Cambodia 2011 Peace Project Event (Part1 The Story)

PREVI HEAR JOURNAL 2011 ! The Peace Project
PREVI HEAR JOURNAL 2011 ! The Peace Project
the addresses it we roll the
picture up, being careful not
to smudge the wet paint and
then slide it into the long
powder blue P.V.C. cylinder
with its caps either end. I
can see shiny licorice black
ants and insects stuck to
the canvas glinting in the
daylight like insects frozen
in amber. The canvas roll
is now a snake crawling
into its home. Then we
dismantle the easel and
give the wood to the guards.
We have ordered lunch
for them and beer. As it
arrives in two hampers the
Previ-Hear Temple Guard
gather around pushing
each other politely. None of
them speak English so the
conversation is lost to me. I
mumble in broken Khmer
and broken English to the
Lieutenant Commander
who sits at the head of the
table importantly waiting
for another Thai strike. He
explains how he visits his
wife every four months.
The soldiers laugh out loud
when they hear our story
with Mr Vanna, and then
explain they will escort us
down the mountain in an
armed convoy to protect us
from the scourges of the
mountain security official.
“You will be protected
from the petty spy Mr
Vanna!”
Meanwhile a lens glints
100 meters away. In the
distance we see Mr Vanna
smiling at the foot of the
2nd temple.
I think, “The word
“smile” has been redefined
by Mr Vanna. We have
also heard that if we are
not off the mountain by
4 o’clock he will arrest
us. The permit from
Apsarra Authority expired
yesterday, but technically
the permit was for painting
the picture. That was all.
We can visit, but not create
the art!”
“We will be your
bodyguards,” the soldiers
shout! A Seiko watch
chimes four. “ Arrested?” I
think.
It is nearly five-thirty.
The sun is setting and the
cylinder is propped in the
rear pointing out at an
angle like a bazooka on
the way down. The jeep
trundles down the snaking
dirt road for the last time.
That evening en route we
stop half way between the
mountain and Sre Aem to
film a few parting shots of
the small natural village.
We drive the rest of
the wood to Mr Bunthy’s
home, carrying the
cylinder and the excess
wood on the side of one
of the bikes and a small
wagon attached to one of
the bikes. That evening we
unload it into his home .
8 pm and we engage
in a party with the Previ
Hear soldiers at the beef
soup restaurant. Everyone
gathers here. Raucous
laughter. Mirth.. Its a kind
of wrap party the same as
Sre Picks birthday party.
Sre Pich and her family
come. The soldiers come.
Mr Mao. Sim So Pert and
his wife. Hu Bunthy, Mr
Brown, Mor Bora, Akram
Ly Nev, Chheng Sambo
and Ly Sokheng.
Sokkeng is surrounded
by the soldiers. He has
a long suffering look as
they drunkenly slap him
on the back. They are the
ones who had been the
bodyguards for the Prime
Minister Hun Sen. He
smiles pathetically. They
suggest they will escort
him that evening to a
brothel and sing Karioke
girls. Sokkeg winces. He
knows he will be the one
to pay. Later that night Mr
Bunthy drives me to see
Bouw and I say goodbye.
She was a nice friend. Two
months after I returned
she married an officer.