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.

Friends Old and New

Today was a day of welcome at our weekly Maryknoll meeting and liturgy.  Sr. Regina Pellicore (L) was with us from 1995-2010 when she went to Maryknoll, New York as the treasurer for the Maryknoll Sisters.  Now she has returned to be with us again.

Kylene Fremling (C) is a new Maryknoll Lay Missioner who has just arrived in Cambodia.  Kylene met us in Thailand for last week’s gathering for a retreat and meetings and now she begins her assignment in Cambodia.

Judy Santmire (R) is an old friend of Maryknoll who was with us for several years and then returned to the United States.  Now she is back to be with us again.

Welcome to you all!