Have you every heard of the studies about the people from Africa that are extremely poor but are happier than most Americans? Their poverty frees them up from the western driven commercialism and consumption and as a result they have closer ties to family and rate much higher than many Westerners on happiness surveys. Well Cambodia is essentially one step up from Africa on a poverty level and we got to see this theory in action. If any people have a reason to be dispirited, it would be Cambodians.
Cambodia has had an incredibly rough forty years dating back to the Vietnam War when the US began bombing the country for its aiding of the Vietnamese along the Ho Chi Minh trail. This created instability in the country and left thousands of dangerous undetonated bombs along the countryside. The instability helped aid the overthrow of the government by the Khmer Rouge and their ruthless leader Pol Pot. Over the next four years the Khmer Rouge executed a mass genocide against the educated class wiping out teachers, doctors, lawyers and anyone else with an intellectual background. Over a four year span the death toll reached three million. In 1979, Vietnam stepped in and forced the Khmer Rouge out of power and to the western border near Thailand where many of the leaders of the genocide went unpunished until the day they died. I can’t imagine rebuilding a nation without any educated people and Cambodia is just now starting to gain momentum in the modern world.
Along with the Khmer Rouge came the land mines. The countryside is littered with these dangerously non detonated devices whose main purpose is to inflict enough damage to drain resources of the enemy during war time. It costs a country a tremendous amount of money to help soldiers recover from injuries sustained from land mines versus soldiers who die from gunfire. The costs take a toll during a drawn out conflict. The Khmer Rouge mainly used land mines against their own people to keep them in the countryside. The results are horrific as Annie and I witnessed firsthand many amputees on the streets of major cities, some having no arms and legs. The scary thing is that there are still an estimated three million land mines undiscovered and have since shifted due to heavy rains over the years. On top of this, there are still thousands of non detonated bombs dropped by the US strewn throughout the countryside. The land is lethal to its own people.
Annie and I took a tour of the amazing Angkor temples that we discussed in a previous post. Our tour guide Kerry was wonderful at guiding us through the ancient history behind these giant stone monoliths. Kerry's life is much like the average Cambodian. At an early age she moved in with her grandmother through marriage to be closer to a good school. Education is the only way to rise above poverty for many of the Cambodians. Her grandmother wasn't very kind to her. When she was a teenager she was involved in an accident where a large piece of zinc nearly severed her foot but she was fortunate to be sent to an American sponsored hospital who helped preserve the foot and it took a year to recover. Because Kerry had an opportunity at a good education it would ultimately be her responsibility to support her family of nine by providing enough money so they could have food and shelter even though she was still a teenager. She has worked very hard at her education and is currently the youngest tour guide at the Angkor temples having graduated among the top of her class. Her story is sad but when spending a little time with Kerry she will brighten your day. She is incredibly positive and very happy with her life. I asked her why she is so positive after such a difficult life and she told me that it is a choice and she chooses to see the positive. It is quite inspirational and not unlike her fellow Cambodians. The Cambodian people are incredibly warm and friendly when many have reason to be otherwise.
My intent in this post is not to depress anyone but to ultimately paint a picture of my perspective of Cambodia. Even though the people have had a difficult history, they continue to move forward and choose to see the positive. They welcomed us with a warm smile and made us feel comfortable for three weeks in their beautiful nation. While Annie and I saw some tragic things during our stay, it helped put things in perspective on just how good we have it in our home country. It was the luck of the draw that I was born a US citizen. It provides an incredible amount of advantages that many people in the world could only dream of. The Cambodian people face adversity on a daily basis that many of us will never encounter but they continue to be upbeat and thankful and as a result are very inspirational and prove that there just might be something to the happiness surveys about those Africans.