my bloody trip to the dump

Once upon a time...
there was a land full of garbage, waste, toxicity, and overall filth. This land was called: Stung Mean Chey Landfill. People not only had to physically work in that shit (pardon the pun), but they had to live there as well. The workers who were also inhabitants consisted of all ages, though the majority were small children. Human beings covered from head to toe with black toxic dirt - especially their hands since they were used for digging out and sifting for the valuable plastic from the rest of other people's waste, and especially their feet for they were used for walking on all the garbage since they could not be properly covered and protected with sandals or shoes due to extreme poverty. Some of them had acid burn marks on their faces and bodies, some of them had wounds that will never heal properly - physical wounds just as much as mental ones - and everyone, every single individual there was ill to some degree and unable to seek proper medical attention since there was no way of getting to a treatment centre let alone paying for treatment. Death at this Landfill was commonplace: getting run over by a large machine or malnutrition, whichever came first.

Everywhere you could see was garbage and the most discusting living conditions known to Mankind during this time. It stunk all the time, there was no refuge from the horrible stench no matter the weather; when it was hot - which was most of the time - it smelled worse, but when it was rainy it smelled just as bad and the chemicals from all the waste flowed like a river of everthing that is just not good for any living creature, but created by fellow human beings who called this "progress". Imagine this river (of everything that is just not good for any living creature) full of floating debris and waste so thick that you cannot differentiate where the land meets the river, creating a never-ending landscape of waste. Imagine, too, people - women, men, and children of all ages - up to their necks in this toxic chunky liquid searching for plastic bags, of all things. Try to imagine the stench eminating and steaming from all around: from the burning of this waste, from the people themselves. Try now to imagine bringing up a family in a land such as this...

...reality check...

This place really exists and I saw it with my own eyes and felt the sting of the toxins, smelled it with my own nose, felt the touches and tugs of the children on my arms and on my heart. We went - Carly, Leigh, Christian, Roath, and myself - to pay a visit to this place I didn't want to believe existed. We bought what seemed like a tonne of bottled water to give out, but of course it wasn't enough. Upon our arrival we were swarmed with children. We walked down to the village where Roath and I tried to disperse the life water fairly among them: it was an intense experience to say the least, and one that I won't soon forget...

But you know what? Despite all that, they were so happy to receive us and the water (probably more for the latter) and their smiles lit up through the steam and the smoke. It was beautiful in many ways to know that we helped in some small way... to know that this place exists and that these people exist is a knowledge that inspired all of us to act upon in any way we can, when ever we can.


Comedic relief?
Carly - the ever adventurous woman - was trying to get the perfect shot of the river (more like a stream) I detailed earlier; however, in doing so, she fell in to it!! up to her waste, managing to save the camera and the purse. I was on one side of her - having took the "bridge" across - and Leigh was right next to her and was able to pull her out. I couldn't believe what I had just seen! My first reaction was to laugh, as was Leigh's, but we were both unsure whether that would be a rude thing to do... since Carly had just about drown in toxic waste... Luckily, she handled it very well and and Leigh and I proceeded to laugh our asses off at the sheer incredibility of the whole incident. The locals were laughing too - a "barang" (foreigner) fell in the waste - and one of them ushered her over to him and he cleaned her up as best he could with somewhat clean water before the toxins seeped into her body... which they managed to a little since she claimed of a burning sensation in her bum. ***Don't worry, she took a hot and soapy shower at a clean hotel room as soon as we got back to the city and is just fine now.*** But, we had to laugh. Sometimes it's the only thing one can do in a situation such as that one.

Wondering what the bloody part is referring to?
Carly and I gave 350ml of blood this afternoon at the children's hospital here in Siem Reap, where we are now located.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my life. Thank-you for reading and thinking.

is it possible to continuously change as a person?

Siem Reap = See 'em Weap

I had no idea what to expect upon arriving in this small city of only 100,000 - which most likely doesn't account for all the children and entire families living on the streets, new-comers every day. Tourists usually arrive by plane, get shuttled to their hotel, go to the Anchor Wat for at least one day, get shuttled back to their hotel, leave the following day. The Wat will certainly crumble one of these days due to the high traffic on its delicate and ancient grounds: the supporting water underneath is dissapearing everyday. There is nothing being done to stop this trend (I'm not sure what could be done) and so one day there will be no more Anchor Wat. So "come see it while you still can" is the attitude of many visitors... Siem Reap is under crazy construction of immense hotels that cater to the high season of tourists. There is a street dubbed "Bar Street" and it is just that. This is the street where many of the street kids hang out; rather, this is where many of the street kids live.

But first...

