Monday, July 17, 2006
HOLY SHIT
This post is being made under an explosive heading. I just came back from having an excellent tour of Ankor Wat. The place is huge, massive, impressive. But it is not what I am going to write about during this post. I'm going to write about my impressions of Cambodia and the tour guide that I hired. Yesterday, I definitely had a full on introduction to Cambodia. What, with being offered a prostitute at the airport and being sworn at by an 8 year old child. To top that off, after dinner I was walking down the street when a tuk-tuk driver (which is a motorized rickshaw) approached me on the street and we had the following conversation:
Him: Sir, where are you from?
Me: Canada
Him: Est-ce que vous parlez francais?
Me: Un peu.
Him: Voulez-vous une fille Vietienne? Elle coute vingt dollars?
Me: Tabernac.
Today, I have a much better impression of Cambodians. They are generally friendly, industrious people who are recovering from one of the most grusome histories of the twentieth century. To even begin to understand this society, one has to appreciate that the Pol Pot regime murdered 3 million people, including most of the professional class. The society has had to rebuild itself. Cambodia is a true example of the danger of politics. Politics can too easily consume and destroy life. It may be a necessary evil, but human beings are only going to thrive on this planet if we can put politics in its necessary place, which is on the back burner.
John and I had an excellent tour guide today. He taught us a lot about Ankor Wat, but he also taught us a lot about human nature. The guy is 31 years old, his parents were murdered by the Khmer Rouge, yet he continues to struggle on, and seems to be thriving. That seems to be the other lesson - that through all adversity, people continue to try to find a way. People here have been beaten up, but they continue to try to find a way to improve their lives. It is in this sense that Canada should be ashamed. Tourism is obviously going to be crucial to rebuilding Cambodia, and to facilitate this Ankor Wat needs international support to be restored. Is Canada contributing? Nope. Is every other developed nation? Pretty much. CANADA IS MIA. It's shameful. That's because Canada's foreign policy is to ignore the rest of the world and to perpetuate this myth that we are a great peacebuidling country (which we haven't been for over 20 years.) Canadians are almost as ignorant and insolated as Americans.
Anyway, I'm obviously in an intense mood, so I better rap up (plus a delegation of German feminists has entered the bar.) Tomorrow, I am going to have a larger tour of Ankor Wat. After that I am heading down to Phenom Phenh and then Vietnam.
Him: Sir, where are you from?
Me: Canada
Him: Est-ce que vous parlez francais?
Me: Un peu.
Him: Voulez-vous une fille Vietienne? Elle coute vingt dollars?
Me: Tabernac.
Today, I have a much better impression of Cambodians. They are generally friendly, industrious people who are recovering from one of the most grusome histories of the twentieth century. To even begin to understand this society, one has to appreciate that the Pol Pot regime murdered 3 million people, including most of the professional class. The society has had to rebuild itself. Cambodia is a true example of the danger of politics. Politics can too easily consume and destroy life. It may be a necessary evil, but human beings are only going to thrive on this planet if we can put politics in its necessary place, which is on the back burner.
John and I had an excellent tour guide today. He taught us a lot about Ankor Wat, but he also taught us a lot about human nature. The guy is 31 years old, his parents were murdered by the Khmer Rouge, yet he continues to struggle on, and seems to be thriving. That seems to be the other lesson - that through all adversity, people continue to try to find a way. People here have been beaten up, but they continue to try to find a way to improve their lives. It is in this sense that Canada should be ashamed. Tourism is obviously going to be crucial to rebuilding Cambodia, and to facilitate this Ankor Wat needs international support to be restored. Is Canada contributing? Nope. Is every other developed nation? Pretty much. CANADA IS MIA. It's shameful. That's because Canada's foreign policy is to ignore the rest of the world and to perpetuate this myth that we are a great peacebuidling country (which we haven't been for over 20 years.) Canadians are almost as ignorant and insolated as Americans.
Anyway, I'm obviously in an intense mood, so I better rap up (plus a delegation of German feminists has entered the bar.) Tomorrow, I am going to have a larger tour of Ankor Wat. After that I am heading down to Phenom Phenh and then Vietnam.
