This blog is bigger than me or my Race; I encourage you to read on to experience just a slice of history I’ve been exposed to in Cambodia and to reflect on how we can respond.
This month has been different than any other month on the Race; this month has brought me face to face with realities in our world’s history more traumatic than anything I’ve experienced; this month in Cambodia has humbled me to an extent that has forever changed the way I view tragedy and the redemption of God.
If you’re like I was before coming to Cambodia and don’t know much about the country’s recent history, here’s a brief lesson (emphasis on brief):
From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia’s communist party, took reign in the country and under the rule of leader Pol Pot, attempted to turn Cambodia into a classless society. As a result of this reform, an estimated nearly 3 million Cambodians were killed over the course of the 4 years. Anything from being a government official, having a college degree, being light skinned, practicing a religion, or simply wearing glasses was seen as a threat and resulted in death. Nobody was safe, lives were dispensable and by 1979, nearly 1/3 of the population was wiped out.
There is so much history on this genocide but I don’t want this blog to focus on the past – if you want to know more, I highly encourage you to do more research, watch documentaries, read articles and hear accounts from survivors.
During our stay in Cambodia, my team and I took a weekend trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capitol. We visited Choeung Ek widely known as the Killing Fields, a site of a former mass grave of victims and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, widely known as Prison S21, a maximum security high school-turned-prison where thousands of innocent citizens were tortured and killed. With every step through the fields or every word spoken in the audio-guided tour, my heart broke piece by piece. There were points of the tour where stories or pictures were so disturbing that I had to take my headphones off or walk outside.
One of the many rooms where prisoners in S21 were held and tortured.
On the right is the monument built ten years after the genocide – inside the monument is 17 levels of victim’s skulls, bones, clothes and weapons used by Khmer Rouge soldiers.
Now I’ve heard of genocides and traumatic historical events before, but NEVER have they been so real and tangible. The Cambodian Genocide took place in 1975, not even 40 years ago. My parents were just teenagers when this happened; as I walk through the streets of Cambodia, I am walking by survivors or adults who lost their parents or grandparents to the Khmer Rouge; there are so many men I’ve met in the city with a missing arm or missing leg (or both) due to the landmines placed throughout Cambodia at the time. This tragedy is still new for the country, and every citizen, every Cambodian we serve, is still healing and will be for years to come.
At the end of the audio tour, a comment stated by the tour guide stuck out to me:
“This is not the first genocide in our world and it probably won’t be the last.”
After all of the stories I had heard, tattered clothes and bones of victims I’d seen, and accounts of cruelty I’d witnessed, this comment broke my heart the most. I spent the rest of the weekend sitting on this statement, processing what I’d experienced and ultimately asking God “why can’t this be the last genocide? Why do we have to assume there will be more?”
Since then, I pray every day that the Cambodian Genocide be the last genocide our world sees: that God intervenes in the heart of every ruler of every country; that He sees each individual in power and guides their hearts towards love, justice and mercy; not revenge, pride or evil. I pray that in every political decision made, there is a voice of reason – a voice of reason that is heard and valued. I pray that victory wins and that through our leadership, God’s Kingdom on earth can be more and more emulated with each passing day. I know, it probably sounds crazy or impossible; a few times I’ve thought “what’s the point of praying a prayer so much bigger than me?” But time after time, God has shown me, and us, that He can work wonders far greater than we are – so what’s the harm?
I don’t want you to walk away from this blog depressed, harping on the Cambodian Genocide, feeling any sort of guilt. Instead, I challenge you to walk away from this blog asking God what you can pray boldly for. Respond with prayer! Join me in praying for the peace in our world and seeing no more genocides; pray for restoration of a broken relationship in your life; pray healing over an illness leading to death – whatever it is, I challenge you to pray a prayer you’ve been scared to pray, or haven’t even thought to pray; we were created to pray boldly!
God doesn’t create suffering – He redeems it and brings hope amidst it. And despite the doubts we may sometimes face, He is on our side, waiting to give us what we deserve and need; all we have to do is ask.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” – 1 John 5:14
