រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

Reality Journalism

Reality Social Experiment

Over the years, especially during the past two decades, I have heard on numerous occasions about young Cambodian women jumping onto the marriage’s bandwagon for the opportunity to come to live in the United States, or some other developed countries. Some of these young women sometimes married men as old as their grandfathers or married people they didn’t even know. Though there are reasons regarding our individual personal choices, the issue of a woman, especially young woman, deciding to marry someone as old as her grandfather or someone she didn’t even know and took the risk of possibly living unhappily ever after has always stirred my curiosity. After giving some thoughts to the issue over the years, I came to a hypothetical conclusion that the reasons these young women took the risk might stem from the following factors:

1) Lack of education
2) Lack of opportunity to find jobs and maintain a secured livelihood.
3) Uninformed or misinformed about what life is really like living in a foreign country

There are many more factors that could be added to the list, but I believe, if people have these three factors eliminated from their lives, they would certainly not take the options mentioned above.

Late last year, I had an opportunity to put my hypothesis into a test. Because I was not a researcher, and, by no means, an expert on what I was doing, my life-altering experiment was somewhat eccentric, to put it mildly.

After having gone through a divorce, I found myself feeling lonely and sad. So I took a three week vacation and went to Cambodia to look for a soul mate. Upon arriving in Cambodia, I met M who is an independent factory inspector and my cousin. M offered me a temporary job as an assistant factory inspector so that I could tag along with him to visit the many garment factories located in and around Phnom Penh. My compensation was $20 for each day I went to work. Though tiny comparing to my salary working at my job in the US, the $20 a day pay was a huge sum comparing to the salary of factory workers who make only $61 a month on average. So, without giving it much thought, I accepted the job offer and became an assistant factory inspector during my three week stay in Cambodia.

A brief bio about M: M was a rather dimwitted boy when he was growing up. His mother told me that she had to make him repeat the first grade because he could not read or understand the basic letters being taught to him in the previous year. As a result, his younger sister caught up with him on the grade level.

When I left Cambodia almost 3 decades ago, M was just a tiny boy running in the dusty country road naked. He knew me only through my picture when he was growing up. Because I was somewhat successful in terms of overcoming adversity in life, his mother occasionally used my picture as a role model to inspire him to learn and be successful in school. With his mother’s cajoling, M was able to make it to the 12th grade at which point the family was no longer able to support his schooling. So, M’s mother told him to write me a letter asking for financial support for his continuing education at the college level in Phnom Penh. M’s letter was the most uninspiring one I had ever seen coming out of a 12th grader’s writing that it made me thought he was not college material. I did not answer him. A few months later, M’s younger sister wrote me a letter asking for financial support for her higher education. It was the most convincing letter which could only come out of a brilliant young mind. So, I decided to fund M’s younger sister to go to college instead of him. But through a twist of fate, I ended up funding M’s college’s education instead of his younger sister as there was no place for her to stay in Phnom Penh except for the pagoda which was not suitable for a girl to seek refuge from.

The promise had been made; the money had been sent; nothing much I could do except for going through with my commitment investing my hard earned money with a less than ideal candidate. After funding M’s college education expense for 2 years, I had an opportunity to go visit Cambodia in late 1997 which enabled me to meet him for the first time. During our initial meeting, M struck conversation with me in English which revealed a rather determined young man who would not let life’s adversity hinder his struggle for success. After that initial meeting, my confidence in M grew and he has become one of my trusted friends from whom to seek consultation when I need to get things done in Cambodia. This is how M and I get to know each other at the personal level.

My decision to become M’s assistant was not so much to earn that $20 per day pay but rather to peer at his career and to find out what has become of him after I spent so much of those hard earned money funding his college’s education. Now that you know M’s background, let’s go for a ride with a factory inspector.

The first garment factory we went to inspect was located in Khan Reusey Keo. We showed up at the factory’s gate in a dilapidated 16 years old Toyota Corolla. The security guards were not impressed and reluctant to let us in even after we told them our credential. So, a phone call to the factory’s higher-up had to be made in order to gain access into the premise. While we were waiting, I asked M why isn’t there any memo of our inspection left with the security guards so that the process would go smoothly. M told me that this is how things normally operate in Cambodia. He told me of an incidence he once had showing up to inspect a factory on a motorbike. He was not allowed to get through the factory’s gate and made to wait outside for hours. After a few phone calls to his headquarter in Hong Kong, an apologetic compliance officer came charging out to get him in.

After a few minutes of waiting, we were given access into the factory’s compound. The manager came down to meet us at the parking lot and we were taken up the elevator to the executive suite where a number of administrative staffs waited to greet us. A VIP’s treatment I felt, while a few minutes earlier we were not even accorded any regard by the security guards.

The first order of business for us was to meet with the factory’s owner or general manager (GM), who was usually a foreigner, to go over the protocol of our inspection. Because he was the lead inspector, M did most of the talking while I observed him in awe and amazement. Based on M’s fluent conversation in English, and his confident exhibition of skill and professionalism, it was painfully clear that the once considered dimwitted boy has now earned my utmost respect. As a US trained journalist, I even doubted my ability to perform the tasks anywhere close to M’s professional level.