The Village People

Upon our arrival to Siem Reap, we met Leigh for the first time: she is one of the founders of the NGO Future Cambodia Fund. She has begun work in a floating village just outside the city. The village is home to 6000 people, many of which aren't khmer but vietnamese and cham (Islamic) so they are the bottom of the barrel kind of people, so to speak. They live on canals off the river Tonle Sap which is a confluent of the Mekong... this is the only river in the world that reverses its flow during the rainy season (yet there are no scientists here studying why this is so, and hardly anybody knows in the first place). Leigh and a swedish man named Christian are working with the Health Clinic - a small shack with mediocre supplies, 2 rooms, 1 doctor - of the village to improve their water first and foremost so that they have clean water to nurture their sick with. Carly works with water so they planned to work together... the water is absolutely the most discusting muck I have ever seen: full of shit, piss, oil, gas, animal waste, garbage and whatever else you can think of. People bath their children in it, drink from it, cook with it! So you can imagine how starting by improving the health clinic's water would prove to be first priority. We met with the Chief of the village and discussed what is important to the village, clean water was numero uno. We tested water in the canal outside the clinic, then took a boat and tested the water in the middle of the lake and discovered that the latter was much better and could be filtered and cleaned with ease; the former however, needed some heavey duty filtering machine - something FCF anticipated and had already begun research on biosand filters and the like. We tested the wells from which they got their water for drinking and discovered arsenic in it. It's so crazy how we take these things for granted... It was so interesting to see all this planning, communicating, caring, working WITH the villagers and not just going in their and telling them what we think they need. FCF is holding a health clinic there on February 2nd (at which I will be volunteering) with a group of canadians to teach about proper hygene practices especially for the children.

the Street Kids

That night we went out Bar Street and got a first-hand experience of the children on this street. What Leigh and Christian do in this city is absolutely amazing and the closest thing to altruism I've known. We sat out in front of a bar - owned by a hefty and caring american who also does much work in Siem Reap and runs a camp back in Vermont - and the children would just scream with glee at seeing Leigh and Christian, come running over for hugs and kisses and to tell about their day. They work so closely with them and know many of them so well, know their family, know their situation. Many of the kids are extremely screwed up... for instance: one kid was beaten so bady by his mother that his eye is permanently damaged, his sister is chained up outside their "home" and they are both forced to sniff glue, and their infant sister has HIV and the mother was letting her die by not feeding her... she was unconscious when found. The mother cut her leg, didn't take care of it and so it got infected to the point of amputation but still she didn't care to seek medical attention thinking maybe she'd be able to make more money if she were disabled. When forced to go, she was there for a week and the little boy was never happier since he wasn't being beaten nor was he stoned. Crap like this are the stories of these little children... When we were there that night, these kids didn't try to steal from us or get money from us cuz they know Leigh and Christian are there to help them and they trust in that... it's about the only thing they can trust in. They jumped up on our backs, told us our names, tried to talk elnglish with us... such a heartwarming feeling. So Leigh and Christian have been working together on setting up a vocational training centre to get them off the streets for a little while each day, teach them some tangible skills they can use and earn a living with, through FCF. There is a Street Kids' Clinic being held this Sunday at which I will also be volunteering.

I don't know exactly what else I'll be doing during my time in Siem Reap before I come home, but Leigh will help me and put me to work somehow. Another thing she does is networks with all the smaller NGOs and does volunteer placement, so maybe I'll do some english teaching? whatever I can, really.

For today:

Well, I'm going to the Phnom Penh Landfill this afternoon. This is where families live and work, searching for the plastic people throw out cuz it's worth money. I have seen this place in a promotional video for Humans Being (another NGO Carly was involved with) and was touched deeply just by that viewing... now I'll be there, right in the thick of it. I can only imagine what I'll have to say about it in my next blog. Until then, take care and think of me and send me love over the miles, OK? I need it right now. I am on the brink of insanity...

Kep: southern Cambodia

***ASIA PHOTOS ARE ADDED TO MY YAHOO PHOTO ALBUM! So check them out using the link to the right marked "photo album". Yay!***

So this is what Cambodia looks like for all those who have no clue. I entered on the Mekong River into Stung Streng and stayed in Banlung for 4 nights... that's where I visited the hill tribes. From there we taxied it to Kratie and then I arrived into Phnom Penh on the 14th. We left the next day for Kep and spent 3 nights.

The night before Kep in Phnom Penh, I met a bunch of teachers from various countries and we chilled out at Guesthouse #9 - the original one on Lake Side. The mosquitoes were out in full force and I woke up the next morning with about 20 bites on my left foot and about 5 or so on my right. Hopefully I didn't catch malaria. :-) Anyways, the teachers are very cool people, down to earth, we had some rally interesting conversations... especially with this middle-aged flamboyantly gay dude from California named Salim. I will tell about him upon my return.

