February 27, 2018 Traditions Alive (part VII in a series)

The Liberty Gazette

February 27, 2018

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Many years ago, I was moved to pray for Cambodia. I did not know why. I had no personal connection and didn’t know where Cambodia was, but I prayed. In December, we visited that beautiful country.

Last week, we introduced you to Phnom Penh. Now it’s time to discover the strength of this city—its people.

What most of us know of Phnom Penh is the atrocities of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. From 1974 to 1979, they tortured, starved, and murdered over two million fellow Cambodians. Victims were all ages, and the torture was as horrific as you can imagine—or more so. They turned a high school into a torture camp. Documentation of what happened there and the nearby killing fields is abundant. Next to the temples, these are probably the most visited “attractions.” I’ve been to several countries of genocide, Anne Frank’s hiding place in Amsterdam, and Houston’s Holocaust Museum. I did not want to see the killing fields. It’s important, but it’s also full of pain. We chose instead to support their future—through the arts.

The answer to “why the killing?” is hard to understand. Pol Pot claimed he wanted to make Cambodia an agrarian utopia, but the truth was he was consumed by evil. His vision of “improvement” was to kill those who could disagree—intellectuals, artists, and musicians.

Arn Chorn-Pond was a musician, and his family owned an opera company, making him a target. He escaped the massacre and came to New York a refugee.

When he returned home, 90 percent of his country’s artists were gone. Becoming reacquainted with his city, he happened upon one of his nation’s greatest opera singers begging on the street.

Determined to not let their culture disappear, he asked her to join him to search for other surviving artists. He brought them out of hiding and raised support, first to feed them and then for the arts, as a way to keep Cambodian history alive. Since 1998, when he founded Cambodian Living Arts, he has brought back traditional teachings to new generations, providing scholarships and support for cultural arts.

At a traditional dance show, we were treated to an Apsara dance. Wordlessly, they told a popular folk tale that dates back to the 7th century. In Hindu mythology, Apsaras were “celestial dancers”—beautiful female creatures that descended from heaven to entertain gods and kings, neither of which could resist their charms. In elaborate silk costumes, with complex, intricate movements, the dance troupe enacted the story of a kidnapped princess and the efforts of her prince and his helper monkeys to rescue her.

This endearing fable has lived in the hearts of generations of Cambodians. With unparalleled skill, the dancers bring their plight and hope for healing right to the soul. One cannot help but be absorbed in the beauty and the determination to survive, to live.

Arn declares his goal: “My hope is that someday people will come to Phnom Penh for its arts rather than its killing fields.”