With the factory manager acting as our guide, we began our inspection from the very bottom of the organization’s echelon and moved our way up to the administrative areas where we spent a lot of time inspecting payroll and legal paperwork to ensure that the workers were not abused one way or another. It took us one full exhausting day to complete a factory’s inspection. After work, M took me to dinner at a restaurant to go over my first-day-on-the-job experience and to see how I feel working in Cambodia for the first time. I told him that I was very excited to be able to gain unlimited accesses to a factory and had a good look at what was going on inside. However, after observing how the workers were organized within the factory’s organization, I noticed a group of office personnel sitting in front of computers as they were working. This group of people was given air-conditioned rooms in which to work and appeared to be mostly performing administrative function. The majority of them were women in their late 20s or early 30s.

I made some inquiries about the backgrounds of these administrative staffs. M told me that those who worked at the factory’s administrative level were mostly college graduates. They were among the most successful, the crème of the crops one would say, in the private sector. They generally came from the province and had to overcome a lot of adversity in life to get that far. As administrative staffs, they earned between $300 to $500 per month, plus some other perk such as free food and transportation to and from work. Based on what M was telling me, it appeared that the young women who worked as factory’s administrative staffs were among the most secured people as far as careers and incomes were concerned, not to mention their educational assets. After a quick thinking, I decided to put my hypothesis into a test by using myself as a subject of experiment.

Without revealing what I was up to, I told M that I came to Cambodia to look for a soul mate, and that I was interested in searching for a prospective mate among the young ladies who worked as administrative staffs in the factories. Upon learning of my desire, M was so excited. He told me that he knew a lot of the young ladies who worked as administrative staffs in the garment factories because he had been in frequent interaction with them when going about doing inspection. After careful discussion on what we would go about meeting my prospective dates, we decided to use dinner as a venue for our endeavor. M and I would use the occasion to talk about our lives and in the process evaluate the compatibility between my date and me. We both agreed that I would go to the next step by asking my date if she would like to be my spouse and go to live in the US with me only if both M and I unanimously believed that she was the right person.

My first date, Ms. A, was a 34 years old lady. For a woman her age, she looked great. However, after the meeting, I didn’t feel any spark igniting up in my emotion. I asked M if he had any sense of positive thought about my date. He too was feeling rather hapless. So, we decided to move on.

My second date, Ms. B, was a 31 years old woman who was very bright and intelligent. Being the first born child, she had to quit school at 19 in order to work and help support the family. Her income helped put many of her siblings through college. She was truly a selfless person. After the meeting, both M and I agreed that I should go on to the next step. Next day, M made a phone call to Ms. B on my behalf to make the proposal. Her answer was a disappointing no, as she already had a boy friend. Whether having a “boy friend” was just a diplomatic way of rejecting my offer to take her to the US was anybody’s guess. But we had to accept her answer on face value though.

Feeling a bit dejected, M and I went to conduct another inspection on a factory located in Chaum Chao. At that factory, I met a very attractive young lady, Ms. C, who was working as compliance officer there. She had a Westerner’s name and could speak English fluently. At first I thought she was an expatriate, but upon further inquiry she only had relatives living in the US, and her Westerner’s name was bestowed upon her by one of those relatives. She happened to know M as well. Thus, after our initial interaction, I conferred with M if I should explore a possible dating with Ms. C. M told me a bit about her background and we both agreed to pursue the subject of my desire.

We were scheduled to inspect the factory where Ms. C worked for a period of two days. So I had ample time to interact with her. M and I planned to invite Ms. C to dinner in the evening of the last day of our inspection. However, due to her busy schedule, she was unable to join us for dinner. So we took the afternoon of our last day of inspection, which by then our works had been completed, to talk with Ms. C about what was going on in our lives. To my absolute surprise, I learned that one of Ms. C’s relatives, who lives in the US, and I know each other. What a coincidence! Without even consulting with M, I decided to move ahead to the next step by telling Ms. C what I was up to. I asked her to call her relative in the US to inquire about my character and let me know about her decision in a couple of days. M and I waited for two days for Ms. C to call and give us her answer. But no call from Ms. C was forthcoming. So, M decided to give her a call, which was met with dead silence, another diplomatic way of saying no, I assumed.

By the time I met Ms. C, it was the last weekend of my stay in Cambodia. Both M and I were a bit depressed after failing to accomplish our objective. In a last minute effort, M’s girl friend arranged for me to meet Ms. D over dinner. We ended up having breakfast and lunch together the following day. Due to the breakneck nature of this high speed dating, I had to leave my tacit agreement to go on to the next step’s pursuit of this affair of the heart with M after returning to the US. Three weeks later, I was informed that Ms. D did not want to come to the good old US of A, or, to put it in other words, NO to my matrimonial offer to sponsor her to the US.

Back to my hypothesis: It appears that when people are well educated, well informed, and have a means to maintain a fairly good livelihood, the allure of a better life in a faraway land does not have much appeal. Of course my experiment was crude, by any scientific standard. But it nevertheless provides us with a tiny glimpse into people’s behaviors. Though I feel a bit disappointed over my failure to find a soul mate, I am somewhat happy to see that my hypothesis has been supported by this rather short and silly experiment. And I welcome those who wanted to challenge my finding to conduct a more structured experiment to see if this result could be rebutted.

Chanda Chhay
cchanda@verizon.net

Poem

UNCHAINED LOVE

You capture my affection with your beauty;
You delight my feelings with your romance;
You take away my misery
And please my soul with your passion.

You keep my life from uncertainty;
You touch my heart with your compassion;
You destroy my sins with your piety
And free my spirit with your common sense.

You take away my anxiety;
You lull my fear with a gentle care;
You soothe my thoughts with serenity
And serenade me out of despair.

You kill my pain with your empathy;
You send away all of my fears;
You heal my depression with your sympathy
And make me become your only Dear.

