Returning Home

People to People delegation

After 26 hours of travel time, I arrived back in Chicago (Phnom Penh to Hong Kong to LA to Chicago). Although I experienced a lot in the 10 days I was gone, there is so much more to know and understand about Vietnam and Cambodia. I will be thinking about and sifting through so much of what I experienced for some time: tourism, begging, inequalities, infrastructure.

Child Recycling at Angkor Thom Temple

My sister Mary asked me to have an eye on the children. I saw many children and adults in Vietnam who were healthy, but there is so much I didn’t see. I understand that in the War Remnants Museum that there is a display of photos and other visual imagery that shows the impact of Agent Orange on both American soldiers and Vietnamese civilians and soldiers. I’ve also read that many women were sterile after the war was over. Dr. Thai Thi Ngoc Du, Director of Gender and Society Research Center at Hao Sen University and her colleagues and students have completed a study on the effects of Agent Orange. This research is currently being translated into English and French. Once it is up on their website, I will read their report.
Hao Sen University

In terms of gender issues, one thing that stood out is that in both countries we encountered academics who promulgated what Brickell calls “masculinized memory” whereby images of passive women dependent upon men are projected when it serves men’s interests. We had the good fortune to meet many others who did not share the belief that it was the “natural” way for women and men to do different work, be paid differently, and be treated differently.

Our guides and others we visited in Vietnam and Cambodia had varying understandings about what it will take for their countries to be places for all citizens to grow and prosper. It was very exciting and inspiring when our guides offered a local, national, and international analysis of power rooted in the realities of people’s lives and argued for the importance of creating an infrastructure to fulfill people’s survival needs (food, water, shelter) and needs for education and meaningful work. While stated in different ways, many people are addressing the issue of how to make tourism work for a country and not be a drain on local economies.
Royal University of Phomn Penh

Some thoughts about next steps for me:
1. Send gender resources to the Gender and Society Research Center at Hao Sen University.
2. Make a donation to support the development of safe water transport in Siem Reap.
3. Investigate the option for on-line learning to share with the sociology department at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
4. Find out more about organizations working against violence against women in Vietnam and Cambodia.