Most of our generation has never even heard of Cambodia; those of us who have can scarcely find it on a map. Maybe a handful of us can tell you that Tomb Raider was filmed there, and Angelina Jolie’s first adopted child is Cambodian. And of that handful, maybe one can tell you of the atrocities and heartbreak that rip the soul of the country to shreds every moment.
But what do we know of the Khmer Rouge genocide?
…that over 1.5 million people of their 7 million were brutally butchered by their own people?
…that there are mass graves all over the country.
…that when visiting these killing fields, you will look down and not see dirt–but see teeth, finger bones, child’s bones exposed on the paths.
…that there are towers of skulls in EVERY town because EVERYONE was affected by this genocide.
What do we know of their corruption?
…that the court systems are run by lining pockets. That the Prime Minister’s nephew drives the only Hummer in Cambodia, that he ran a man over, that this same man didn’t die the first time, so he continued to run the man over until he was dead. Then he paid the family a small sum to say “oops.”
…that numerous stories abound of traffic accidents where the witnesses are shot dead on the spot.
..
What do we know of their poverty?
…that there is so little food that even their cows are emaciated?
….that they live in trash dumps across the river from the royal palace?
How much do we understand their Buddhist faith?
…that they believe everyone who died in the genocide (including their family members) did something in another life to DESERVE this brutal death?
…that their faith says that over one fourth of their population deserved to be murdered, their families torn apart because of things they had done in a past life.
…they believe the only justice will be in their next lives, where those who committed these atrocities will continue to pay for eternity in future lives.
Do we truly soak in the reality of their child sex slavery problem?
…that little girls are sold as virgins at age 4, raped, stitched up, and resold only a matter of hours later?
…that those same girls are tortured with maggots and car battery acid for crying?
I left Cambodia with a burdened heart. I didn’t understand then what I know now. That Christ is the only hope for any of the heartbreaks being reversed.
Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.
CS Lewis
As the race approaches, I itch to get there. I itch to go back to the incredible church there. I itch to go back and find my kohnsvapih–my little monkey. I yearn to pick him up, to make faces with him, to tell him he has not been forgotten, not by me, and definitely not by his Father.
**ps, if you want to read about my journey in Cambodia, I kept a blog while there.
