Sunday, July 3, 2011

In my eyes

In the car, travelling around Takeo. My heart and eyes are open, and out the window is a world I have never experienced.

There are people in the rice fields, harvesting. They wear the traditional Khmer scarf, soaked in water, wrapped around their heads to keep cool. They see us and wave and smile. They have hope in their faces.

Up the road is full of brothels. The young women stand out the front with a face full of make up and big, high shoes. They laugh when they see us and I can't help but wonder what is behind the laugh. It is nearly always the Mummies, Daddies and Aunties of these young women that actually put them there in this work to help pay off debt. A motorbike with 2 adult men and 1 small boy child pull up near one of the sex workers and starts talking. I feel sad when when I see it. These girls are forced into a life they didn't choose.

Passing by each village is a huge archway entrance. It is full of intricate designs and patterns. Huge statues of either elephants, tigers, or heads are on each side of the archway. They look magnificent, lined up along the main road. I almost want to drive up each village, to see these little worlds within worlds.

There are children with big bellies. They don't have enough protein. How does that affect brain function? My heart feels so open. These children have nothing.

The weather here is so hot and sticky, so not much babywearing happens! The baby is usually sitting on the hip of mum, dad, grandma, sister or cousin. And they often have hammocks under their homes (which are on stilts) and the baby lays in there while the elders swing, swing, swing them. I see children surrounding a hammock out the window, and one is swinging it back and forth. They are all smiling.

Its such a world of contrast here. And it makes me think of the power of the human spirit. It was only 30 years ago that Pol Pot and the horrific, unspeakable acts of the Khmer Rouge took over and destroyed everything. Cambodia truly is a place that is building everything from scratch again. They have had everything taken from them, but their human spirits, and it is that that is helping to slowly recover and rebuild this ancient Kingdom.

Out the window of  the car, my heart skips a beat. The beauty and ugliness of this place is quite overwhelming.

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