Healing from the trauma of the past
by Kit Ripley"An entire nation suffers from unresolved post-traumatic stress disorder. How will they ever recover from such a history?"
Dear Friends,
It was a horrifying sight. Skulls stacked up layer upon layer, 8,985 of them found so far at this site, with others still in the ground. A pile of old clothes the victims had worn on the day of their execution was strewn on the floor. These were average citizens from average families: farmers, shop owners, professors, scientists. The memorial at Cheung Ek in Phnom Phen gives testimony to Cambodia's gruesome past. So far, 340 "killing fields", just like this one have been discovered in Cambodia.
Between 1975 and 1979, an estimated 2.5 million people out of a population of 7 million died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot. Some were simply executed. Others died of disease and exhaustion under the 15 hour days of forced slave labor in the fields. Still others died of starvation, while the rice harvest was exported to China, further supplying the Khmer Rouge with finances to fuel the genocide. Influenced by Chairman Mao in China, Pol Pot's goal was to create an agrarian peasant cooperative, but the reality was far from this peaceful, idyllic image. These four years were among the most violent in world history.
When Pol Pot was overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979, he fled into the forest, and lived in an armed compound along the Thai-Cambodian border until his death in 1998. He never went to trial for these atrocities against the Cambodian people. An entire nation suffers from unresolved post-traumatic stress disorder. How will they ever recover from such a history?
At the end of January, Karen Smith, two New Life Center staff, and I traveled to Phnom Phen, Cambodia to visit a project called Hagar International. We have interacted with folks from Hagar on a number of occasions at regional conferences, most recently at a meeting of the International Organization for Migration. This Swiss-based development agency works to oppose the exploitation of women and children, provides rehabilitative services and runs three socially responsible economic development enterprises in Phnom Phen. We went to learn specifically about their vocational training program, with an eye toward expanding the New Life Center's vocational training services.
It was a remarkable learning experience. We had some helpful discussions about the challenges of working with economically underprivileged people who have experienced extreme trauma. And we discussed the need for training in "soft skills" in addition to academic vocational training. This would include training in appropriate work behavior, hygiene, communication, and alternative responses to conflict in the workplace. It was a fruitful trip for us. Cambodia has a long road to recovery ahead of them. But it was encouraging to see one way that the people of God are bringing light and healing into a place of great darkness.
Some of our girls, in traditional ethnic apparel, ready to greet our recent guests
In other news, the New Life Center received a group of prestigious visitors on January 28th. The U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Eric John and his wife, Sophia John came up from Bangkok to visit, along with the U.S. Consul General in Chiang Mai, Michael Morrow, his wife, Shannon, and other consulate staff.
The New Life Center has received funding support through the U.S. Government since 2002, and have recently been approved for a special grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs to continue our anti-trafficking campaigns within Thailand.
The group of visitors was interested in hearing about our work in more depth, and expressed their support for our ongoing service to the community.
In April and May I will be travelling to the U.S. to do some speaking. I will be in California for most of April, coming at the specific invitation of Judson Baptist Church in San Bernardino for their mission conference. After that, I will head to Pennsylvania and New Jersey for a quick one week stop, and then on to Cincinnati until the end of May.
I would deeply appreciate your prayers during this time of travel, particularly as I am away from work at the New Life Center.
Thanks again for your friendship, prayers, and ongoing financial support which enable me to continue serving in Thailand!
Many blessings,
-Kit
