132. Takeo One: Full Circle

This blog began three and a half years ago with a story of a Cambodian woman who gave birth while fleeing the destruction of the Cambodian-Vietnamese War.  Initiated by the Khmer Rouge, they were soon overpowered by the Vietnamese army, who installed a puppet government. Decades would pass before Cambodia knew peace.

Two to three million Cambodians died during the 4 years of Khmer Rouge rule, including this young boy whose picture taken in the S-21 prison, where 28,000 prisoners were interrogated before taken to the "killing fields" where they were executed and dumped in mass graves. No one survived this particular prison.

Today our medical team arrived at the rural hospital in Takeo, not far from the Vietnamese border. No one mentions it, but I wonder if some of us are looking for an atonement of sorts, since it was American bombs that helped destabilized Cambodia, opening the way for Pol Pot and the Khmer Rough.

First day, over 1200 showed up for the free dental, eye, medical and surgery clinics.  Most too poor to avoid private care; and public care rarely accessible. The Bhuddist monk is there for crowd control. Police may provoke fear, but the tremendous respect shown to monks allows them to easily handle the large number of waiting patients.