Extending Eupan - Reflection on Personal Privilege
Written while on location in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: I have spent quite a few weeks studying to be in Cambodia – being as aware as I can be of the current situations in this country – while remaining aware of the social/political factors that have shaped its history. In particular, I have been reflecting on the issues of Genocide that characterized the regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, particularly between 1975 to 1979. As part of our plans for shared time of peace and conflict resolution engagement in the land, we will be visiting the “museum” that commemorates the killing fields, as well as the “S-21” prison, now a museum. In these ways alone I have been prepared for the reality of death, gruesome genocide and terrible torture that has taken place in this land. Our first day in Cambodia, having landed in Phnom Penh, we went straight to a tourist event – visiting the King’s home at the Grand Palace. Our guide told us his name was “Ritz,” and I thought as we walked th