The Dharma that Binds Us: Notes from Phnom Penh

CSC News & Reflections
Summer 2004

In the following letter, Peter Quaranto writes about his experience with his placement in Cambodia as part of the International Summer Service Learning Program. Quaranto is a junior political science and international peace studies double major from Franklin, Massachusetts.

For me, so much of this summer has been the experience of being between two worlds that are not so easily reconciled or understood. Yet, the more I become immersed here, the more I am seeing that these two worlds, these two realities are really one.

 Chris DeStephano and I began our English teaching at the Royal University of Phnom Penh two weeks ago. We are both teaching two one-and-a-half hour English classes with about 33 students in each. While this might seem an intimidating task for two American middle-class jokers, we have both fallen in love with it. Because they are our age and can speak decent English, we get to talk to them about the culture, politics, history and problems of their country. And they love to hear about American politics and culture.

One of my greatest worries coming here was that I would not be able to really connect with the Cambodian people. Teaching has put that worry to rest. I have taught my students to tango, taught them about Gandhi, had mock trials, had them make newspapers for Cambodia, introduced them to Bruce Springsteen and had some great discussions about human rights. More than any of that, though, they have given me so much from their ideas, their passion, their values and their sense of humor.

 Along with teaching, I have been going to Anlong Kgnan, a former refugee town, in which the government burned down slums in 2002 and moved thousands of poor people outside the city. It has become a very poor boomtown, full of shacks and suffering. At Anlong Kgnan, I have been working with some of the troubled youth, kids that Sister Len Montiel calls “the future gangsters of Cambodia.” Many of these children, some as young as 10, sniff glue and steal from the community. They are really funny kids, though, and I love hanging out with them. I am teaching them a little English (all Cambodians want to learn English since it helps them to get jobs), but more than that, I have taught them tic-tac-toe, seven-up, high-fives and rock-paper-scissor. They love to play and I have so much fun being with them. It is depressing, though, to sit back and think about all that these kids have witnessed in their life and all that they will witness.

 Finally, my other big project has been doing work with Youth for Peace. After doing my social change workshop with YFP, I met a monk, named Hoeut, who asked me to come to Battambang (second biggest city of Cambodia about five hours away from Phnom Penh) to give the workshop to his newly formed organization of Buddhist monks that want to speak out against injustice in their society.

Talking to this monk, I was amazed at how passionate and committed he was to non-violent social change in a society that is deeply fear-laden. We spent all of Saturday seeing Battambang, especially this special mountain of beautiful Buddhist temples, which was converted into a mass killing site during the Khmer Rouge years. Talk about a stark juxtaposition between the human capacity for good and evil. On Sunday, I gave a four-hour workshop on social change to over 50 people, mainly Buddhist monks. It was so exciting to hear them talk about the problems of their country, while making a commitment to organize and work for real change. The road to real change in Cambodia is a long one, but it begins with those who refuse to be silenced by fear.

My monk friend, Hoeut, told me about the Buddhist concept of “dharma” that says we are all connected and part of the one nature or spirit of the world. I think dharma is very similar to the belief found in all major religions that we are all brothers and sisters, and thus responsible to one another.

Building on that, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In other words, when one person suffers, we all suffer. Here in Cambodia, I am learning that I cannot be fully me until I put aside my ego to really face the way that I am connected to others. This is not easy at all. And though it hurts to realize this, it has been such an important part of my experience.

 Finally, I wanted to share something that Sister Len, an amazing Maryknoll sister here in Cambodia and my mentor for these eight weeks, said to me: “It is not enough to just survive, we have to live.”

And so you and I, wherever this letter may find you, are united in the human quest to really live and not just survive.

 The sad reality that I have witnessed is how so many people do not have the luxury or capabilities to live. They can only survive. I think that until we build a world where all people can really live, we will be unable to really live ourselves.