Learning about Cambodia...

While reading the book Motorcycle Diaries sometime in college, I copied this quote, about Che Guevara (said by his father), into my travel journal:

"He wanted to travel the world, not as a tourist stopping to take pretty pictures along the way, but as a person who could help alleviate human suffering in any way possible."

Now, clearly I am not Che Guevara, nor do I try to be (Ian and I have nearly 1,600 pictures!!  Too many pretty pictures!), but this quote has inspired my travels, to say the least...

Something we haven't blogged about so far on this trip is the "ugly" side of tourism -- the poverty, inequality, and human rights issues we've encountered, which are numerous.  The issues only seemed to exacerbate as we continued on our travels -- we saw some pick pocketing in Malaysia, some (a lot) prostitution in Bangkok, Burmese refugees seeking asylum in northern Thailand, and land mine victims elsewhere.  And then there was Cambodia. 

I'll start with the recent history...

I feel ignorant for never having heard of "Pol Pot" or the "Khmer Rouge" before this trip, considering the horrific events that took place there less than 40 years ago.  As recent as the mid 1970s, Pol Pot, leader of the communist party of Cambodia, instituted radical social reform that called for all urban dwellers to be forced into collectivized farming labor camps in the countryside.  He literally evacuated the population of all of Phnom Penh, the capital city, into the countryside and then abolished all religious practices, including Buddhism, and rid the country of a national currency (no money - what?!).

The country then experienced a large famine and many died of starvation, disease, and from generally being overworked, malnourished, and without medical care.  Along with the educated population that this regime had already killed en masse (because the educated were more likely to oppose the regime), Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge began carrying out massive executions at killing fields located outside the city.  Many were first taken to the Tuol Sleng (today a genocide museum, which Ian visited) to be tortured into "revealing secrets" before they were "bludgeoned" to death at Cheoung Elk.  Apparently the Khmer Rouge didn't want to waste bullets.  The torture and killings continued for three years and came to an end when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978, but not before the Khmer Rouge had killed nearly 2 million people -- or more than 25 percent of its population.

This is all history today, but Cambodia's people and economy still struggle to recover, which has led to some unimaginable hardships.  In our short time there, Ian and I bore witness to some of the most extreme poverty and dire human situations I've seen, namely child prostitution.  In Phnom Penh's city guide, we read about several organizations that help to alleviate the situation and visited one called Daughters of Cambodia (daughtersofcambodia.org).

Daughters of Camboida strives to rescue victims of human trafficking, some of which have been forced into brothels and enslaved against their will.  More from their website:

"The commercial sexual exploitation of children and young people in Cambodia has escalated over the last decade, into what is now an 'industry' utilized by foreign visitors and by a large domestic market. A combination of causal factors are involved, chiefly the cultural obligation of children in Cambodia to financially support their parents. Government figures for 2003 found that 90% of girls are knowingly sold by their families, a factor which serves to maintain enslavement in the sex industry once there, compounded by lack of alternative job opportunities and social stigma. Families’ main reasons for selling their children include poverty, debt & financial difficulties – but in reality social problems undergird this situation: parental alcohol or gambling habits, parental debts, parental materialism. Girls are also at risk of being sold if they are raped or lose their virginity. The girl is viewed as having lost her value and the hope of finding a husband to provide for the family. Parents then feel her only remaining value is to provide them with income through sex work. In a few cases trickery is involved: a boyfriend or close friend sells her to the brothel, or a trafficker tricks the family with offer of a respectable job."    

In short, this organization removes girls and women from the sex industry and job placement at the organization's cafe, spa, or craft-making center.  Workers receive fair trade wages and are given education and training to find jobs so that they will not always depend on non-profit assistance.  The organization continues to expand after only 3 years of running and 100 percent of the girls taken out of the sex industry never return.  It's an interesting project that is worth reading about.  Of course there are others too, but in our short time there we only visited one. 

Anyway, travel is certainly a learning experience that can motivate one to help "alleviate the human suffering" in any way they can.  Far away back in New York now, I already feel removed and I wish I could do more to help than just donating...but don't worry mom, I'm not moving to Cambodia to volunteer.  I'm just glad to have learned more and be able to spread the word to others.