Cambodia, my heart weeps for you
Does poverty have limit? I was already shocked by the poverty I saw in Phnom Penh, but when I went to the outskirts of the capital to visit families in a resettlement area, my jaw dropped...
After Khmer Rouge regime, many people came back to Phnom Penh to rebuild their life. At the turn of millennium, the government decided to grab more land for development. They set out fire to burn down the settlement area, and grabbed the land without mercy from their very own people. The poor people became refugees again and ended up in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The resettlement area we visited has 5000 families.As soon as we got off the bus we could smell the garbage. Maryknoll is helping people there by providing learning opportunities to those whose level is not ready enough go to school.
They also provide extra tutoring for school children, the primary school kids are taught by high schoolers. They also provide training classes for women to learn sewing and handicrafts. Kids or moms in their program come from AIDS affected families and are poor (well I mean poorer than the poorest). The program also provides nutritious porridge to the kids in the program. The kids scooped up the porridge one after another as soon as they were told to eat, our picky eating kids really need to see that.
They also provide extra tutoring for school children, the primary school kids are taught by high schoolers. They also provide training classes for women to learn sewing and handicrafts. Kids or moms in their program come from AIDS affected families and are poor (well I mean poorer than the poorest). The program also provides nutritious porridge to the kids in the program. The kids scooped up the porridge one after another as soon as they were told to eat, our picky eating kids really need to see that.Then we visited the neighborhood. Many houses are built on top of sewage ponds. Houses are so dark and small and empty. Hygiene is so bad. Human waste is littered all over the road. 
Many women make their living by 'jien seen tau'(cut the thread of a garment), for every 50 pairs of pants they cut they earn $0.5, yes 1 cent per garment. Next time you buy a pair of jeans, check the country. They make about $0.5 a day.
Many women make their living by 'jien seen tau'(cut the thread of a garment), for every 50 pairs of pants they cut they earn $0.5, yes 1 cent per garment. Next time you buy a pair of jeans, check the country. They make about $0.5 a day.Then we came by the door of an elder couples, the wife (64 yrs. old) kept asking us for porridge. Her two sons already died. My heart sank for her...
After seeing the poverty and injustice we continued on with the bloodiest page in the history...
We went to see a documentary about the Khmer Rouge. That was followed by visiting the prison that during 1975-79 some 20,000 people were sent there but only half a dozen came out alive, and we finished by visiting the killing field.
During Khmer Rouge regime 1975-79 Pol Pot(head of Khmer Rouge communist party) ordered people to leave Phnom Penh and work in provinces as farmers. Immediately after he took power he persecuted the intellectuals. Many teachers, doctors, engineers, religious people were killed right away. Others considered as Khmer Rouge's enemies were brought into prisons for interrogations. It was done with repeated torturing. I couldn't sleep last night after learning the details of the tortures. Among the prisoners there were also wives and children of the arrested. Under the tortures, some died, some finally confessed, or provided false statements just to get out of the tortures. As soon as they confessed, they were sent to the killing field to be executed. 
(Again I won't go into details here). The killing fields we visited is just one of the many through out the country. Later in Khmer Rouge regime, Pol Pot even turned his own officials into prisoners.The other people were forced to work as farmers. Children as young as 4 had to work. Under overworking, malnutrition and diseases, many died. Statistic says that two to four millions people died during Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime.
The horrible images kept coming back to me and I felt so bad for those who suffered at that time. Two thoughts came to me. One is: as I pray for them, I hope that somehow God will listen to my prayer, and grant the grace to those during their time of suffering from 1975-79. I can't imagine how this will work, but I hope and believe God is able and willing to do it.
The second thought is what if what if what if... What if America did not drop bombs to Cambodia and killed half million people, then Khmer Rouge would not have gained its ground so fast. What if Pol Pot were not raised the same way he was, or if he met someone who provided positive guidance then he would not have turned to such an evil, what if what if what if.
'What if' doesn't mean anything to something in the past, but maybe we can think about making a better decision and performing a better act in every step of our life, and bring about the better 'what if' of humankind's future.
It takes a second to break a vase, but days and days of work to glue it up. Same for the situation in Cambodia. Please continue to pray for them, and please continue to pray for peace of the whole world.