Our nation's pride

The border is back to normal. There's just one change to Poipet in the form of several large billboards that have been placed over the main road. The pictures are slightly different to each other but the text is the same. The signs read: Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple. Our nation's pride. Celebrating the one year anniversary of the World Heritage Listing of Preah Vihear temple.

Maybe the temples are worth a visit someday... (when the soldiers have gone and some of the landmines are cleared?) In the meantime, I'll argue that the Khmer people themselves are the true treasures. They are Cambodia's pride.

Love Day 2011

This year I received a Valentine's Day card from a married man. (Great opening line?! I guess I should explain...)

Yesterday one of the churches in Poipet had a marriage seminar. A Cambodian guy talked to me over the weekend about whether he should go. He is married. However, he is separated from his wife and young daughter. I encouraged him that if he wanted to go to learn then he should attend the seminar. My friend would like to be married but he makes no secret of the reality that his marriage has fallen apart. He speaks openly about his feelings of rejection, pain and loneliness. Despite his best efforts, she left him. And on Valentine's Day he went to the marriage seminar by himself. One of the activities was to make a card for your husband or wife. My friend made one for me instead. I put it on the wall in the office to remind me that even if a marriage fails, love doesn't have to give up.

Yesterday one of our staff went home and noticed that her village was unusually quiet. She estimated that half of the families fled because people are worried about the ongoing border hostilities further North. Others in her village who stayed have packed their bags and are waiting. In another village, people spent Love Day building bunkers just in case. It was a similar story on Sunday. Football teams had to call on unregistered players because the guys with the regular uniforms just weren't there. Likewise, the numbers at English classes have been down.

What do we do? We stay. We don't pack up and give up. We keep loving. Even if half of the city runs, I will stay. We will speak a message to those who remain: God is here! God can be your safety, your protection and your security no matter what the circumstances. God wants to be your hope! In the midst of crisis talks and rumours of war, we declare love!

So while any cliche Love Day blog post might include a quote from 1 Corinthians 13, I'll write the words again because I believe them: Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

Ping Pong for Peace

Sunday morning. I slept through my alarm, went out at 8am and bought a fresh baguette (still warm), waited for the single-size coffee pot to peculate and read some newspapers & blogs online. Two thoughts before I head out to coordinate the chaos of Sunday afternoon soccer:

1. This is a great article on the border conflict in the Bangkok Post.

2. I read another blog post this morning that saying: "... poverty, violence and despair" don't always make the most "inspiring" work environment. Roger that.The only downside of this job is that some days there seem to be rather a lot of poor people around me. Sick kids who remain sick for a couple of months. Eleven-year-olds who can't write their own name. Mothers who seem to have given up. Homeless guys who sleep half-naked outside our front gate. No answers today... just an observation that this stuff can be a bit of a downer after a while and sometimes I do get a little bit jealous when another short-term volunteer gets on a plane.

more fighting

Over the past few days tensions have again flared in the area of the Preh Vihear temple.

Is it serious? Yes. It's serious for the soldiers and civilians who have lost their lives. Am I in danger? No. The disputed land is over a hundred kilometres from the Poipet border.

Thailand and Cambodia both say they're committed to a peaceful solution. Both sides insist they are the victims of another invasion. Reports from both countries say that the use of force will be "the last option", but claim the right to "defend... sovereign and territorial integrity."

So, both sides are saying, "It's mine." And, "he started it." Which is pretty much the same story for the past decade. What a shame. The big people fight. The little people get killed. And every time thousands of frightened civilians flee...