Home, well, for the next two months anyway

Coming into land at Sem Reap my first impressions were of a flat, thinly populated very green country.  Most of the houses seemed to be built on stilts over the river.  The airport was smarter than I imagined thanks to all the tourists who fly in for the day to visit Angkor Wat.  I was met by a smiling boy who brought me to the guesthouse. I was warmly greeted by Lori, the Texan, who, after visting Siem Reap and seeing the work that Ponheary does was inspired to move here permenently and set up the foundation to raise money to further Ponheary's work with disenfranchised children.

My room is on the second floor at the back of the building where it is quieter.  I had a very long chat with Lori about the work here and Cambodia in general.  Beneath the veneer of everything working well that the day tourisst see there are profound problems here. We went out for a delicous meal and a couple of beers to a Vietnamese restaurant and Lori showed me around. Siem Reap is a very small town and feels quite quiet. It is very safe. The people are gentle and Lori tells me that they welcome foriegners warmly.  They find them fascinating and know that they help to make the town a little more prosperous.  They feel fortunate that they have the world class attraction of Angkor to make people want to come here.

There is very real poverty  and many people are malnourished..  The police are very tough on begging; it is not tolerated at all.  A woman who runs the bookshop helps the amputee victims of landmines by giving them a tray of books to sell at cost price.  A sort of big issue arrangement.

People with disabilities have a very hard time here.  There is no work and parent's do not feel it is worth children being educated no matter how small their problem

Ponheary and her family lived in Siem Reap when the Khymer Rouge came to power, she was thirteen.  Her family were marched out of town, along with all the other inhabitants, by a boy soldier who was so young and small that his gun dragged along the ground.  Her father, a teacher, was killed very quickly along with all the other educated people.  Her Mother survived and lives here, although I haven't met her yet.  Ponheary and her six siblings were taken from thier parent's straight away and worked in a labour camp digging ditches.  Her youngest sister died of malnutrition shortly afterwards.  Her mother survived because she was an illiterate peasant from a village and so fitted in with the demographic that the KR were trying to create.  When the Vietnamese invaded.the family that were left regrouped on the site of their former home where I am now staying.  They had nothing and lived in makeshift tents and made do.

During the Vietnamese occupation Pon secretly learned French and English; a crime punishable by death.  When the war ended in !999 and the UN came Pon and her brother, Dara, were in a strong position to help them because of there local knowledge and language skills.  Gradually the family were able to build a guest house and earn money that way too.  Since that time Pon has always helped to support the education of the poor in what ever way she can.  When Lori came she set up the foundation and got sponsorship to expand the work of the Ly family.  No one takes any salary from the foundation.  They earn their living from the guesthouse and by taking tours around Angkor.  Every goes towards the education and welfare of the poorest children

I have been invited to have dinner with the family tonight.  There are lots of delicious children here; it may take a while to sort out the family relationships!

Tomorrow I go to school. more then..