You keep my soul in a beautiful Heaven;
You give me hope and happiness;
You fill my life with enchantment
And take away all my sadness.

You wreck my vices with your powerful grace;
You bring me peace like a little dove;
You raze my rage with a warm embrace
And bless my life with your unchained love.

Essay on Cambodia

Cambodian People, Society, Culture and Civilization

The Cambodians are “passive,” “shy,” “docile,” and “easy-going” people. They are also slow in changing their way of life and remain rather backward and “primitive.” The words in quotation marks are some of the adjectives used by scholars or “experts” of Cambodian study to describe the characteristic traits of the Khmer (Cambodian) people who have inhabited the western portion of the Indochinese Peninsular.

These perceptual observations, especially, the view of Cambodian society as “unchanged,” are both impressive and striking because the Cambodian ways of life, both in the past and present, seem to be forever intertwined. Without a doubt, if one looked closely at the Cambodian lifestyles as depicted in the carvings on the walls of the monuments at the ancient city of Angkor, and at the lifestyles of ordinary Cambodians who live around the region of Angkor nowadays, one could certainly see the resemblance. The similarity between present-day Cambodians’ way of life and their ancient counterparts is such a timeless attribute that many people (both scholars and casual observers alike) seem to fail to look beyond the surface. As a result, the view of Cambodian society vis-a-vis their way of life as backward and unchanged remains one of the prevailing precepts throughout the ages. After all, time changes; and, as time changes, so do people. Therefore, the Cambodian people, I believe, are no exception to this natural phenomenon.

Though most assessment of the Cambodian characteristic traits rendered by scholars who had or have studied Cambodian culture and civilization appears “valid” to a certain degree, the notion of describing cultural, social, and/or characteristic identity of a people is (and I strongly believe) nothing more than an intellectual stereotyping. Given the fact that, there are more to society, culture, and civilization than meeting the eye, the business of writing about or describing any particular people vis-a-vis their society, culture, and civilization is certainly a daunting task. Perceptional errors and prejudices are inevitably bound to occur. As far as human society, culture, and civilization are concerned, no amount of knowledge could uncover the complete truth. At best, we could perhaps only skim the surface and uncover a small portion of the overall picture while the rest of it remains hidden. In a sense, the study of human society, culture, and civilization is almost like the human genome project. There are so many more hidden facts out there waiting to be discovered.

***********

Evidences of human settlements in mainland Southeast Asia dated back to at least as early as 10,000 BC. Among these early traces of settlements are the Hoabinhian cultures, so named after the village of Hoa Binh located along the Red River Delta in Northern Vietnam where they were first discovered. According to archaeological evidences, the Hoabinhian cultures appeared to spread from Northern Vietnam to Southern Thailand. Though there are no firm indications that the Hoabinhian people were the first and only group of people to settle in mainland Southeast Asia, based on similar artifacts and stone tools found in different caves in the region, it appears that they were, at least, the precursors of Southeast Asian civilizations.

In terms of place(s) of origin, the Hoabinhian cultures seem to be shrouded in mystery. Though some experts believe that they were parts of the larger cultures of China and India, the hypothesis remains inconclusive, for there are so many broken links between pre-historic Southeast Asian cultures and their counterparts in China and India. For example, according to the artifacts found on mainland Southeast Asia, prehistoric Southeast Asian people appeared to have developed a distinct culture independent of influences from either China or India. One of the evidences of this independence is the development of metallurgic technology. According to a bronze spear head found near the village of Ban Chiang, Thailand, prehistoric people of mainland Southeast Asia appeared to have made bronze tools in about 2,000 BC, which was only 800 years or so after the Bronze Age began in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). If the trail of archaeological evidences were valid, after it began in Mesopotamia, bronze tool making technology reached China about 800 years later which, in effect, put China and Southeast Asia matching neck and neck into the Bronze Age. Also, given the fact that people did not have instant Internet-speed means of disseminating information then, it is hard to imagine that the Bronze Age moved into China and filtered down into Southeast Asia in such a short period of time. If it took some 800 years for bronze tool making technology to travel from Mesopotamia to China, it would take at least another 300 years for this technology to travel from China to Southeast Asia. Thus, it is very unlikely that pre-historic people of Southeast Asia learned their bronze tool making from China. On the other hand, it is quite possible that both geniuses in China and Southeast Asia developed their bronze tool making at about the same time. Furthermore, based on metal artifacts found at Ban Chiang, it appears that pre-historic people of Southeast Asia might be or were among the first to move into the Iron Age.

(Excerpt from the Cambodian Royal Chronicle)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

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រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

