Global Awareness in Action: Cambodia 2011

Many middle-class American teenagers worry about grades. Some worry about friends, popularity, and dates for school dances. Others face the pressures and physical demands that come with varsity athletics. From what we (Soriya, Ted, and Morgan) have gathered from the members of our crew, a lot of American teenagers are becoming more and more stressed about competitive admissions standards for colleges and universities.

When Arn Chorn Pond was a teenager, he worried about death. By the time he turned 13 years old, he was the last surviving member of his immediate family. His parents were killed for no reason other than the fact that they were performance artists. He watched his younger brother and sister slowly starve, but could do nothing to help them.

In order to survive this tragically brutal era in Cambodian history, Arn became a flautist for the Khmer Rouge, entertaining officers and playing songs of propaganda. During his affiliation with the Pol Pot Regime, he witnessed and was sometimes forced to help facilitate the slaughter of countless innocent victims. When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1978, he was recruited to fight. He was only 12 years old and could barely hold a gun, much less shoot it in the direction of another human being. Two years later in 1980, Arn escaped Cambodia by trekking through dense jungles across the Thai border.  When he arrived at the Sa Kaeo refugee camp, he weighed sixty pounds and was infected with malaria.

Arn’s story is well documented in countless websites, printed materials, and the documentary film, The Flute Player. But last week, our team got the chance to meet him and hear his story first hand. As he spoke about his family, we could hear his voice crack with emotion.  When he discussed the tragedies he experienced, his face expressed a frustration and confusion that he has been confronting for decades. When he spoke about his vision for a peaceful and prosperous future for Cambodia, we could feel his passion. In this hour long conversation, Arn gave us a vivid, emotionally rich depiction of modern Cambodian history which could not be easily reproduced in a book, academic paper, or even a film.

Students described our time with Arn as “a wakeup call.” Several of us even shed a few tears while he spoke. But despite the emotional heaviness of Arn’s talk, we all walked away with a desire to take action. Though Arn’ teenage years were nothing short of tumultuous, he has since worked tirelessly to improve the lives of students, refugees, and trauma victims in Cambodia, the US, and several other regions of the world. In recent years he has also become a leading figure in the restoration of Cambodian arts which were at the brink of extinction during the reign of the Khmer rouge. Though it is difficult to bring up his past, Arn continues to speak to large crowds and smaller groups like our own, to educate the world of the atrocities of tyranny and war. In short, he is making a difference.

Our lives are undeniably different than Arn’s. The stresses and worries we face, whether they involve studies, sports, work, or relationships, may seem insignificant when compared to the struggles of people like Arn. But whether they are big or small, Arn’s story reminds us that we should never let the challenges we face foster inaction. Apathy won’t prevent hunger or heal the sick. Cynicism won’t end child prostitution or human trafficking. And indifference will certainly not prevent another Khmer Rouge from taking power.

Arn reminded us that keeping the world a civil place will take hard work. As the members of our team are finishing up this trip and beginning to embark upon new challenges, we (Ted, Morgan, and Soriya) look forward to seeing how they work toward a greater good in the coming weeks, months, and years.  We know that they have the talent and energy to make a positive impact on this complicated, sometimes brutal planet.  We are confident that they will make a difference.

Every night in parks around Cambodia people of all ages get together and dance. A teacher demonstrates a choreographed step that the group then copies and learns. Some prefer traditional tunes, but at the Olympic Park in Phnom Penh they dance to J.Lo and techno.

After spending the day learning centuries old folk dances with Cambodian Living Arts, in the evening we participated in this new tradition.

Here is a video shot and edited by Duane Peterson which features our Global Action group learning a routine, and adding a few of their own moves.

It’s hard to believe that we are approaching the halfway mark of our program. We have been so busy, that we’ve barely had time to reflect on the amazing eleven days we’ve already spent in Cambodia. Luckily, we are enjoying a well-deserved weekend of relaxation at the Jasmine Valley resort on the country’s southern coast. But before we get caught up with leisure time, we thought that we should write about our excursion last week in Battambang. While in Cambodia’s second most populous city (which felt more like a large village) we ended up joining the circus.

