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.

Facing Genocide

On our last day in Cambodia, we visited the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Estimates vary as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge, from hundreds of thousands to 2 million, as they attempted to create a rural, classless society. In a span of 4 years, they had murdered almost all educated Cambodians. Estimates are that only around 80 Cambodians who could read and write were still alive by the end of the Khmer Rouge. For more about the Khmer Rouge, go to the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor .

Choeung Ek Genocidal Center

The Killing Fields are 15 kilometers (a little over 9 miles) outside of Phnom Penh in Choeung Ek. The area was originally chosen because of its distance and former function (Chinese cemetery), allowing the Khmer Rouge to kill and bury people secretly.





Bones from the Killing Fields

Today grass covers the fields. Bones continue to work their way to the surface, even where skeletal remains have been exhumed. Theresa, one of the women I was traveling with, said: "The Killing Fields show me that no matter what form oppression takes, it tears the fabric of society."

Butterflies at the Killing Fields

Hundreds of butterflies flitted about the fields--hauntingly beautiful. Our guide said that some people believe the butterflies are the spirits of people who were killed. A Buddhist stupa containing over 5000 skulls is on the site and a memorial park has been built around the mass graves containing thousands of people who were killed. The winding pathways around the killing sites, the mass graves, and the stupa create a quiet respectfulness for those whose lives were so brutally taken.

Shrine at the Killing Fields

No Laughing
At the entrance to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Pehn, there is a visual image of "no smiling/laughing." Our guide said this sign was not for foreigners but for Cambodian school children because some do not believe that Cambodians killed one another and laugh or smile at the contents of the museum.

The museum contains photos of Khmer Rouge victims (the regine kept meticulous visual and written records), instruments of torture, and the original interrogation rooms.

Rules for Prisoners

People were required to look into the camera as their photo was taken. Only a few did not look. Collectively so many different emotions are communicated through the eyes of those photographed--fear, defiance, resignation, anger,sadness. I looked at each photo, feeling a responsibility to witness the loss of each vital person. My eyes were filled with tears throughout my visit to the Museum. My deep sadness was coupled with incredulity that once students at Kent State were killed for protesting the invasion of Cambodia that I did not stay focused on Cambodia and what was happening there.


Gallows at Tuol Sleng

Shackles at Tuol Sleng

Visit to NGOs

Former Student Now PSE Employee

We visited two NGOs in Cambodia: Pour un Sourire d'Enfant(PSE--"for the smile of a child") and the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC). PSE , a French non-profit, dedicated to providing food, medical care, and general education (grades 1-12) and vocational training to children who would otherwise have little to no access to food, health care, or education. The founders were inspired to start PSE when they discovered the number of Cambodian children who were surviving by scavenging dump sites for food.

CWCC

The CWCC addresses the severe levels of violence against women and children (domestic violence, rape, sexual and labor trafficking), CWCC seeks to make it possible for women and girls to live in peace with security and dignity. In both these organizations, staff gave us an overview of the purpose and challenges of their organizations.

Phnom Penh

Royal Palace

Monday we visited the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum. The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda are filled with riches—I could not imagine how they survived the Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge regime.






Nipia, Local Guide for Phnom Pehn

Our guide said that collaboration with the King was critical to the Khmer Rouge holding power and that any plundering of the riches of the King would have jeopardized that collaboration. The National Museum held many treasures. The early Khmer collection was quite astounding. I also was quite taken with the photographs of the intricate and powerful movements of traditional apsara dancers.We had dinner at a restaurant supported by a local NGO. We also took a boat ride on the Mekong River to see the sunset. Our boat went through the confluence of four rivers—upper and lower Mekong and Tonle Sap and Bassac Rivers.

Mekong River

Along with two other delegates I walked around an area of Phnom Penh near the riverfront. I had a conversation with a tuk-tuk driver who approached me asking if I was American. After conversing about what we were seeing in Cambodia and learning, he told me he was learning English and was eager to practice. After further conversation I learned that he is studying English with his daughter. He is hoping that learning English will improve his chances of getting work. He was 3 years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power. He was separated from his parents and lived in a children’s camp and was unable to attend school. I cannot begin to put into words how powerful people’s stories are.





Royal University Phnom Pehn Studentss

Tuesday we visited the Royal University of Phnom Penh and the International University and had lunch at the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC). The FCC is filled with photographs of war and its impact on the Cambodian people, particularly the continuing impact of landmines. The session at the International University gave us an overview of the official ideology about health care and the role of women. The session at the Royal University was very moving and meaningful. About 30 undergraduate sociology students were assembled in the room when we came in. This is the next generation that Cambodia is hoping will bring a new future. The eagerness on their faces truly brought tears to my eyes. Their courage in standing and asking questions and being willing to answer our questions was very inspiring. After the formal session, we talked with individual students who were so proud and excited to have been visited by sociologists from the United States. There is so much to be done with education in Cambodia—the people are willing and eager if only they can get the needed resources.