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Khmer Rouge Re-Visit

A Mother’s Love
One day, out of the blue, my mother came to visit me during our noon time break for lunch. My mother, along with a small group of other younger elderly from Ponlear Chey, had been sent to work in a field near Bonteay Staung (the distance between Ponlear Chey and Bonteay Staung was about one and a half hour’s walk) and she took the opportunity to make inquiry of my whereabouts as she learned that the children’s mobile brigades had been stationed there. So, during her lunch break, my mother went to the place where the children from the mobile work brigades came to receive their meal ration and eventually tracked me down to the house where I was staying. I was both surprised and excited to see my mother. We talked briefly as my mother had to return to her worksite. Just as she was about to walk back to work, my mother took me aside, pulled out a sweet yam, which she steam-cooked in her kettle early in the morning before she came to work, from her pocket and put it discreetly in my hand. Without waiting for her to tell me what to do with it, I gobbled up the whole yam and savored every bit of it. It was the tastiest yam I had ever tasted in my life. After seeing that I had eaten all the forbidden food (under Khmer Rouge’s draconian rule, possession of foodstuff other than that given by Angkar, even a yam, could get a person in trouble), my mother returned to her worksite.
After our initial meeting, my mother continued to come to visit me whenever she had the opportunity to come to work near Bonteay Staung. Sometimes, I think she might have come all the way from Ponlear Chey to see me. Every time she came to visit me, my mother always brought a yam or a small rice cake which she wrapped inside banana leaves for me to eat. I didn’t know where or how my mother obtained those foodstuffs which she brought for me. As hunger had complete control on my reasoning, I just ate those foodstuffs like a blind chick being fed by its mother. However, at one point, my conscience freed me from the grip of hunger as I started thinking about the possibility of how my mother might have obtained the foodstuffs she brought me. If she didn’t steal those foodstuffs from the communal kitchen, my mother must have bartered them from her neighbors by using jewelry or valuable clothes that she might have in her possession. Either way, it was illegal, for the Khmer Rouge did not allow people to barter with one another. People were not even allowed to have possession of foodstuffs which had not been provided by the communal kitchen. Hence, every time my mother brought me that tiny piece of yam or rice cake carried the risk of grave punishment if she were caught. The more I thought about the consequences, the more concerned I became. So, one day, I told my mother about my concern and asked her to stop coming to visit me. But it was to no avail. My mother still continued to come to visit me every time she got a chance.
One evening, as I was returning from work, I felt extremely fatigued and my body temperature appeared to be high. Upon arriving at our lodge, I went to the homeowners to ask if they had any coin that I could borrow to use as a scratching device to scratch my skin in a form of Cambodian traditional treatment called kaus khchol. As I went into their quarter, I walked in front of a tall vanity mirror which was imbedded in the door of a 6ft. tall cabinet. Upon seeing my image in the mirror, I was quite startled that my flesh and bones looked like a living skeleton. My eyes sank rather deeply into their sockets and the muscle on my face shrank to reveal the contour of my cheek bones which made my head looked more like a skull than a living human head. At that instance, I realized that my mother must have been moved by the fact that I was a walking skeleton which compelled her to use any means possible to find food to feed me and risk being punished by the Khmer Rouge’s authority just for the sake of saving me from starving to death.

(Excerpt from unpublished manuscript)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

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រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿង ទន្សាយមានមិត្តសម្លាញ់ច្រើន
ទន្សាយមួយមានសត្វជាច្រើន រាប់អានវាជាមិត្ត ។ ថ្ងៃមួយ
វាបានឮសម្លេងចចកមួយហ្វូងលូហៅគ្នា ដើម្បីដើរស្វែងរកចំណី នៅ
ក្បែរកន្លែងដែលវារស់នៅ ។ ដោយយល់ថា គ្រោះអាសន្ននឹងអាច
កើតមាន ដល់ជីវិតរបស់វា ទន្សាយក៏បានទៅសុំជិះលើខ្នងសេះ
ដើម្បីគេចពីហ្វូងចចកកំណាច ។ នៅពេលបានដឹងថា ទន្សាយសុំជិះ
លើខ្នងវា ដើម្បីគេចពីហ្វូងចចក សេះក៏ឆ្លើយដោះខ្លួនថាៈ វាជាប់រវល់
ជួយធ្វើកិច្ចការឲ្យម្ចាស់វា មិនអាចជួយដោះទុក្ខធុរៈទន្សាយបានទេ ។
“យើងជឿថា” សេះនិយាយទៅកាន់ទន្សាយ “មិត្តដទៃប្រាកដជាអាច ជួយដោះទុក្ខធុរៈឯងបានជាមិនខាន” ។ បន្ទាប់មក ទន្សាយក៏ទៅពឹង
គោ ព្រោះគោមានស្នែងមុតស្រួច អាចធ្វើឲ្យចចកខ្លាចបាន ។ ប៉ុន្តែ
គោឆ្លើយដោះសាថាៈ វារវល់មានការណាត់ជួបសង្សារ ។ ឮដូច្នោះ
ទន្សាយក៏ទៅពឹងពពែ ព្រោះពពែធ្លាប់រត់លេងជាមួយវា និងជាមិត្ត
ជិតស្និទ្ធនឹងវាជាងគេ ។ នៅពេលដែលពពែ បានឮទន្សាយសុំជិះ
លើខ្នងវា ដើម្បីគេចពីហ្វូងចចក វាក៏សម្តែងនូវការព្រួយបារម្ភថាៈ
រោមវាខ្លីណាស់ បើនឹងឲ្យទន្សាយជិះលើខ្នងវានោះ ក្រែងលោរអិល
ជើងធ្លាក់មក នាំឲ្យបាក់ដៃបាក់ជើង ។ “សម្លាញ់គួរទៅសុំជិះលើខ្នង
ចៀមវិញ” ពពែប្រាប់ទន្សាយ “ព្រោះចៀមមានរោមក្រាស់ ហើយ
វែងទៀត” ។ លុះឮពពែប្រាប់ដូច្នោះ ទន្សាយក៏ទៅពឹងចៀមឲ្យជួយ
សង្គ្រោះវា ។ ពេលនោះ ចៀមបានប្រាប់ទន្សាយថា៖ “សុំទោស
សម្លាញ់ យើងមិនចង់លូកដៃចូលក្នុងរឿងនេះទេ ព្រោះនរណាក៏ដឹង
ដែរថា ចចកចូលចិត្តស៊ីសាច់ចៀម ក៏ដូចជាសាច់ទន្សាយដែរ” ។
ខណៈនោះ សម្លេងលូនៃហ្វូងចចក ក៏បានខិតកាន់តែជិតមក ។
ដោយអស់ជំនឿ ទៅលើទឹកចិត្តសប្បុរសរបស់មិត្តភក្តិវា ទន្សាយ
ក៏ដាក់មេផាយយ៉ាងលឿន រហូតដល់ទីបំផុត វាបានគេចផុតពីគ្រោះ
មហន្តរាយ ៕

