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THE BIG EVENT
A little over a month ago I was talking with my partner Vandin and he informed me that there would soon be a big Inauguration party for the new USAID funding program for HIV and AIDS in Cambodia. These events are usually held at one of the Five Star Hotels in Phnom Penh, in an air conditioned hall with Hors d'œuvre served on Silver platters and Champagne drank from Crystalline goblets. I never attend these events because they are a big waste of time and money as far as I am concerned and... well, let's just say I know my place. Somewhere in the conversation it came up that the Inauguration should be held at the grassroots level since that is where the funding was intended and so we decided to offer our place to hold the event. I never thought it would happen but the Planners liked the idea and all of a sudden we had a lot of work on our hands, because the speakers were going to be the Deputy Prime Minister and President of the National Authority for Combating Drugs Ke Kim Yan, Senior Minister and President of the National Authority for Combating HIV/AIDS Nuth Sokhom, and most important for me was the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Ms. Carol A. Rodley.
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For years this Historic Red Ribbon, which was displayed in the lead car of the very first AIDS Day Parade in Takeo, welcomed our guest to the Wat Opot Project. We have moved on however, and no longer consider our program an AIDS Project and so it was time to redo the whole wall. |
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I asked our Art instructor Rint Hoeut if he could have his students come up with a new design... one that would capture the essence of the Wat Opot Community today. Wow, was I ever surprised with what they came up with... |
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For those that do not read Khmer, the letters above Wat Opot spell "Sahacom" or Community. The large Eye represents the Guardian, who watches over the free spirits of the children, which are represented by the White floating objects. Behind the Eye is the Red Heart of Compassion. The Green Leaf represents Life and within the Leaf is a Skull, representing the death of our family members, however, it also has a Mother feeding her newborn child, which represents the health and vitality of Wat Opot today. Below the Eye is the Pink Lotus Flower, which symbolizes purity of heart and mind. The Dove represents Peace and the partial symbols of Christianity and Buddhism in the background, emphasizes our search for Spirituality, through the acceptance and understanding of all Faiths. The Green Lotus Pond in front of the picture was my idea and is the closest thing to being an artist as I will ever get. |
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We all worked hard for several weeks getting our place cleaned up... after all, this would be the first formal visit from an American Ambassador in the 10 years of our existence and even I was excited to have this great honor bestowed upon us. The flagpole was moved, an electric pole was taken out of the ground to make room for seating areas, and a perfectly good Mango tree, full of fruit, was chopped down to make a place for the stage. |
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Dirt was moved in, windows and walls scrubbed down, flowers planted, tents erected, stages built, and music rehearsed, right up to the last minute. We were all exhausted but at the same time proud of what we as a community had been able to accomplish in just three weeks time. |
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At last the day had come and for a Khmer program it went very well. The flags were raised, |
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the children sang, |
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the speakers spoke, |
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and in the end the Deputy Prime Minister handed out a gift to all of those who had taken part in the program. For Partners in Compassion it was $250.00 in cash. |
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Ribbons were cut and a permanent Memorial dedicated. |
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and at last I got to meet the Ambassador. I introduced myself and told her I would be her tour guide. She complimented me on a great program and as we followed the group out the door, we all turned right, while she turned left and without giving any explanation walked away from me and the group, got into the back of her big white Suburban, and sped away. No personal words of farewell, no thanking the children, who sang a special song "We are the World" in English for her, no paying her respects at the Crematorium to the people who had died of AIDS, and not even a handshake between Americans, with a little private donation in it to help feed the kids, and to this day, no explanation or apologies. Just some man who walked up to me later and said, “The Ambassador had to leave.” |
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The rest of the tour went on as planned and Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yan and the other dignitaries spent nearly an hour in the hot Sun meeting everyone and showing real interest in those of us who worked hard at the grass roots level to put this together for them. How unfortunate that the Ambassador of the United States could not find the time to do the same. Perhaps it was that there was no Hors d'œuvre or Champagne as she is accustomed to, perhaps the CIA gave her a bad character reference of me, or perhaps because she is a leftover from the Bush Era, she doesn't feel it necessary to show respect to the little people. Who knows? She may have had a legitimate excuse and when I hear it I will gladly share it with you, but until I do, I will stick with this story, because respect for People, especially Children Living with AIDS, must start with those at the top before it can reach down to the grassroots level. Even if she did have a very good reason for leaving... without an explanation or an apology, we will always remember her as USArrogant, for it is not usually the Intent but the Perceived Intent of an Act, that causes feelings to be hurt.
I know that some of you are going to complain again about my disrespect for someone of her “Importance”... but lets face it people, where has respect for people of “Importance” gotten us?
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