Siem Reap Cambodia

Angkor Wat

We arrived in Siem Reap on Saturday and left on Monday morning. Siem Reap is the gateway city to the Angkor temple complex which is over 900 years old. Many of the temples were overgrown by the jungle, but are now being restored. Of the over 1000 temples in Cambodia, over 500 are in this region. We visited Angkor Thom (carvings of everyday life), Angkor Wat (largest religious complex in the world), Ta Prohm (where silk cottonwood trees grow throughout the temple), and other smaller temple areas. The temple complex is beautiful. The creativity, history, and magnificence of all the different temples is astounding.

Soun, Siem Reap Guide

Our guide and his family suffered under the Khmer Rouge regime. His father died from starvation and hard labor and his uncle and cousins were killed. The children and parents were separated. He secretly learned English and lived in a monastery while he finished his schooling. In addition to his personal story, he has also been candid about the contemporary state of Cambodia. For instance, all the treated water goes to hotels and tourist areas. Our guide is working on creating safe water for the people in his community.

Tuk Tuk

We traveled by tuk-tuk (a motorbike pulling a cart for 4 people) to the night market in Siem Reap. The market is huge with most items selling very cheaply. There are also many massage places--lots of foot massage (including sticking one's feet in a giant aquarium and having fish nibble your feet). What was quite a sight was to see about 25 people giving massages to another 25 people all at the same time!

Up at 5 am and off to the airport to go to Phnom Penh.

Preparing for Travel to Vietnam and Cambodia

I have read and am continuing to read about Vietnam and Cambodia, with a focus on gender (see below). The first book I picked up was Even the Women Must Fight. Turner’s observation that she gained many privileges as a result of the women’s liberation movement when women in Vietnam and Cambodia were fighting to save their countries and to survive has continued to resonate throughout my reading. I am on my way.

Karen Brickell. 2011. “We don’t forget the old rice pot when we get the new one:” Discourses on ideals and practices of women in contemporary Cambodia.Signs 36 (2): 437-462.

Wendy Nicole Duong. 2000. “Gender equality and women’s issues in Vietnam: The Vietnam woman—warrior and poet.” Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal 10: 191.
Focus on factors that limit advocacy for gender equality in contemporary Vietnam.

Lisa Drummond. 2006. “Gender in post-doi moi Vietnam: Women, desire, and change.” Gender, Place, and Culture 13 (3) :247-250.
Examines the impact of economic and social change on Vietnamese women.

Annuska Durks. 2008. Kymer Women on the Move: Exploring Work and Life in Urban Cambodia. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i.
Ethnography of young Cambodian women from rural areas who move to cities.

Karen Gottschang Turner with Phan Thanh Hao. 1998. Even the Women Must Fight: Memories of War from North Vietnam. New York: Wiley.
Focus on the contributions of Vietnamese women to the struggle for independence and the longterm consequences of their engagement.

Terry McCoy. 2010. “Cambodia’s first gay town. Make no mistake: This is not a place to celebrate sexuality. This is a place for survival.” Global Post. November 12. Retrieved November 4, 2011 http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/asia/101110/cambodia-homosexual-gay-rights.
Focus on a developing gay community in Cambodia and the difficulties in obtaining acceptance and equality.
Tanja R. Muller. 2007. “Education and gender in revolutionary societies: Insights from Vietnam, Nicaragua, and Eritrea.” Compare 37 (5): 635-650.
Lessons from revolutionary states about education as a source of social equity.

Phuong H. Vo, Kate Penrose, and S. Jody Heymann. 2007. “Working to exit poverty while caring for children’s health and development in Vietnam.” Community, Work, and Family 10 (2): 179-199.
How labor and social conditions affect parents’ abilities to work and exit poverty.

Carol Wagner. 2002. Soul Survivors: Stories of Women and Children in Cambodia. Berkely: Creative Arts
Stories of women and children who stayed in Cambodia after the genocide (1975-1979).

Deciding to Visit Vietnam and Cambodia

When I received the People to People notice about joining a group of sociologists to visit Vietnam and Cambodia, I jumped at the chance. I had done a People to People expedition to South Africa in 2008 with a group of sociologists (and my daughter Rachel) and had found it to be a deeply enriching experience.

I want to visit Vietnam and Cambodia because of the impact the Vietnam War had on my generation and specifically because Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia in 1970 was what sparked the wave of protests that resulted in the killings of students at Jackson State and Kent State (where I was at the time). Additionally, my brother-in-law served in Vietnam and the reverberations of that service continue in ongoing health issues for him and his family. My sister Mary has asked: “What I would like you to take note of when you go is the condition of the children and people born after the war.” I feel a pull to visit these two places which, though distant, have had a presence in my life.