អ្នកមានមិត្តដែលគ្មានចិត្ត តាមពិតគ្មានមិត្តពិតប្រាកដទេ

(ដកស្រង់ចេញពីសៀវភៅ រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន ភាគទី២)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿង ទន្សាយនិងអណ្តើក

ទន្សាយមួយបានឃើញអណ្តើកវារគើមៗ នៅលើវាលស្មៅក្បែរមាត់បឹង។
វាក៏ដើរទៅជិត ហើយនិយាយចំអកឡកឡាយឲ្យអណ្តើកថា៖ “នែ៎ ! បង
អណ្តើក នៅលើលោកនេះ ប្រហែលជាគ្មានសត្វជើងបួនណា ដើរយឺត
ជាងបងឯងទេ” ។ អណ្តើកឮទន្សាយនិយាយបង្អាប់វាដូច្នោះ វាក៏ឆ្លើយ
ឌឺដងដាក់ទន្សាយវិញថា៖ “ប្រាកដជាមាន ! សត្វនោះគឺទន្សាយ” ។
ទន្សាយឮអណ្តើកនិយាយដូច្នោះ វាអស់សំណើចយ៉ាងខ្លាំង ហើយក៏
តបទៅវិញថា៖ “បើអញ្ចឹង យើងគួរតែប្រកួតគ្នារត់ប្រណាំងសាកមើល
តើអ្នកណាលឿនជាងអ្នកណា ?” ។ “ល្អ !” អណ្តើកឆ្លើយតប “យើង
នឹងរត់ប្រណាំងគ្នា ឲ្យឃើញសខ្មៅម្តង ព្រោះខ្ញុំចង់ដឹងថា តើសត្វទន្សាយ

ដែលល្បីថារត់លឿន ដូចផ្លេកបន្ទោរនោះ អាចយកជ័យជម្នះលើខ្ញុំ

បានដែរឬទេ ?” ។
លុះព្រមព្រៀងគ្នាហើយ ទន្សាយនិងអណ្តើកក៏ទៅពឹងខ្លែង ឲ្យជួយ
ធ្វើជាអាជ្ញាកណ្តាល ។ បន្ទាប់ពីបានជ្រើសរើសទិសដៅ និងទីកំណត់
ក្នុងការរត់ប្រណាំងរួច ខ្លែងក៏បានពាំស្លឹកឈើក្រៀម យកមកតម្រៀប
គ្នាជាជួរ ដើម្បីធ្វើជាខ្សែបន្ទាត់សម្រាប់ចាប់ផ្តើម ។ លុះរៀបចំរួចរាល់
ហើយ ខ្លែងប្រាប់ទន្សាយនិងអណ្តើកថា៖ “នៅពេលដែលខ្ញុំរាប់ដល់បី
អ្នកទាំងពីរត្រូវចាប់ផ្តើមរត់ភ្លាម” ។ ប្រាប់រួច ខ្លែងក៏ចាប់ផ្តើមរាប់ៈ
“មួយ ! ពីរ ! បី !” ។
បន្ទាប់ពីខ្លែងរាប់ដល់បី ទន្សាយនិងអណ្តើកក៏ចាប់ផ្តើម រត់ប្រណាំងគ្នា
យ៉ាងលឿន ។ គ្រាន់តែមួយប៉ប្រិចភ្នែកប៉ុណ្ណោះ ទន្សាយបានរត់ទៅមុន
អណ្តើក ឆ្ងាយផុតកន្ទុយភ្នែក ។ ដល់ពាក់កណ្តាលទី ទន្សាយក៏ឈប់
ហើយក្រឡេកមើលមកក្រោយ ដើម្បីរកមើលថាតើអណ្តើក បានរត់មក
ដល់ត្រឹមណាហើយ ។ ប៉ុន្តែ វារកមើលមិនឃើញស្រមោលអណ្តើក
ឡើយ ។ ពេលនោះ ទន្សាយគិតក្នុងចិត្តថាៈ ទោះជាអណ្តើករត់មួយថ្ងៃ
ទល់ល្ងាច ក៏មិនអាចមកទាន់វាដែរ ។ លុះគិតឃើញដូច្នោះហើយ
ទន្សាយក៏ចូលទៅដេក នៅក្រោមម្លប់ឈើមួយដើម ។ ភ្លេចៗខ្លួន
ទន្សាយក៏ដេកលក់យ៉ាងស្កប់ស្កល់ ។ ពេលភ្ញាក់ដឹងខ្លួនឡើង វាក៏រត់
សំដៅទៅកាន់ទីកំណត់ ។ លុះទៅដល់ទីកំណត់ ទន្សាយស្រាប់តែ

ឃើញអណ្តើក នៅអង្គុយចាំវានៅទីនោះធ្វើព្រងើយ ៕

មិនត្រូវប្រមាទមាក់ងាយ គូបដិបក្ខរបស់ខ្លួនឡើយ

(ដកស្រង់ចេញពីសៀវភៅ រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន ភាគទី ១)

