The Khmer Rouge Aftermath: Volunteering in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia a diverse city with tragic history. To detail my adventures in this wonderful country, I must first shed light on the horrors that have befallen it. The year 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam war, but not the end of war for Cambodia. During the years of this infamous war, Cambodia was victim to U.S. bombings and landmines that were meant to weed out Viet Cong. By 1975, the country was overtaken by an extremist communist group known as the Khmer Rouge.

One of the first acts of the new regime were to evacuate Phnom Penh under the pretext that it was going to be bombed by the U.S. Hundreds died on this trek to the countryside and many more were captured and imprisoned or sent directly to the Killing Fields. One of the most famous and atrocious prisons, Tuol Sleng, has been turned into a genocide museum, a must see for anyone who goes to Cambodia.

The Khmer Rouge imprisoned, tortured and murdered all the country's intellectuals and political dissenters as well as women and children. If they were ethnic Khmer, they were as good as dead. The survivors were predominately the uneducated rural people. The regime believed that hard work and farming were the backbone of any society. Religion, family and many other ideals that Cambodians hold true and dear were unacceptable. Therefeore, families were separated and sacred temples bombed, including the ancient city of Angkor, one of the world's seven man-made wonders.

Genocide, we've all heard it before. Some of us have even seen it first hand. Why would this be any different? Many of us believe that we do our best to prevent or stop such heinous acts. That's why we have the U.N. right? Well, the U.N. acknowledge the Khmer Rouge government and gave them Cambodia's seat. Moreover, for years the U.N. ignored the Cambodian people's plea to remove the Khmer Rouge as representatives of their nation.

That said, Cambodia is still suffering greatly and taking all too long to recover from these tragedies. Cambodia has one of the highest female to male ratios in the world, not to mention that 33 percent of its population is under the age of 15. Something needs to be done. Alison and I spent four days volunteering at a childcare center/orphanage called Save poor Children in Asia Organization (S.C.A.O.). The director Mr. Sath Samith is one of the kindest men I have ever met. He and his late brother started S.C.A.O. only 16 short months ago.

Now the center houses 17 poor children, helping to put them through school, an otherwise costly and often discouraged luxury). On average it costs $300-$450 a year to put one child through primary or high school. This may not seem much, but to a people whose income is rarely more that $1,000 a year, it's a excessive. Children roam the streets hungry and desperate, claiming they go to school when they are forced by parents or poverty to sell books and knick knacks to help support their families. Not to mention that Cambodia has one of the highest rates of child sex slavery and trafficking in the world.

Something needs to be done. Despite the economic recession and hardships worldwide, there is always someone less fortunate. These people have suffered long enough. Therefore, I implore anyone who can give to please do so. In Cambodia, the dollar rules. Even just a few can make a difference. Also Alison and I are working on a proposal to NGOs to obtain annual funding for S.C.A.O. Anyone interested in getting involved or who has any information about proposals, etc. Please contact me at http://www.blogger.com/alyse.speyer@gmail.com. Also, S.C.A.O. is desperate for volunteers.

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