For two days, the Putney Cambodia crew juggled, tumbled, clowned around, and built our share of human pyramids at the Phare Ponleu Selpak school. PPS, which was based on a project conducted at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand, uses arts training – from painting to dance to circus arts – to help young Cambodians “overcome the trauma of war” and displacement. During our time at the school, we began to understand how hard work, a strong community, and a sheer love of learning has saved the lives of the school’s students, alumni, and teachers.

In addition to learning and creating their own circus routines, our students had their first film assignment. They had to make a short documentary about life at the school without using words. Though it was challenging for them to plan, film, and edit a movie in 24 hours,
our crew came up with great results. Films depicted scenes from classrooms, painting workshops, circus rehearsals, and even small gambling sessions among young students. Each documentary alluded to how simple, everyday occurrences are part of larger survival
strategies.  Furthermore, they reinforced the idea that education, entertainment, and artistic expression are integral to surviving and thriving at the school.

Because pictures are worth a million words, we thought we’d share some snapshots of our group’s experience at PPS. Many images like these are already ingrained into our memories. They are already an important part of our trip’s story.

Enjoy!
Morgan, Ted, and Soriya

July 12th, 2011

This week our students delved into learning about Cambodian culture and society.

One team spent the week at Cambodian Living Arts, an educational organization that is reviving the traditional Khmer art forms – including shadow puppets, dance ,and playing the chapei dong veng, the two-stringed guitar, an instrument that nearly went extinct due to the Khmer Rouge and their ruthless attack on Cambodian arts and artists. The students spent the week with various artists, learning the traditional arts from the performers themselves. They also visited a shadow puppet making factory to see how the exquisite cut-outs are made.

Our second team of students are closing in on finishing their second filmmaking assignment: a short documentary about the Lakeside School, a school serving kids aged 5-18 in one of Phnom Penh’s poorest neighborhoods. With the help of international volunteers, Lakeside offers classes in English, as well as computer skills. Each team of filmmakers researched, and chose a topic pertaining to the school and surrounding neighborhood, then filmed interviews with students, teachers and locals to be used in their documentaries.

It is hard, but they are doing stunning work, delving into topics such as child welfare, the evolving identity of Cambodian women, and the value of education.

Here are a few shots of our filmmakers in the field!

Morgan, Ted and Soriya

Students come on Putney trips for adventure. They also come to experience different ways of life. We can only hope that they come to learn and grow as people. And, considering the amount of laughter we’ve heard over the past few days, we know that students come for good times and new friendships.

We are proud to say that the Global Action Cambodia trip offers everything mentioned above and a little something more. Our students are learning how to create films and write. They are perfecting skills as interviewers and researchers. They are even dabbling in Cambodian folk performance and circus arts. In short, they are working to become effective storytellers.

But what exactly is a story? On the second full day of the program, we (Soriya, Morgan and Ted) posed this question. As we sat in a large, intricately carved wooden gazebo in the courtyard Buddhist wat in Phnom Penh, our group came up with great answers.

“A message.”

“Something that can entertain.”

“Something that teaches us something.”

“Something that can change our outlook.”

In this short session we discussed how stories, whether they are true or fiction, can help us understand something in a new way. They help us gain new perspectives on history, science, philosophy, human emotions, and interpersonal relationships. We also considered the many forms that stories can take. They can be told through writing, song, film, photography, dance, and puppetry. And, more importantly, we talked about the power of stories to convey knowledge of communal tragedy, social inequality, and, in some cases, the ability of the human spirit to overcome daunting challenges.

In our trip, we are taking on an immense responsibility. It has not even been one week, but local people who have survived poverty, war, displacement, disease, and torture have already begun sharing stories with us, knowing that we will in turn share those stories with others. We will never be able to retell the stories exactly the way that we heard them. But we will strive to keep these stories accurate and accessible to a variety of audiences while staying true to the emotional tone and spirit of its original telling. We will make sure that the voices in these stories do not disappear.