Khmer Rouge Re-Visit

A Cover-Up and an Agony

One day, as I was climbing a palm tree to collect its saps, I saw my mother tending the vegetables in the garden alone very early in the morning. After climbing down from the palm tree, I walked over to ask her why she came to tend the vegetables alone without everyone else working along with her. In a rather upsetting tone of voice, my mother told me that she just wanted to avoid seeing Ta Chim who had been saying words of flirting with her lately. She was afraid that he might act inappropriately toward her. Naively, I asked her how about Yeay Ngo with whom my mother always walked back and forth from the village to the vegetable garden. Couldn’t the two of them swat off Ta Chim’s unwanted behavior? In a somewhat irritated mood, my mother retorted my question with another question of her own: “What could Yeay Ngo do, if Ta Chim decided to rape me?” Speechless, I returned to finish my round of collecting palm saps for that morning with a feeling that my mother was a bit paranoid about Ta Chim’s behavior. However, a couple of months later late at night, I was woken up by a commotion made by someone coming into our hut. It was Ta Chim. He was out of breath and appeared to be in fear. Ta Plaok inquired what was happening to him. In a bombshell, Ta Chim told us that he had just raped a woman and was caught by her little brother in the act. He wanted to kill both of them to cover up his crime but didn’t have the courage to carry out his plan. So, in a panic, he decided to run away and came here first to seek some advice. After a lengthy discussion, Ta Plaok finally persuaded Ta Chim to stay put and wait until the next morning while he (Ta Plaok) would go to the village to find out how widespread news of the incident had been disseminated.
Ta Plaok went into the village very early in the morning while Ta Chim went to hide in a nearby forest. He (Ta Chim) told me where to find him when Ta Plaok returned from the village. I went about my business collecting palm’s saps as usual while pretending that nothing unbecoming had happened last night. Though I was just a kid at that time, I knew full well that the repercussion of Ta Chim’s misdeed could reach far and wide. In the Khmer Rouge’s scheme of legal structure (if such a thing existed) adultery and rape were punishable by death. All involved including Ta Plaok and I who had the misfortune of knowing what Ta Chim had done and did not report it to Angkar would not be spared. As luck was to be on our side, the victim went to report the crime to one of the village’s leaders who happened to be Ta Plaok’s relative. After learning of the extent of whom and how many people could be implicated in the death trap, a cover up scheme was hatched. Ta Chim was to stay at the vegetable garden and keep a very low profile. Everyone who knew of the incident must swear to keep it a secret. It was perhaps one of the greatest cover up in Ponlear Chey’s history.
After learning of Ta Chim’s immoral behavior, I immediately thought about my mother’s earlier encounter with his flirtation. All of a sudden, I was having second thought about my mother’s story, that she might be a victim of Ta Chim’s misdeed as well. My greatest fear was that my mother might have been raped by Ta Chim, and that she did not report it to anyone, for fear of reprisal or, worse, being killed by the Khmer Rouge altogether. The more I thought about the possibility, the more distressing I felt. I wanted to ask my mother to get to the bottom of it; but I somehow held back and hoped that my suspicion was unfounded. For years, I continued to live with that agonizing suspicion. But, the feeling that my mother might have been a rape victim during the Khmer Rouge regime had never faded away from my mind. After the Khmer Rouge’s regime was toppled from power, I summoned my courage a few times to ask my mother about it. However, I fell short of doing so, for fear of opening up old wound that my mother had spent all of these years to heal, or to cover up. It took me 29 years to finally overcome my fear and ask perhaps one of the most unwanted questions to a person I loved and respected the most. The day was August 22, 2006, during a layover in Singapore’s Changi Airport on our last journey to Cambodia together that I decided to ask my mother that painful question. Due to the reverse time of day, we couldn’t sleep. So, my mother and I sat next to each other in our hotel room and reminisced on our past. We talked about life in the old day, how we cope with the difficulty living in refugee camps in Thailand, and how fortunate we were to be able to go and live in the United States of America. But the majority of our conversation focused mostly on our ordeals living under the Khmer Rouge’s rule. I was so impressed at how my mother recalled past events so vividly despite her having a mature Parkinson’s disease. As we were talking about our lives during the Khmer Rouge period, I gingerly and uneasily steered our conversation to the time we spent at Ponlear Chey village. After recalling our work at the vegetable garden and the names of people who were working with us there, I closed my eyes and agonizingly asked my mother if Ta Chim had violated her. In a calm and serene voice, my mother said, no. Beside his flirtatious talk, Ta Chim did not misbehave. I felt so relief to hear that my mother had been spared from the cruelty of life’s circumstances. Though one might suspect that my mother was just telling me what I wanted to hear in order to spare me from a shared suffering, I had no reason to believe otherwise because, at that point, I had already been a chosen offspring who would have the opportunity to listen to many secrets of her life’s stories. Over the course of our lives spent together, my mother had probably shared more of her life’s trial and tribulation with me than anyone else.

