Thirty-Three At 33: Praising or Raising: Cambodia

Praying to Buddha in Angkor Wat

I don’t pretend to be a bible scholar or even a by the book type of Christian; in all honesty I’m probably more like a heathen in sheep’s clothing. Whatever the case, sometimes I’ll see or hear something and it corresponds so keenly with stories I’ve heard from the Bible or things I recall a preacher or two saying and I’m left dumbfounded because it actually makes sense. It clicks. For example, take the story of the Tower of Babel from the Bible.

The cliff notes version of the story is that up until that time in history there was only one common language. So people got together, talked, and decided they wanted to do something big; build a tower to reach heaven. The story says that God came down, saw how they were pulling their efforts and knew that they were doing it for their own glory, instead of His. Needless to say, He wasn’t happy so He confused the languages causing people to abandon the idea and disseminate across the land. However, He did recognize the power accessible to humanity when operating under a common purpose.

After first hearing this story, one might leap to the conclusion and think that God might be a hater. I’m not saying that I did, but someone else might. Think of all of the really great things we could have accomplished if we all spoke the same language and operated with the same objective. Even now, if the people around the world could combine their energy and solidify their purpose, we could eliminate hunger, find a cure for AIDS and Cancer, or create a world economy or political system that works for everyone. The options are endless! Who would want to thwart progress?!

So where am I going with all of this? Stick with me...

Angkor Wat

Mom and I visited two cities in Cambodia, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. For me, Siem Reap with all of the Temples of Angkor was the highlight of our trip. In Angkorian times, people believed that only the gods had a right to reside in places made of stone. So the 1000+ stone temples scattered across Angkor are a testament to the magnificence of human willpower and faith. I was in awe at how the Khmer people, operating with a common purpose of praising their gods, could build monuments so strong, so large, and so awesome that they still stand more than twelve centuries later. I was looking forward climbing and exploring those temples like a black Lara Croft and as such had allocated most of our time there, but first we had to get from Phnom Penh.

Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

When we arrived at the boat dock for Phnom Penh, we immediately tracked down a taxi to take us to our hotel. “Ten dollars” he said, as he walked us towards his car. Having been in Asia for over a month now, I automatically replied “No, five dollars.” Haggling for prices is an art across South East Asia and it was something I had to learn quickly, otherwise I’d be paying tourist prices everywhere I went. “What do you want a lawn mower or a nice car?!” he inquired incredulously while simultaneously hoisting our bags into the trunk of his gleaming, pimped out Mercedes. Clicking the trunk closed, he replied “Fine!” as he tossed his hair over his shoulder and waved his long finger nailed and nicely manicured hands draped in gold jewelry and an amethyst ring the size of a small child, which he later informed us “cost entirely too much!”

Our Tuk Tuk driver

Surprised by his response, I woke up and actually took in my surroundings for the first time. On my right was an Asian version of Twan from In Living Color’s Men on Film and on my left were approximately two hundred people doing body rolls in a Zumba class being held on the beach. You’re not in Vietnam anymore Dorothy; welcome to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is sassy and mom and I were enthralled by the city. With a limited amount of time there, we arranged for a Tuk Tuk driver to take us to the Killing Fields, the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) and to the Royal Palace the following day.

The stupa at the Killing Fields

The Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is a memorial park built on the grounds of one of the 20,000 mass graves used to hold the remains of the estimated two million people executed during the Khmer Rouge regime’s genocide in Cambodia. At the center of the memorial is a commemorative stupa, holding the skulls of the victims found at Cheung Ek. The memorial also has a museum, or rather an exhibit, re-telling the history and displaying the tools used to execute the victims. Pictures of soldiers slamming babies against trees and of the leaders being brought to justice in the war crime tribunal show an eerie, chilling and atrocious tale of Pol Pot’s ability to corral people into operating with one common goal of "restarting civilization.”

Having just visited the War Remnants Museum in Vietnam a few days earlier, I was overwhelmed by death while visiting the Killing Fields. In particular, I was appalled by the vicious ways in which we interact with each other and reminded again how one goal can catapult a nation or a people to commit such massive horrors against one another.

This is where the Tower of Babel comes in…

Mass grave marker #6 at the Killing Fields

Having visited two cities, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, in the same country and seeing the awe inspiring results of people acting with common purpose; I now understand the need to scatter the languages. If God has suspected that we would find the cure for cancer, eliminate hunger or only operate in a spirit of benevolence, then He may have left us to our own devices. But I think, He ultimately understood our nature; that we were capable of both extreme benevolence and severe malevolence. If the options are limitless in terms of what we can achieve when working together, then that really is a double edged sword. So instead of having one giant, worldwide conscious or purpose, we have people everywhere either praising the heavens or raising hell and somewhere in the midst of that there is balance.