Volunteer’s Blog – November 22: Invisible Community

Last week my work with SCC brought me to Siem Reap, home to the breathtaking Angkor temples. Although Siem Reap appears to be a tourist’s paradise, the outskirt of the city is populated with impoverished families who are often unseen by foreign visitors. These vulnerable families are often neglected because 1. The vast amount of income generated by tourism attributes to the misconception that the revenues are being distributed fairly, 2. The multitude of NGO-based businesses suggests that aid is being given to the needy, 3. Tourists are often blinded by the smiling faces and cheerful greeting; they’re given the impression that this is the land of happy people . . . after all, seeing is believing right? Or do we simply see what we want to believe?

The SCC staff and I journeyed to rural Siem Reap, where we spent days visiting and collecting data from members of this invisible community. These individuals are future beneficiaries and students who will be attending the new community center, which will host a range of classes from vocational training to basic child education. Once we ventured just outside of the city center, the paved roads became almost unusable dirt paths littered with potholes, and the beautiful French –inspired hotels turned into straw shacks. We even had to navigate by foot at one point because the tuk tuk (Cambodian “taxi”) was unable to drive on the muddy road obstructed by open sewage pipes! I couldn’t help but wonder: where is the money going to?

In one of the villages, I met a group of impoverished women who will be attending our future vocational classes. One of the young women I interviewed, Yi Pich, started sobbing in the middle of her story. She was extremely thin from malnourishment and had been domestically abused then abandoned by her husband. Now she is homeless and struggling to support herself and her four young children. . . I have to admit that at the time, I wished I could have stayed as another happily oblivious tourist . . . it was heartbreaking to repeatedly encounter so much pain and hardship without the ability to offer immediate support (the most I could do was offer loaves of bread and fruit for some families).

But looking back now, meeting all these survivors made me realize something. All of the women in that the group we first visited have survived horrible ordeals such as domestic violence, abandonment, homelessness, and poverty. Yet they all showed immense determination to survive, to raise their children. Moreover, I was touched by the support they gave to each other. They not only share living spaces and farms but also lean on each other for emotional support. They had built a community for themselves! I couldn’t help but feel a ray of hope in an otherwise gloomy situation. If Yi Pich and her friends are capable of surviving now, imagine how much improvement could be possible with just a little bit of aid!

I hope Yi Pich will once again share stories of her life with me when I return to visit in a few years. Except this time there will be some tears of joy.