Treading water in an ocean of poverty
by Gabi | February 6, 2011 at 9:40 PM
Her smile still haunts me. Two teeth in a wrinkled, brown face in a body bent double from years of working in the rice fields. Leaning on a wooden stick, her hands outstretched, begging for anything we could give. Soaked to the skin after standing in a pouring rainstorm for two hours on the dirt road leading up to the Phnom Tameo wildlife refuge, 18 miles southeast of Phnom Penh.
She was one of dozens. An old woman amidst children; most of whom were handicapped and struggling. All lining the road to the 30-minute drive which led to the animal park. They came from the city on weekends, we were told, in hope of gathering a few Riel from visitors who took pity on their plight.
It had started as an outing to the zoo and turned into something so much more.
And, every time we handed over a small offering to a person on the road, the same thing happened. They smiled. Wrinkled faces softened, tiny brown eyes sparkled and old men bowed their heads in gratitude.
Many looked with vacant stares as cars eased by their outstretched hands. And when one placed a note into the palm of an outstretched hand, their eyes shone brightly with their good fortune, and their embracing stares remained fixed on us as we continued down the road.
On our way back, our tuktuk driver, Som On, made an unscheduled stop on the way back to Phnom Penh. He wanted us to see his home
We pulled into a driveway and walked with him as he tentatively wove a path through an alleyway in a city suburb. His eight-year-old son stood naked ahead of us as he poured buckets of water over his body and Sam On led us into a dark room half the size of our bedroom, one tiny window with bars and a thin linoleum floor.
Our hearts ached for him and for the people we'd seen on the road to the animal refuge. Gentle, kind souls who reached out to us and lived lives so far removed from our existence. A silence descended upon us as we drove the rest of the way home, trying to digest and find some semblance of reason in the experiences of the day.
As for Sam On - He smiled.
Comments
Poetic & challenging
I'm sure you've been told this before, but you've got a glorious gift at writing. I'm already looking forward to your next update.
And did you manage to find any reason in your digesting? I wrestle with a surge of overwhelm just reading this. I can't imagine what it must be like to be there.
Reply to your message
Hello Siona,
What a lovely message. Thank you for your kind words which brightened my day.
While there are indeed many instances of incredible poverty and sadness in Cambodia, I have to say that they are completely overshadowed by the beauty and gentleness we see everywhere. I have never experienced a population which is so incredibly warm, embracing and tolerant, despite the awful history of devastation in the country.
As I indicated in my story, people smile constantly. When you're riding to work on a tuktuk and catch the eye of a child on the street or walking down a dirt road and see a group of young men drinking coffee or sitting in a cafe and spot a fruit seller walking by. Everyone -- truly everyone -- meets your gaze, holds the look and breaks into a smile. There's nothing quite like it and the people in this country have completely captured our hearts so that we find it hard to think of living in a western culture again.
Gabi
And thank you once again, for
And thank you once again, for making me relax into such gratitude for your response. Your picture--or reminder--of a place of people engaged with each other, rather than wrapped in technology (as I am right now!) is such a gift. I'd paused before asking, as you'd already written so beautifully and asking for more--especially in the form of such a potentially challenging question--seemed almost greedy. But this response was so warming and so inspiring I'm not longer worried. Thank you.
Reply to your comment
Lovely to read your words and feel the sentiment behind them, Siona. You, too, write beautifully and I am glad we have connected.
Best,
Gabi
Inspired by you
Hello Gabi,
I am new to PulseWire. Just found out about it thru reading the book HALF THE SKY. That book opened my eyes to so many issues around the world, including my own country!! Too many of us caught up in our everyday lives...paying bills, taking care of our children and our house....getting ridiculously caught up in the small stuff...
Then there are those of us that are aware & wish we could help, but don't know how or where to begin...
Thank you for taking the leap, making the sacrifices to be that person many of us wish we could be, and then sharing your experiences with us.
Peace,
~Kelly
Hi Kelly, See Gabi's message
Hi Kelly,
See Gabi's message below!
Thank you for your message
Hello Kelly,
I am also new to PulseWire and heard about it last week from a friend!
I quite understand your comments about being caught up in our own lives -- which is to be expected, really, since that IS our life at the time. But, I also hear you in wanting to move away from the paying bills, doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom stuff.
Skip (my husband) and I realized we'd had enough of that lifestyle after we visited Thailand four years ago and have been on a quest ever since to change our lives. We did so in January when he quit a very high profile, high salary, high STRESS job and I closed the doors on my small business. In June, we sold our house and cars, found a new home for our cat and put all our personal belongings in storage. We bought a one-way ticket to Cambodia and are now volunteering at NGOs and never, for one minute, regretted the move.
There have been times we've found ourselves in ratty little places with hole in the floor toilets or walking along streets strewn with rubbish and poverty. But there have also been times when we've ridden through the streets in a tuktuk, smiling at children, watching life unfold before our eyes and marvelling at the lives we have created for ourselves here.
My point is that anyone can do it if they make it happen. Having children, of course, makes it harder but we have met many people here who brought their kids along and are also creating a life for themselves.
Thank you for writing. Keep the faith. We all do what we can when we can.
Gabi
Thank you
I think what resonates with me is you and your husband living everyday without regret. That is my personal goal...to live everyday without regret. I have come to believe that the key to true inner peace and contentment is other people...helping others ends up really being a gift to ourselves.
As you put it, we all do what we can when we can...for me, for NOW, it means remaining aware, sharing my awareness with my children and with others, doing what I can locally, and hopefully expressing myself with love & kindness.
Thank you again for sharing your personal story. I will continue to check in and read your stories and articles.
All my best to you and all of the wonderful people in Cambodia:)
~Kelly
Thank you for giving us a
Thank you for giving us a glimpse into a different world. Your way of writing makes the people and the scenes come alive.
Dear Gabi, Thank you for
Dear Gabi,
Thank you for another lovely story. I felt transported to your world through your gift of writing. I wonder, though, if there was any 'reason'?
be well
Aloha,
Beverly