Donna suggested a trip to the building block would give us an understanding of where some of our kids have come from. Just a short drive by tuk tuk from the oppulence of the Royal Palace we set off with Sok, Sejit and Tevin. I felt quite comfortable until Donna mentioned that this area is home to gangs,prostitutes,drug addicts and is incredibly dangerous!!!
We made our way through alley ways crowded with rubbish, and bustling with the locals going about their daily routines,women cooking on makeshift stoves, men sitting around a table playing cards and old women laying on straw mats in the dingy narrow corridors.
We picked up three of our children who were having a day visit with their grandma's, the shrieks and laughter when they saw us all melted our hearts. Grandma showed us her home which was a tiny room packed with their few belongings - six people sleep in this room which is barely bigger than a walk in wardrobe! The building has five or six levels each level is reached by climbing concrete stairs with a rickety wrought iron hand rail.Walking through the dark corridors was unnerving and despite the fact that we were with three other Cambodians still a scary experience. We climbed to the roof of the building which is where the children play - how any of them don't fall off and get killed is unbelievable.
Tevin our beautiful kinder teacher broke down as she showed us where her house used to be until the authorities came in and forcibly removed all the residents, by using bulldozers to flatten the houses and tear gas to subdue the residents. Many people died trying to defend their homes - the rest of the people were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. To see all of this and hear so many stories of hardship - makes me realise how incredibly lucky we are in the westeren world - we don't know the meaning of the word hardship!
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