Kep

So Kep. The Khmer Rouge was in very heavey force there while the regime was still in power. Many rich Khmers had houses there, the King had a palace, all overlooking the beauitful - but of course very dirty - ocean. It used to be quite a booming city not too long ago until the mid 1970s (just after the civil war) when the Khmer Rouge slaughtered everyone and their babies. Terrible and bloody history. The homes are in ruins, the lands are being clear cut and sold off at ridiculous prices. In some cases there are trees growing out through the walls and the ceilings. It makes for an eery feeling when you drive the streets and see - in the rare cases where the family can afford a cop to patrol their area - families living in poverty in the brokedown homes. What a juxtaposition of imagery and reality. We drove around on motos - we had met up with my new and beautiful friend Roath (ro-wat) and her fiancé Marcel (a middle-aged dutch dude)... this is a whole other story - through the mountain and jungle, breathtaking view of the vietnamese and cambodian islands. We didn't go for a dip though since we saw the sewage pipes spewing into the ocean... haha All in all, it was a very interesting and educational experience... one that I will learn more about after having visited the museum here in Phnom Penh.

life changing trip...

We left for Phnom Penh again on the 18th, then hopped on yet another annoying karaoke-playing-full-blast-the-entire-way bus to Siem Reap on the 19th. It changed my life. It changed my outlook once again. It made me actually motivated to DO something and it gave me the confidence in knowing that I actually CAN do something.

Siem Reap

We were meeting up with a contact Carly knew through a close friend of her's to help her NGO test some water for a floating village. Her name is Leigh and her NGO is called Future Cambodia Fund (check it out cuz you'll be hearing lots more about it!) which is a project her and a friend began a year ago to help the street kids of Siem Reap. It is an amazing endeavor and I was fortunate enough to be present and see what it is they do, how they network, how they communicate with the children and the people of this floating village.

..........................................

I will write more on this next time because time has run out here, but do your homework and check that site out please! This is something I will be getting more envolved with in the near future, something important to me, and something I would like everyone to get a grasp on.

can you see me NOW?

Doing a bit of bouldering, as they say in the climbing world... heehee It's when you climb upside-down, very difficult and I was (still am) VERY out of shape. Not to mention the fact that I had never been rock climbing in my life!

The slow boat DAY 2 on the Mekong River heading to Luang Prabang, Laos. We had this whole boat to ourselves: Carly, Perdy, Abbey, Jetta, Neils, little Elkin, the american family of 4, and myself. Big difference from the 110 people of the day before, eh? Awesome. I'm rockin out to some great tunes and enjoying the beautiful sun...

These are just a couple, but be sure I'll upload the rest of my asia photos to my yahoo photo album real soon. Yay! And Kep, ya, tomorrow when I get back to Phnom Penh I promise! heehee Internet is expensivé in Siem Reap! Maybe I'll go to the Angkor Wat this evening, at sunset, when it's free after 5pm instead of the $20 US they charge. There have been many changes in my life since my last post... so strange that life can take such unexpected turns.

A la prochaine!

who said: don't go into the jungle??

So here I am in a lovely town called Kep which is situated right on the ocean-front, right in the jungle, right where I want to be. It is quite laidback and the townspeople are very friendly and beautiful. We bused it here from Phnom Penh on Sunday and will be going back tomorrow morning early. We were going to take a boat over to Rabbit Island (kind of funny, eh Sahana?) but it poored all night long and into the morning, the clouds are still here. Strange weather since it is Asia's dry season. Anyhoot, we're moto-ing it around the area, up the mountains, maybe go for a dip in the ocean later. Who knows?

Arriving into Phnom Penh was interesting, as travel always is in these countries I've been noticing. We left from Kratie (home of some of the only remaining fresh water dolphins in the world...which we did not see due to time constraints) and bused it, stopping in a couple little towns along the way. When you arrive from anywhere to these little towns, you are immediately swarmed with women and children trying to sell you some goodies for the road. I've seen some interesting "goodies", ie. entire chicks and small chickens roasted over a fire on a stick, the innards of pigs and chickens roasted and on a stick, to name a couple. Grosse. Anyhow, so the way it usually happens is that I come off the bus or the local bus and the children -after trying to sell me something- start spouting out the only english they know and comment on my hair and piercings... they really get a kick out of my tongue ring! haha Sometimes Carly and I will start playing hacky sack (I'm getting much better at it too!) and they just love that. They learn so quick, some are like naturals at it! We've played with small kids and folks our age too and it's so awesome to see them smile and have fun together beyond language.

We arrived into Phnom Penh early afternoon and had to ask the driver to pull over so we could get off at a short walking distance from Lake Side, the area that Carly has lived in and knows people. We immediately swarmed with dudes asking us for moto drives - nobody walks in Asia so they find it strange that we do. We got there, dropped our stuff off at the guesthouse of Carly's Khmer friend Rowat's mother runs (sweet sweet woman) and booked it for the THE best iced coffee I'd ever tried. We read the Cambodian Daily: probably the most reliable source for international news I have ever encountred. I even read about Canadian politics and how f-ed up it is even on the homefront, just not as in-your-face as it is here in Cambodia.

***Speaking of which, I won't be able to vote for the non-confidence election that's up and coming very soon as our vote wouldn't make it in time. All I can say is: DAMN YOU HARPER AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR***

Well... more soon... I am back in Phnom Penh but I still have to tell you about Kep! haha I hope this isn't too confusing for folks... oopsies! I guess I still can't manage my time properly. Ah well.