Nick Loewen, Neil Richer and I, arrived in Phnom Penh exactly 24 hours late on Saturday, April 28th at 10:00 AM. Upon arrival we were thrust into Cambodian culture as we hitched one “tuk-tuk” back to the MCC guest house from the airport (a tuk-tuk being a small carriage attached to a motorcycle). This would have been an exciting first activity without three bike boxes, five people and excess luggage, but the extra challenge of fitting everything made it that much more thrilling. I had to laugh that just 48 hours earlier we found it necessary to have a fifteen passenger van drive us to the bus station because our bike boxes could not possibly fit in anything else.

Getting a good nights rest in Taiwan prior to our flight allowed us to forge on with our original plans of traveling to Siem Riep on the 28th. Siem Riep is the location of the famous Angkor Wat temple as well as many other temples from the Angkor period. We found the temples to be beautiful and mind-boggling, but we all agreed that our favorite times were when we sought shelter in a temple (from a downpour) and talked with each other.

Our two hour lunch break where we interacted with the children who wanted to sell us bracelets and other trinkets, I know will be a memory that will stick with me. I have thought a lot about children who beg on the street or try to sell things during my times abroad. I was so susceptible to them during my time in the Dominican Republic. In Kenya I interned with a man who did a lot of work with street children. He advised me never to give them money or buy what they are selling because of whom or where the money might be going.

The children working at Angkor Wat are rumored to be picked up at dark and taken somewhere then brought back early in the morning. In other words, it is clear that someone is orchestrating their labor and most likely in a very inhumane fashion. So, the question is raised: Does one buy something to prevent the harsh treatment to a child that might occur if he or she returns empty handed that night? Or does one abstain from supporting a system that uses and abuses so many children?

I have made the choice to abstain as much as I can from participating in the system. We as a group seem to be pretty much on the same page as well. For me, I want to find the delicate balance of declining to purchase what they are selling while still making him or her feel valued and visible as opposed to brushed off and invisible. Hopefully in this, the interaction can be transformative and a different experience for the children with Westerners.

After two hours of singing, games and conversation with the children of Siem Riep some of them did say, “You make me cry because you didn’t buy something,” and some of the children ran after us with smiles saying, “We will miss you!” I do believe that not shooing them away and inviting them to spend time with us did have somewhat of an impact simply because it was different and because it showed that we cared about knowing them at least a little bit more than many other tourists.

It is a daily struggle for me when traveling in developing countries, to be affected the right amount by the poverty encountered in order to not be paralyzed by the intensity, yet not become so accustomed that I feel nothing, acknowledging and taking it in, without being voyeuristic. It is tough and I often feel off kilter, but that two hours with the children in Siem Riep put me at equilibrium for a least a bit.

-Adele Liechty
Phnom Penh 4/29/2007

Posted by Adele Liechty

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