a great option, because it means burning more trees (See: Deforestation). Safe drinking water for infants and adults alike is a huge need in Cambodia.
Deforestation
Any of us with an appreciation for quality hardwoods are readily amazed by the cheap cost of very fine furniture or home accessories imported from Southeast Asia, typically made in Thailand or China. What most of us do not know is that these items are crafted from wood virtually stolen from the forests of Cambodia. Commercial logging, both legal and illegal, is a huge social and environmental issue in that country. Cambodia is about the size of the Missouri or Germany and can ill afford to be the whole world's donor of fine wood at WalMartTM prices.
Khmer
Most of us would have to admit that we first heard of "Khmer" as one word of the two-word name "Khmer Rouge" (see immediately below) symbolizing ruthless murder somewhere in Southeast Asia near Vietnam over the past few decades. The name of the Khmer People and their culture is badly sullied in the global consciousness by the atrocities of Pol Pot's maniacal Angkor Organization commonly labeled "The Khmer Rouge."
Khmer Rouge
Literally, French for "Red Khmers," a derisive name given to his leftist opponents by Prince Sihanouk decades ago. The name continued to be applied by the Western press to Angkar, "The Organization" led by Pol Pot, determined to make Cambodia a classless agrarian society, beginning in Year Zero (1975). They controlled Cambodia during 1975-1979, destroying most institutions and infrastructure, responsible for very real genocide, the deaths of nearly two million Cambodians.
Killing Fields
Not to be confused with Landmine Fields which still threaten Cambodians today, the "Killing Fields" is the name given to all those places where mass executions were carried out by Pol Pot's Angkar organizaion "Khmer Rouge", whether in trenches or the infamous Tuol Sleng prison. All imagineable methods of torture and killing were employed. This website provides numerous links for learning more about this genocide.
Landmines, landmine Victims
Can you imagine that there are still at least two unexploded landmines for each child in Cambodia. Many of these explosive devices were constructed by the forced labor of Cambodian schoolchildren over thirty years ago. Step on one today and you lose a limb, or your life or that of any friend nearby. The unimaginable number of landmines planted in this country have given rise to two "growth industries" - the finding and removal of remaining mines, and the care for and rehabilitation of victims of landmine explosions.
NGO ("Non-Government Organization")
In Cambodia, as well as most other developing or recovering countries, there are two kinds of NGO's: international and national. Any useful international NGO such as Catholic Relief Services or other Catholic outreach highlighted on this website is in any country primarily to support or enable the local NGO to carry on. The international NGO cooperates with government agencies and employs local people as much as possible. The role of NGO's is vital because the government can provide very minimal social services.
Orphans, orphanages
The genocidal killing of millions of Cambodian adults left at least as many children with no mothers or fathers. Orphanages of all sizes are commonplace institutions throughout the country, many of them founded, funded and operated by NGO's.
Pol Pot
First, he died in 1998. "Pol Pot" is mourned by no one. First educated in France, this man was intensely influenced as much by the secret U.S. bombing of Cambodia as by Maoist theories of perfect agrarian societies. He simply is the Hitler figure in the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge destruction of Cambodia and the aftermath years. This website is about Cambodia's Journey of Hope and not about Pol Pot, about whom much may be learned by checking other internet or published materials.
Rural Villages
The capital city Phnom Penh is no larger in street layout than what we still call "towns" in the USA, whether our Springfields in Missouri or other states, my hometown of Owensboro in Kentucky, or any of our almost-cities we might call our hometowns. Click on this map to see what we mean. Most of Cambodia's people live in rural villages with no electricity or clean water, yet coping every year with flooding from the mighty Mekong River.
Sihanouk (Royal Family)
One "correct" name for Cambodia, all elected government aside, is the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia. King Sihanouk has been alive, exiled and returned, doing well today, and active in the cinema arts for decades. His history is complicated, including alliances with his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. He is gracious publicly towards any groups (especially bringing big money) which undertake projects to better the lot of Cambodia's people. "What to do about our nice King" is an active issue among the do-er's and thinkers of today's Cambodia.
USA and Cambodia
Whether Democrat or Republican, you might not want to really know what our military bombing campaigns against presumed North Vietnam supply camps actually did to Cambodian village people, killing well over a half million innocent Cambodians of all ages. We've checked many historical sources, and "the numbers" are at least that bad, with most reports indicating over 750,000 killed and little record of those injured.
WAT
Basically, any "Wat" (temple) in Cambodia is a Buddhist place for peace, learning and reflection -- in contrast to being a museum-like house of worship. Many of the ancient wats are still at risk from looters and the black market for ancient artifacts. Many of the NGO teaching and rehabilitation ministries are based at wats. For example: Maryknoll's WAT THAN Skills Training Workshop
Water
From drenching monsoon rains to the mighty Mekong River and many lakes in Cambodia, plus a coastal region, there is no "shortage" of water in this country. There is frequent and expected flooding, and people just deal with torrents of water from experience. That much is a blessing. However, most Cambodians suffer from severe limits on safe, drinkable water. Contaminated water is cited as the main cause of the country's huge death rate among rural infants and children. Even "city water" is often disease-ladened. As just one example, the man renting house space to Maryknoll's Fr. John Barth and Fr. Charlie Dittmeier in Phnom Penh was himself struck down by water from his own faucets. (Our missioners are well trained in how to use or make safe water.)