As we continue to seek adventure, experience different ways of life, make friends, and grow as people, we will also begin to construct our own stories. Whether we talk about our experience learning Cambodian circus arts, eating tarantulas, becoming skilled at the finer aspects of filmmaking, or befriending local people whose lives are remarkably different from our own, we will tell stories that will impact our friends, families, and countless others who we encounter throughout our lives. Some stories will entertain. Others will send a message. We hope that a few will change perspectives. Either way, these stories will always be ours. And we (Ted, Morgan, and Soriya) already know that these stories will be incredible.

When speaking of food, Cambodians say, “Bhua sawoye chieng ke mein ney tah mein cheit chien ke.” (If it stinks the most that means, that it will taste the best.) For our first few hours in Phnom Penh, we (Morgan, Ted, and Soriya) decided that our group should embrace this philosophy. While in Cambodia, we’ll eat what (some) Cambodians eat. Though the food at our first meal did not stink, many of the dishes crawled at some point in time. And at the end of they day, they provided our group with a lot of bonding moments and loads of delicious memories.

After an incredibly long series of flights from New York, the group arrived in Phnom Penh on the early evening of the 3rd with a mixture of excitement and exhaustion. We immediately checked into our hotel, gave the students a thirty minutes to wash up, and headed to our first dinner at Romdeng. Of the many restaurants we could have chosen in Phnom Penh, Romdeng presented us with something different. This particular establishment, which is run through the non-profit organization, Mith Samlanh, is completely staffed by “street kids.” The restaurant serves a dual purpose as an eatery and training center for Phnom Penh’s most underprivileged young men and women.

In addition to offering a dose of perspective, the food was absolutely incredible. We ate delectable stir-fried vegetables, roasted eggplant, and seasoned tofu. The amok fish, pumpkin curry, and chicken basil were among the best that any of us (including the leaders) had eaten. But the “kickers” came at the end of the meal… and each of them had multiple pairs of legs. On gleaming white plates garnished with parsley and a lemon pepper sauce, sat several large, deep fried tarantulas. Though the site of the ready-to-eat spiders frightened some and grossed out others, many in our group were ready to dig in! To our surprise, most of the group ended up trying at least a bite of a tarantula leg.  (The vegetarians and arachnophobes in the group were kindly excused from this hair-raising activity.) The verdict? They taste like slightly crunchier and much furrier soft shell crabs.

The gastronomic adventure did not end there! After feeling proud of ourselves for trying something new, the waiters and waitresses brought out stir fried beef and ants. It may have been a result of full bellies or maybe it was just exhaustion… but fewer kids ended up eating the ants.  But those students who did try them all agreed that ants are spicy. (And it wasn’t just the sauce!)

Our first meal in Phnom Penh clearly set the tone for our trip. We stepped out of our comfort zones. We learned about our host country through our service staff and the food we ate. We laughed… a lot. And we now have a story to tell. Seeing that our trip is all about storytelling, we (Morgan, Soriya, and Ted) think that our group is off to a good start!

We’ve received word from the leaders that the group has arrived in Phnom Penh.

We know that parents love to keep up to date on their kids’ activities during our programs.  While we expect that most of our participants will take the time to be in touch occasionally, we have found that it is helpful to parents for our leaders to post periodic updates on this blog.  Obviously, blog posts will not provide detailed information about your child, but they will let you know about some of the group’s activities, projects, and excursions.

The frequency of blog posts varies from program to program depending on internet access (which can be limited), and each group’s itinerary and busy schedule of activities.  Please rest assured that we can reach leaders at any time and that we will discuss any important issues concerning your child directly them and with you.  As you know, you can reach us by phone at our office during business hours, and on our emergency line 24/7 if necessary.

We suggest that you subscribe to the blog during your first visit so that you will receive e-mail notifications at the end of the day if a new update has been posted that day.  To subscribe, enter your email address under ‘Subscribe to this blog!’ form on the right-hand column of the blog.

Have a fantastic summer!