good bye snow...

cambodia... part 2

Hello all -

So I am FINALLY on my last installment of my october with me papa. This post is dedicated to the wonderful children of Cambodia. Now I have already spoken of the spectacular temples that puts Cambodia on the map for housing one of the 7 wonders of the world... but with that beauty comes a war ravaged, poverty stricken country.

When we rolled up at the temples in our Lexus we were bombarded my children selling post cards, books, scarves, knick knacks, and pretty much anything they can get a tourist to buy. I think that the most troubling part for me, was not that the kids had to sell these goods to feed their families, but that they were trained to pull on the heart strings of the tourists.

These children would ask where I was from and I would say Canada and they would say, "Canada, capital Ottawa, speak two languages English and french, etc" They could spell off trivia from any western country to impress the tourists. There was a 2 year old that could count to 10 in about fifteen different languages.

There are many reactions to these children, some tourists are sensitive and just say no to everyone politely, some just get pushed to the extreme and start to get mean. One couple I saw actually had a great response, they wouldn't buy anything from the kids, but they carried around a bag of food to give to the starving children. I think that is what I will do next time. Meanwhile, here I am rolling around in a Lexus telling kids that I couldn't afford their 1 dollar scarf. I just started asking them questions about school and stuff to try to change the subject. They were really sweet children.

Their was one really challenging moment for me. Dad and I were wandering through the market, and a little boy, maybe six years old, carrying a newborn baby. He asked me to buy some milk for his baby brother, I agreed. He took me to this shop, and I bought him a big can of milk powder. Then, this other girl with her baby brother saw that I bought the boy some milk, so then she followed me around for 3 hours asking me to buy her some, she was crying, she was begging, she was yelling, she was pulling on my shirt. I couldn't handle it, it broke my heart. I wish I could have helped all of the kids but you really can't. No matter how many things you buy for people, there will always be someone else who needs something. It's really depressing and makes you feel hopeless and defeated.

Overall, this part of the Cambodian experience really made it for me. Yeah, the begging was really intense and really heart breaking but it also made me realize what a position of priveledge I live in, and how I am obligated to try to do what little I can to help even out the balance of power and money. These kids have next to nothing and still have smiles on their faces... it's so inspiring.

posted by Crystal @ 9:36 PM