These past couple of weeks have been wonderful in so many ways. We got to work outside with our hands (I got some calluses!), hang out with the kids, and paint a mural. I talked about some of those things in my previous blog, but I want to share with you more about what we learned about Cambodia.
Some of you may know that a lot of sex trafficking and prostitution goes on here (and if you don’t then now you know). There are many different factors that are a part of why. It’s easy to just think, “how could a mom sell her child to be sold for sex?” These past couple of weeks our host so graciously helped us understand the culture, the country’s history, reasons why this happens, and how to be a part in ending it.
In the 1970s (specifically from ’75 to ’79) Cambodia was overtaken by a Communist Dictatorship called the Khmer Rouge. All people who were educated, religious, or opposed the government were either sent to the killing fields or prison where they were tortured and then killed. If you were not a part of that group then you were forced to work out in the fields for possibly 12+ hours a day with little food yourself. There were over 100 killing fields in Cambodia during the genocide. Thousands upon thousands of people were brutally killed at each one. About 3 million people, out of the population of 8 million, were murdered in those years. There was a constant state of worry because people would disappear and never return. If you were suspected (just suspected) of opposing the government then you were taken to be interrogated and forced to sign a confession, and then most likely killed too. Pause, take a moment to let that soak in because it’s really intense.
The first weekend we were here our host took us to the Killing Fields, which is a memorial site for those who were killed at this specific site and in all of Cambodia. We listened to an audio tour as we walked on the ground where people were led to their death 40 years ago. Before we went on the tour our host told us to try and put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel being crammed into a small shack with 50 other people, hearing music playing over a loud speaker to drown out the screams? How would you feel being torn apart from your family and never knowing if you’ll see them again? It’s a horrifying thought that we as humans do this to one another.
No one came out of that time unaffected by what happened – seeing family members killed, people missing, the unimaginable work conditions, constantly worried you’ll get taken. Fast forward to today and you have a generation of children being raised, and then raising their children, with parents experiencing post traumatic stress. It is not common in this culture to talk about your problems, so if you’re experiencing trauma then you push it down and move on. Why? There is no simple answer to that question because there are many reasons but Cambodia is a shame/honor society, so image is everything. Cambodia also has a generation who are mostly not educated or have job skills because the Khmer Rouge almost wiped that population out. All of these factors contribute to the epidemic of sex trafficking in this country. As you are gaining awareness and understanding (for this situation and others) then you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and change the question from “how could a mother give up her child to be sold?” to “how can I help this mother see value and worth in herself and in her child?” It takes time, roots go down deep, but I know someone who is the master of digging up rotting roots. He is at work here in amazing ways through people like our ministry hosts, local pastors and churches, long term missionaries, short term teams etc. There’s still so much work to be done and so many people to reach.
We learned about a man called Duch who was responsible for the death of thousands of people. He was tried and convicted and now serves a life sentence in jail. He actually became a Christian and talked about how he prays for those he sentenced to death and their families. May this be a stretching of our faith to actually believe that the Lord’s grace touches to the deepest of sins, and (what the world sees as) unforgivable atrocities. I fully believe he should be in jail for his actions, and I fully believe he is forgiven by the most high God.
I hope this is a challenge and encouragement to you. There is intense pain and suffering in the world (and maybe in your life) and the Lord does not promise to take it away but he does promise to enter into the pain with us.
Keep the faith,
Malia