(Excerpt from Unpublished Manuscript)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿង បុរសមានប្រពន្ធពីរ

(បទ ពាក្យ៧)

សម័យកាលមួយមានបុរស​​​​ រូបរាងស្អាតស្រស់សង្ហាក្រៃ
មានទ្រព្យប្រាក់កាក់មិនខ្វះចាយ ​​និងប្រពន្ធពីរស្រីស្នេហា ។
ប្រពន្ធទីមួយវ័យចំណាស់ ​​​​​ចរិតល្អល្អះកាយវាចា
ស្រឡាញ់ថ្នមប្តីឥតមុសា ​​​​​សមជាភរិយាមានមន្តស្នេហ៌ ។
ប្រពន្ធទីពីរស្រីវ័យក្មេង ​​​​​​ចេះបន្លែងលេងច្រៀងបំពេរ
ប្រលោមចិត្តប្តីឲ្យនៅក្បែរ ​​​​​ស្រឡាញ់ថ្នមថែស្នេហ៌យប់ថ្ងៃ ។
ភរិយាទាំងពីរតែងយកចិត្ត ​​​​​លួងលោមនែបនិត្យជិតស្វាមី
មិនដែលឲ្យថ្នាំងថ្នាក់ហឫទ័យ ​​​បម្រើយប់ថ្ងៃយ៉ាងដិតដល់ ។
លុះសក់ក្បាលប្តីផ្តើមប្រែពណ៌ ​​​មានស្កូវដុះសចុងដល់គល់
ប្រពន្ធវ័យក្មេងកើតអំពល់ ​​​​​ខ្លាចអ្នកផងយល់ថាប្តីចាស់ ។
មិនសមនឹងខ្លួននាងនៅក្មេង ​​​​ខិតខំខ្នះខ្នែងយ៉ាងរហ័ស
ប្រឹងដកសក់ស្កូវច្រើនដេរដាស ​​​ចេញអស់ស្រឡះពីក្បាលប្តី ។
រីឯភរិយាវ័យចំណាស់ ​​​​​​​ពេលឃើញស្កូវចាស់ដុះរញ៉ី
សប្បាយក្នុងចិត្តពិតពេកក្រៃ ​​​​ថាសមនឹងស្រីវ័យដូចគ្នា ។
នាងខំដកចេញសក់ណាខ្មៅ ​​​​ទុកតែសក់ស្កូវលើលលាដ៍
រៀងរាល់តែថ្ងៃស្រីភរិយា ​​​​​​ខំប្រឹងផ្លាស់គ្នាដកសក់ប្តី ។
មិនយូរប៉ុន្មានក៏អស់សក់ ​​​​​​ក្បាលបុរសឆកគ្មានសល់អ្វី
សល់តែលលាដ៍ស្បែកចាំងថ្ងៃ ​​​​ព្រោះផ្គាប់ចិត្តស្រីជាភរិយា ៕

បើអ្នកគិតតែពីបរិចាក ដើម្បីបំពេញបំណងមនុស្សគ្រប់រូបនោះ នៅទីបំផុត អ្នកប្រាកដជាគ្មានអ្វីសល់ សម្រាប់បរិចាកទៀតឡើយ ។

(ដកស្រង់ចេញពីសៀវភៅ រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន ភាគទី ៣)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទានៈ

រឿង ទន្សាយនិងសិង្ហ

កាលពីព្រេងនាយ ពួកសត្វចតុប្បាទ ដែលរស់នៅលើវាលស្មៅ សាវ៉ា

ណា ក្នុងទ្វីបអាហ្វ្រិក បានកោះប្រជុំមហាសន្និបាតមួយ ដើម្បីរៀបចំ

សង្គម ឲ្យមានរបៀបរៀបរយ និងយុត្តិធម៌ ។ សត្វទាំងអស់ ដែលមក

ចូលរួមក្នុងមហាសន្និបាត បានឡើងបញ្ចេញមត្តិ និងផ្តល់អនុសាសន៍

ជូនអង្គប្រជុំរៀងៗខ្លួន ។ ប៉ុន្តែ អនុសាសន៍ទាំងនោះ មានភាពចម្រូង

ចម្រាស មិនអាចយកជាការអ្វីបានឡើយ ព្រោះសត្វទាំងអស់បានធ្វើ
អនុសាសន៍ ការពារតែផលប្រយោជន៍របស់ក្រុមខ្លួន ។ ដើម្បីបំបែកនូវ

ភាពទាល់ច្រក សត្វទាំងអស់ក៏បែរទៅសួរយោបល់សុភាទន្សាយ ដែល

គេដឹងថា ជាអ្នកប្រាជ្ញដ៏ឈ្លៀសវៃម្នាក់ ។ បន្ទាប់ពីបានពិនិត្យពិច័យ នូវ

រាល់បញ្ហាយ៉ាងល្អិតល្អន់រួច ទន្សាយក៏ឲ្យយោបល់ថា៖ “ដើម្បីយុត្តិធម៌

និងរបៀបរៀបរយក្នុងសង្គម យើងទាំងអស់គ្នាមិនចង់ឲ្យនរណាម្នាក់

បំពារបំពានលើអាយុជីវិត និងសិទ្ធិសេរីភាពរបស់យើងទេ ។ ដូច្នេះ

សេចក្តីសម្រេចដ៏ល្អបំផុតនោះ គឺត្រូវឲ្យសត្វទាំងអស់ មានសិទ្ធិសេរី

ភាពស្មើៗគ្នា” ។ បន្ទាប់ពីបានស្តាប់យោបល់ទន្សាយហើយ សិង្ហក៏

ថ្លែងប្រាប់អង្គសន្និបាតថា៖ “យោបល់របស់បងទន្សាយល្អណាស់

ប៉ុន្តែ មិនអាចយកជាការបានទេ ព្រោះសម្តីគាត់ ខ្វះក្រញាំនិងចង្កូម” ៕

សម្តីអ្នកទន់ខ្សោយ ទោះបីជាត្រឹមត្រូវយ៉ាងណា ក៏គ្មានឥទ្ធិពល
ដូចសម្តីអ្នកមានអំណាចដែរ

(ដកស្រង់ចេញពីសៀវភៅ រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន ភាគទី ១)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទានៈ

