I know we are all busy in our lives, but if you have seven minutes please take that time to watch the first part of this video.
If you don't have time to watch the video, here is the synopsis. After the Khmer Rouge fell there was nothing but chaos in terms of land ownership on the capital, Phnom Penh. This was due to the fact that most of the residents had been forced out of the city and murdered by the Khmer Rouge.
To help alleviate the ownership chaos a law was established that entrenched squatters rights. If you lived on land for five years, it was yours.
Now the land has become valuable and people who have clawed out a tiny dream in the echo of the most unspeakable aspect of the human experience are having the rug pulled out from under them by their own government once again. They may not have much, but they have made homes that have electricity and running water and they are being evicted into what are essentially refugee camps outside the city.
No power, no schools, no running water.
So here are my dilemmi.
- Am I supporting this obscene corruption and defilement of human dignity by visiting Cambodia or does my presence and bearing witness to this situation help, (even if it is in the tiniest way).
- Should I contribute to a microproject in a place where the government could simply steal it for its own greedy needs?
- Should I support the people who are fighting this fight?
- Should I find one small group of people who are being evicted and give them enough to bribe a judge?
- Should I try and build something in these refugee camps that these people are being banished to?
- Should I even go to Cambodia at all?
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Go Go Go! Bearing witness is why most people read the papers never mind seeing things for themselves. Don't give the money to bribe a judge.. Money is a temptation even the noblest person has to visit. I learned that from the forum you first visited. People are poor and it's just too damned hard to hold onto money to bribe a judge when you have nothing. Give the money to the Cambodian Human Rights Centre. Research Research Research it to see that it is an ethical place and see if its been robbed of its donations by the government already.
ReplyDeleteI think you should go Greg. Its a learning experience to say the least and once you are there who knows what opportunity may present itself to help the people of Cambodia. (Unless you want to wait until you become a more seasoned humanitarian that is)
You forgot no bloody walls either.. That was an awful thing to see. So much to say... Shutting up now.
Thanks Shelley, you make some great points.
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