Cambodia was tough for me.
It was probably the hardest month for me in terms of environment. Each time we went out into town I felt uneasiness. I couldn’t help but wonder if every girl I
saw on the street was there to simply meet a quota. How did my mind get to this point where I was
asking myself if each girl was a helpless child silently crying for help? Each
girl I walked past in the street whether they were a working woman or not I
asked myself if this one might be caught in the sex-trafficking industry. It was nauseating. I knew something was not right because I felt
a spiritual calm when we would get back to our ministry site. The only thing I could think to do was pray;
so that’s what I did. I think the last
time I felt such strong oppression was back in month two in February
-Nepal. Eight months ago!
Listening to presentations and guest speakers is different
than being in these countries they talk about.
It’s a different mindset being here where the sex-trade is a cultural
norm. No longer are these distant
realities where I will have no concept of how these evils can actually take
place. Being in Cambodia has made me
realize that the sex-trafficking industry is more alive than I thought in those
presentations. It’s more alive and
active in more ways than I can understand.
It penetrates the very core of Cambodian society and it is the
undercurrent of how most of the culture and society works (in various facets of
life). The enemy has such a strong hold
on this country you can feel it. You can
feel the oppression, the helplessness, the anger, the destruction in the
air. History does not help the cause for
justice either. Part of the reason why
this country is in shambles is because of the recovery it’s had to make because
of the Khmer Rouge -a recovery that is still in the process. The aftermath of the Khmer Rouge left
Cambodia opened the door to unfortunate evil, and leaving it in desperate need
for Christ.
I had a conversation with Dave, one of the guys on the
squad, about the sex-trade and my feeling about it. I told him I couldn’t nor would I ever be
able to understand it. In the midst of
my confusion I told him that I couldn’t understand why men could be so
reckless, so heartless to another human being; the way they could dismantle a
girl’s sense of being and dignity. In
Cambodian culture women are secondary to men in every way. But how could one devalue a human being so
far that even taking their life (as stated in Somaly Mam’s book) is a passing
thought. How can men treat woman with such
unfairness? As Dave and I talked, he began
showing me another perspective. Men have
the need to be and feel loved. The have
a need and a want to feel special. And
unfortunately for some men, this is how that void is filled. The sex-trade is a cheap high for them. And while they yearn to love and be loved,
they get lost in the cycle of it. It
becomes a high that is easily attainable.
And then there are some men that are just plain sick…period.
One thing that Dave reminded me of was that there is a heavy
spiritual pull to all of it. Throughout
the last few weeks, I had been building up and animosity toward men and their
callous behavior toward women, but what I had forgotten was the spiritual side
of things. Maybe it was because I’ve
heard so much of the sex-trafficking industry from a humanistic point of view
that I forgot about how much the spiritual plays a role in it all. How was I blind to how tight the enemy has
his grip on Cambodia, the culture, the society, the sex-trade, etc.? The enemy has a HUGE foothold over both men
and women. How do we as a body of
believers break the bondage the enemy has over this damaged nation, and these
broken souls that long for peace, freedom and healing from the chains that has
held them captive.
Pray that God brings people who are burdened to see a new
generation hungry for hope, reconciliation, and more importantly the power of
Christ’s love. Pray that God sends
people to Cambodia who are burdened with bringing justice to those whose battle
is seemingly unwinnable. Pray for both
perpetrators and victims of the sex-trade because God cares for them no
differently and wants their hearts. The
harvest is plenty, the workers are few.
There is a huge spiritual burden here in Cambodia and there is more than
enough room for the Holy Spirit to move!
