Since I had a few days before starting my workshops at Phare Ponleu Selpak in Battambang, I decided to go see Angkor Wat, the enormous temple compound outside Siem Reap. A must for anyone going to Cambodia. There I took the opportunity to clown around with the poor children who run around the temples desperately selling trinkets to tourists. Along with me was Erin Nicholson with her hoolahoop (who had been working with children on a related project in Sangklaburi in Thailand).
'Mon', or "Mr. Cool", a natural.
When I first saw him, Mon was drawing in the sand.
'Mah', for whom we bought breakfast (rice and eggs, and banana),
or else she wouldn't eat. Which she then shared with her friends.
In the ancient days of Angkor Wat's heyday, they had circus too!
November 7, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist - If This Isn’t Slavery, What Is? - NYTimes.com which tells the story of teenage girl, Long Pross, who had her eye gouged out by her brothel owner. I saw this girl when I was at Afesip’s clinic (where I had been put up). Her eye condition was much worse then. It was an incredible sight, and it was hard to look at her. Yet I was drawn to the sight of her eye, if only for my eyes to fully register that what they saw was true and real, and to somehow grasp what had happened to her. Still, I didn’t want to stigmatize her further by staring at her. She seemed in surprisingly good spirits considering what she had experienced. Of course, you can’t cry in despair constantly. I’m sure she was experiencing a moment of great relief being now in the hands of Afesip and not the brothel she came from.
No comments:
Post a Comment