One Body Village - Một Thân Hình

Now I will not even try to explain the history and politics between Cambodia and Vietnam, given that social studies was my least successful subject in school and thus why I'm a science geek. I would encourage you to Wikipedia "Cambodian-Vietnamese War" and "Khmer Rouge" if you're interested. I've spent the last 2 hours trying to Coles Notes the damn thing but my disinterest and poor understanding for historical politics prevails.  

What is important to know is that Vietnamese people do not and cannot get Cambodian citizenship because of this longstanding prejudice. They can't even buy it, despite the corruption of government officials! This means that Vietnamese people cannot work and cannot go to school. Well, they can work labour jobs like fishing and selling cans. Vietnamese children can go to school from grade 1-6 without citizenship, but are bullied, beat, and picked on. As a result, generations of uneducated Vietnamese people are forced into rural areas where it is the commonplace for families to sell their daughter's virginity's from the prime age of 12-15 to usually local Cambodian men. These girls are in turn sex slaves until the undesirable age of their late 20s and are sent back to their local villages. Because Vietnamese men are desperate, these girls can then marry, have children, and this vicious more-than-disturbed cycle repeats itself through generations. Can you believe that families would have community celebrations once their daughters' virginity's are sold? 

Why don't these families just move back to Vietnam you ask? Well, for those families who fled their country during the Vietnam War, they are no longer welcome. They are seen as traitors. Without papers in both Cambodia and Vietnam, these people are displaced, lost, and stuck in slave limbo.  

The architecture here was breathtaking. Much more well-built than in Vietnam. The streets are cleaner and less congested. Rich Vietnamese people relocate to Cambodia with private businesses for this better lifestyle. No guarantee on how long they can stay though.

Across the Delta from Phnom Penh exists run-down shacks for houses that Vietnamese people call "home".

See what I mean.

A family of 8 lives here.

Down this alley we find the OBV House in Cambodia. Our girls have never crossed the Delta to visit the big city Phnom Penh before.

These village children play in the streets all day. They do not go to school. They do not speak Khmer. Their chance for success is inconceivable, just like their parents before them.

Bringing a little joy to the kids.

My heart feels heavy when I think about their less-than-bright future. Their eyes do lack sparkle.

Can't we all take them home?!

We visit another village later in the morning, which is as equally poor as the last.

These girls work hard all day to prepare the fish for sale. During the rainy and flood season, these families are left desperate for food and salary.

Such a trendy jacket!

More gifts for the children. Though not a sustainable idea, the smiles on their sun-kissed faces make it all worthwhile.

Some children would take a package, run home, and come back for round 2. So sneaky!

We call these shacks. The people here call it home.

At the end of our visit, one of the local leaders tells us that what the villagers want the most is a gate around their (small) sacred church. Though the children attend mass every Sunday, they are unable to grasp the concept of what is holy. With their lack of discipline, structure, and education, the children urinate and defecate in the church at night time. 

I leave the village and ask myself, "How can a place so beautiful be so ugly at the same time?"

Angela

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