រឿង អ្នកប្រមាញ់និងសត្វឆ្កែ

អ្នកប្រមាញ់ម្នាក់ បានរៀបចំខ្លួនចេញទៅបរបាញ់សត្វព្រៃ ជាមួយ
និងឆ្កែរបស់គាត់ ។ នៅពេលដែលគាត់រៀបចេញដំណើរ គាត់បាន
ឃើញឆ្កែរបស់គាត់ នៅក្រាបក្បែរភ្នក់ភ្លើងនៅឡើយ ។ ឃើញដូច្នោះ

គាត់ក៏ស្រែកជេរឆ្កែគាត់ថា៖ “នែ៎ ! អាកំជិល តើឯងនៅដេកដល់ណា

ទៀត ?” ។ ឆ្កែឮដូច្នោះ វាក៏ក្រោកឡើងបក់កន្ទុយ ហើយនិយាយទៅ

កាន់ម្ចាស់វាវិញថា៖ “លោកម្ចាស់ ! ខ្ញុំបានរៀបចំខ្លួនរួចរាល់ហើយទាន

គឺនៅរង់ចាំតែលោកម្ចាស់ ចេញដំណើរតែប៉ុណ្ណោះ” ៕

ពាក្យចាស់ពាក្យពីព្រេង ​​ទោសខ្លួនឯងមើលពុំយល់
ទោសគេតូចសោតសល់ ​​រមិលយល់ប៉ុនទាំងភ្នំ ។
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​(ច្បាប់ពាក្យចាស់)

មនុស្សយើង តែងតែមើលឃើញកំហុសរបស់អ្នកដទៃ ប៉ុន្តែ កម្រ
មើលឃើញនូវកំហុសរបស់ខ្លួនឯងណាស់ ។

(ដកស្រង់ចេញពីសៀវភៅ រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន ភាគទី ២)

រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន

រឿង ស្រមោចនិងរៃ

(បទ ពាក្យ៧)

នៅលើវាលស្មៅស្រស់ខៀវខ្ចី ​​ក្រោមពន្លឺថ្ងៃចាំងភ្លឺថ្លា

ស្រមោចមួយហ្វូងប្រឹងធ្វើការ ​​រកភោជនាហារមកស្តុកទុក ។

ខ្នះខ្នែងអូសទាញញាប់ជើងដៃ ​​ខំប្រឹងឃ្មាតខ្មីដើរតត្រុក

ស្វែងរកស្បៀងមកដាក់ជង្រុក ​​សន្សំគរទុកខែវស្សា ។

ទោះក្តៅលំបាកក៏ស៊ូទ្រាំ ​​​​ស្រមោចខំពាំនាំអាហារ
ត្រៀមទុកធ្វើស្បៀងក្នុងគ្រួសារ​​នៅខែវស្សានាថ្ងៃមុខ ។
មានសត្វរៃមួយនៅមិនឆ្ងាយ ​​​ច្រៀងរាំសប្បាយឥតកើតទុក្ខ
អត់បារម្ភព្រួយទៅថ្ងៃមុខ ​​​​មិនរកស្បៀងទុកផ្គត់ផ្គង់ខ្លួន ។
ពេលឃើញស្រមោចប្រឹងធ្វើការ ​រៃក៏វាចាថាមិត្តស្ងួន
ខំប្រឹងអ្វីម្ល៉េះធ្វើបាបខ្លួន ​​​​កម្លាំងមាំមួនមករាំលេង ។
ស្រមោចឆ្លើយប្រាប់រៃវិញថា ​​ខ្ញុំជាប់កិច្ចការច្រើនធំធេង
ប្រមូលស្បៀងទុកដាក់កន្លែង ​​គួរបងរៃឯងពិចារណា ។
រៃឆ្លើយតបវិញឥតខ្វល់ភ័យ ​​​ទៅបារម្ភថ្វីខែវស្សា
សម្បូរមិនខ្វះម្ហូបអាហារ ​​​​ឥឡូវនេះណាយើងរាំច្រៀង ។
វស្សាភ្លៀងធ្លាក់ត្រជាក់ខ្យល់ ​​រៃមានកង្វល់ព្រោះដាច់ស្បៀង
បែរមើលស្រមោចមានស៊ីលៀង ​ដ្បិតអីបានព្រាងប្រឹងឧស្សាហ៍ ។
ឥឡូវទើបរៃដឹងខ្លួនខុស ​​​​សប្បាយជ្រុលហួសភ្លេចកិច្ចការ
លុះពេលអត់ឃ្លានទើបដឹងថា ​​គួរប្រឹងធ្វើការពេលទំនេរ ៕

កុំសប្បាយខុសក្បួន ប្រយ័ត្នផុងខ្លួនអត់អ្វីឆី

(ដកស្រង់ចេញពី រឿងល្បើកនិងរឿងនិទាន ភាគទី៣)

Poem

Fall

The golden leaves dance in the wind
Beneath the radiance of the Autumn sun;
The gray squirrel startles and run,
As the woodpecker flaps its wings.

Atop a pine tree, the warbler sings
While a cute chipmunk is having fun,
Running around from branch to branch
And gets under the nerve of an angry finch.

The radiant west of the twilight sun
Gradually gives way to the dark evening,
As the water fowls go on swimming.

The golden leaves take one last dance,
To the soothing rhythm of the Northern wind
Which fells them down as they’re dying.