I exit my bamboo constructed living quarters and enter an oasis of fruit trees. Among these fruit trees are nonas, coconuts, jack, and the majestic fruit known as the mango. These green or yellow succulent surprises dangle from a sturdily constructed bark which easily seconds as a monkey gym for the kids. Each day a few will fall, crashing to the ground freshly full of the nutrients necessary to provide an appetizing snack. And each day people, mostly children, will climb the tree seeking ripe mangos that have not yet fallen. One week in to our time here I happen to be quite the mango connoisseur, or at least consumer, in this small Cambodian village and there are a few things I have noticed about this delicious fruit. A sweet mango is refreshing, appeasing, juicy, and filling; yet I always want more. The sweetest mangos are those most exposed to the sun. The more a mango is exposed to the sun the softer its core becomes. It creates a sweet, healthy, life-giving juice within the fruit. Another unique change that occurs as a mango ripens under the sun is its change in color from green to yellow. It changes from the color of life to the color of light. Mangos take on the image of the sun. The best mangos are soft, sweet, juicy, and yellow. The best mangos are the ones most exposed to the sun.
I use this symbolism because Cambodia is a country on the cusp of an encounter with the son. There are just a few dead leaves and branches from a dark and violent past that stand in the way.
The country of Cambodia dates back over 2000 years. Its history has been riddled with war and death. Countless battles over territories with neighboring countries have been fought and different Kingdoms have risen and fallen. During the Vietnam War a Cambodian communist movement in the Northeast began to grow lead by Pol Pot. During this time the US began bombing parts of Cambodia where Vietnamese troops were thought to have been traveling through from Northern Vietnam to Southern Vietnam. Many innocent Cambodians in these rural areas lost their lives from simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After the bombings the communist movement under Pol Pot gained more steam and a civil war began between the (Khmer Rouge) Pol Pot and Lon Nol’s government. The US supplied Lon Nol’s government with weapons and aid until they withdrew from the war in Vietnam. Shortly after the US withdrew the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot) took over the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. All these events culminated in what is one of mankind’s greatest tragedies, Genocide.
The Khmer Rouge forced everyone out of the cities and into farming communes in the countryside. They began killing anyone associated with Lon Nol’s government and any intellectual people including doctors, teachers, and the educated in an effort to rid the country of any Western thinking. They also killed religious people including over 90% of the Christians. Living conditions for those not murdered became very difficult and they worked long hours in the farm fields. Nearly 1/3 of Cambodia’s population (over 2 million) died during this time. I heard an account of one Christian family murdered during this period of time. Khmer Rouge troops came to their house and forced them outside into the rice fields. They gave them shovels and forced them to dig a hole big enough for their family to fit in. After the family finished digging as a custom the troops allowed them to pray before they were to be murdered. As the family prayed one of the sons said, “Father, we have to try and get away we can’t just sit here. Let’s make a run for the trees.” As he began to move his father yelled for him saying, “Son, come back, in just a few moments we will be in heaven with the angels. Come back into the hole son.”
Because of the Genocide Cambodia is a very young country. Over 80% of the population is under 30, 50% are under the age of 20, and only 3% are over the age of 65. The country is vibrant and full of life. We believe it is time to be full of light.
