Cambodia 2011 Peace Project Event (Part1 The Story)

PREVI HEAR JOURNAL 2011 ! The Peace Project
PREVI HEAR JOURNAL 2011 ! The Peace Project
toward the east. The
temple gives its name to
Cambodia’s Preah Vihear
province, in which it is
now located, as well as the
Khao Phra Wihan National
Park which borders it in
Thailand’s Sisaket province
and through which the
temple is most easily
accessible. On July 7, 2008,
Preaha Vihear was listed as
a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
Construction of the first
temple on the site began in
the early 9th century; both
then and in the following
centuries it was dedicated
to the Hindu god Shiva
in his manifestations
as the mountain gods
Sikharesvara and
Bhadresvara. The earliest
surviving parts of the
temple, however, date from
the Koh Ker period in the
early 10th century, when
the empire’s capital was at
the city of that name. Today,
elements of the Banteay
Srei style of the late 10th
century can be seen, but
most of the temple was
constructed during the
reigns of the Khmer kings
Suryavarman I (1002–
1050) and Suryavarman II
(1113–1150). An inscription
found at the temple
provides a detailed account
of Suryavarman II studying
sacred rituals, celebrating
religious festivals and
making gifts, including
white parasols, golden
bowls and elephants, to his
spiritual advisor, the aged
Brahmin Divakarapandita.
The Brahmin himself
took an interest in the
temple, according to the
inscription, donating to it a
golden statue of a dancing
Shiva known as “Nataraja”.
In the wake of the decline of
Hinduism in the region the
site was converted to use by
Buddhists.”
“ Wow! That was a
mouthful.”
He smiles sheepishly as if
he is about to bow and then
takes an awkward step back
and then before I can say
Lickety Split he is gone.
“ I guess being here
everyday you get know a lot
about the place. Or its part
of his job.”
On the way down as the
truck travels we film the
daily debrief. Red dust.
Wind and pastel mountains.
Jungle and soldiers in
khaki. I want to add the
philosophy about war and
what Im doing and talk into
the camera. How they don’t
want me. My epiphany.
I think to myself,
“Throughout the world
I have seen governments
such as the ones in Cyprus,
Israel Kosovo Chechnya
condone violence and
terrorism. They oppose
with laws, propaganda,
rhetoric and armies
the overthrow and
usurpment of power by
others with the use of
force. But when I come
to a war with a message
of peace, they ignore
this message at best and
oppose it at worst. They
do everything they can to
see that it never occurs.
They make every possible
effort to reduce the
message or have it not
heard. They listen politely
but then closes their
eyes and turn a deaf ear.
Jesus said, “Blessed are
the peacemakers.” But it
often seems like conflict
and disagreement are
unavoidable and the
governments who are in
power are reluctant to
seek peaceful solutions.
Serious, divisive conflict
is everywhere- within
families, in the church,
and out in the world. And
it can seem impossible
to overcome its negative
force in our lives.”
On the way back down
from the mountain for
dinner the wind picks
up and my peaked hat
catches the wind ;like a
sail. So I loose my hat on
the drive down. We had to
turn around to pick it up.
It’s a little white gimme
hat with a broad peak.
Back on my head we are
again driving.
In Sraem we stop at the Massage
restaurant (as I have dubbed it.) It’s 15
dollars for everyone and we can feed
12 people. Buffet style feeding them is
like feeding all the stray cats. They hang
around with gawky smiles.
Here there is a barbers chair and
halfway through the meal the waitress
asks if I want my ears cleaned. There
is a massage room next door. In the
restaurant! And and a kind of buffet with
cockroaches and flies lingering lazily.
Thats why its so cheap I guess. I feed the
few of twelve here. Its next to the roundabout
in the centre of the town.
That evening My Bunthy tales me off
to a restaurant and I write my book. Still
picking through a sixteenth draft of The
Word. I scribble it early in the morning
and late at night. The waitress Bouw I
have taken a shine too. But I suspect she
has a boyfriend in the military. The boys
wash and dive to a boxing match .
Mao takes the other boys to a massage
but but every body pauses and laughingly
explain, “We don’t want grandmothers.’
Sambo is outside and always on the
phone. He is talking intensely to his
girl friend and has a slightly serious
expression on his face. His brow is
wrinkled. Sokkeng girl friend Danny is
a Karaoke-bar girl inPhnom Penh and
Working hard, so We Went
to massage
he is concerned that she will be lost
to that world and the gangsters who
wander around it. Well that happened
to me .... My friend Aone from Phnom
Penh has texted me to say her boyfriend
has arrived in Cambodia. She was
only a friend but I know now that
it will be harder to see her. I take it
philosophically. But she was nice. Instead
I ring Karina, a new friend I have met on
the bus from Poipet to Phnom Peng. A
country girl from Kambunchenan.
Then the boys decide they want to see
a boxing match in town. We don’t go in.
Its on the round-about in the centre of
the town. A hung tarpaulins. The boys
are in down time are divided between
the soccer and the boxing.