Author: Charles Dittmeier

Muslims in Cambodia

The Muslim community is a significant part of Cambodia’s population.  Their numbers are not large, less than 10%, but they have figured greatly in the history of the region through the centuries.  The Cambodian Cham ethnic group is predominantly Muslim and there is even a province named Kampong Cham.  The Muslims are not so noticeable politically but they do have a good number of mosques in certain provinces, including this one in Phnom Penh.

Something to Remember…

There are about 125 killing fields in Cambodia, actual fields where the Khmer Rouge took people to execute and bury them in mass graves.  There is a large killing field near Phnom Penh and it is a place that the tour groups all go–and they should.

Many skulls of the victims are stacked in a large memorial stupa on the grounds of the killing fields.  Around the stupa are large, weathered pits were the bones were dug up.

Some of the clothing of the victims has also been collected and is displayed on a wooden platform on one level of the stupa.  It looks like it was probably washed but is otherwise just in a pile as part of the permanent display.  And along the paths among the burial pits, more bones and articles of clothing keep working their way up to the surface.

Only a small portion of the clothing from those executed is on display. Much more is kept in a warehouse and up to now has just remained there untended.  Now, though, through a program funded by the US Ambassador, Julia Brennan (R) from Textile Conservation Services, assisted by Jackie, a graduate student from the University of Delaware, will sort, analyze, and preserve the stored clothing for posterity as another  reminder of the Khmer Rouge era.

Today Julia and Jackie were part of the weekly Maryknoll Cambodia gathering in Phnom Penh.

Notable Quote

 

 

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”

~ Henry Van Dyke

A Sign of the Times

Until very recently a sign like this one would have been unthinkable in Cambodia where credit cards are not very common.  Within the last five years or so, there were only one or two high-end hotels that would accept Visa and MasterCard and American Express.  And even as a few other establishments began to accept cards, they did so with a 3% to 5% surcharge for their graciousness in allowing you to use your plastic.  Today you will see more foreigners using credit cards, but for the most part they seem to be using them to make money withdrawals from their home bank accounts so they can then pay their bills here with cash.

A Touch of Class

Many eateries in Phnom Penh are little mom-and-pop operations right on the street with the barest of utensils, furniture, and hygiene.  And then there are a few places like this–it’s almost on the street; I’m sitting on the back of a motorcycle–that are part of the city decor but do it with a sense of style.