About a week ago (I know I'm on the ball), Katybeth and I took a 6 hours bus ride from Siem Reap to the capital city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. It is important to note that it is wet season now and Cambodia is basically a VERY large mud puddle with extensive flooding around the waterways. There is only a few "national highways" which are the best roads in the country but are not much more than a narrow single lane road in each direction riddled with potholes and numerous objects both of the living and nonliving type. We paid a mere $6 for our front row seats on the top level of the bus, but the sights we took in were both breathe-taking and heart aching. I jotted down notes as we drove encapsulated in our metal and glass box unable to really understanding the true heart and need of these people. I hope if gives you a little idea of the beauty and need of Cambodia.
- countless naked babies running around their yards or swimming in their flooded yard
- chickens at nearly every home feeding on the what they could find on dry land
- children from 3-18 years old playing, swimming, fishing, washing in their flooded yards
- numerous young boys or grown man wading through the flooded rice fields around their homes or in their yards fishing with not more than a simple string net certainly hoping to "catch" dinner
- one section of 2-3 miles the majority of house, probably at least 20, each had a roadside shop selling freshly ground flour which was done by the a large tree trunk rammed into a hole in the ground (mortal and pestle style)
- every few houses there would be a home with a cow or two
- every mile or more there would be a water buffalo happily lounging around in the water after likely a hard days work in the fields
- a mile or 2 stretch near a lake or major waterway where each home had dried and salted fish hanging on their small roadside shops
- smiling and laughing children running and playing what we would consider 'too close to the road', having what looked like the time of their lives but likely was another day in paradise
- another 2-3 mile stretch with at least 40-50 people selling skinned chickens ready for dinner hanging lifeless upside-down from their motorcycles
-the vast majority of homes were built on stilts (for obvious reasons) and simple wooden frame, comprising of not more than one large room for sleeping and cooking inside and above ground and then storage under the home when it was not flooded
- motorcycles, motorbikes, motor scooters and an occasional passing car or truck
-countless police 'barricades' where several police would work together focusing suspecting drivers off the road and then fabricating false driving infringements in which the 'victims' were expected to bribe off the police (who make $3/day) by paying a small fine of $2.50 or $5
Once we neared the HUGE (comparatively) city of Phnom Penh the scene changed
- friendly soccer game, possibly a nightly event, held on a very dirty, not very grassy, and uneven field
- truckloads crammed with what looked like 20-60 people tightly packed in the truck beds probably being transported back to their home in the countryside after a 12-14 hour (we've heard) work day which was typical and earning not more than $2
-Finally as we pull into P.P. we are stopped by police at the intersection. I'm thinking, oh dang now its our time to pay off the police and pay some pointless fine. No No.... After waiting 5 or so minutes a very exclusive and important entourage comes rolling through in brand-new sparkling clean black BMW and Mercedes lead by a hefty number of better dressed police and military forces. Dichotomy????? We later heard important political officials from Thailand were visiting.
Sorry about my long windedness if you made it this far :)
God has placed a few questions which I'm still pondering....
How am I the corrupt white man at times, unwilling to help those in poverty?
What is my role and how can I help stop poverty?
How can I help bring to light corruption and help righteousness and justice be restored?
Why are people with so much less often happier and more generous than I am with so much?
Thoughts by Caleb
The pictures were taken on one of our two stops as the driver got of the bus for a two minutes to well you know.... this is national highway 6
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