The crisis in Japan has of course been all over the news here. And from every angle: when I didn't want to watch US marine helicopters loading up on CNN, I could see different images on the Chinese or Khmer or even Japanese channels. This is Asia, after all, and so even with only one Japanese family at Logos, recent events have still hit a bit closer to home for me. My heart goes out to them.
My perspective mirrors that of many Western expats. But here's the news that's been guiding many locals I know:
"A nuclear power plant in Fukumi, Japan exploded at 4:30 AM today. If it rains tomorrow or later, don’t go outside. If you are outside, be sure that you have rain protectors. It’s acid rain. Don’t let it touch you. You may burn your skin, lose your hair or have cancer. Please pass, stay safe and remind everyone you know. This applies to anyone in Asia."
So Wednesday, even high school students came to Logos ultra-nervous about getting wet. But it's not just teens that believed it: the past few days, this message went viral on texts and Facebook statuses from the Philippines to Singapore and beyond.
Talking with my friend Sovannary helped me understand how Cambodians could fall for this. They obviously don't have advanced science knowledge, given that many are illiterate and their education system is built on rote learning. And I rarely see anything on people's TVs besides karaoke and comedy - they might not think to check the news for confirmation. So when they hear "nuclear power plant," they think of the only nuclear thing in their memory: nuclear bombs. (Apparently most are aware of Hiroshima.)
Rumors among Cambodians far exceed the text message. Not only did everyone tell Sovannary that she and her daughters would die of cancer since they got caught in the rain, but they also claimed that Japan was about to explode and that nothing would grow on the power plant site for 100,000 years. Radiation, according to their story, would reach even the US at fatal levels. Kudos to Sovannary for researching more reliable sources: she's a teaching assistant, and her teacher gave her a much more accurate description of nuclear energy and the crisis in Japan. She had lots of questions for me, trying to confirm her teacher's reports.
All this was a powerful reminder for me that ignorance is NOT bliss. Fear often drives Cambodians' attitudes on issues where science could put their minds at ease.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Khmer Riche
Stealing a year-old post from my friend Sheryl...she highlights an article with fascinating interviews of Cambodia's young elite. Logos may have been founded for orphans, but it has a few ultra-rich Khmer students. From the impending arranged marriages, to the entourage of bodyguards and servants, and right down to the kidnappings, this article rings true with my experiences of Cambodia's wealthy. (I even live in the neighborhood mentioned in the article, within blocks of many of Prime Minister Hun Sen's relatives.)
"So have you been wondering where international aid money goes once it leaves donors' hands and enters the quagmire of Cambodian politics? Please read this article for a very interesting look at money in Cambodia.
"What is even more fascinating and encouraging is that some of the Khmer Riche children attend Logos International School. These children are being taught Christian ethics, given an education to international standards, and introduced to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis. We have already seen dramatic shifts in some of these kids' lives and look forward to seeing how God uses them here in Cambodia in the future. We praise God for the privilege of working with so many different children at Logos as the school represents dozens of different nationalities and straddles all economic layers."
I don't pretend to understand my students' lives, but I know they're intense. The wealthy ones' entire world depends on corruption and dirty money. They've experienced their own sort of trauma: the weight of secrets much bigger than themselves and pressure to live a very limited, if self-indulgent, lifestyle. Home and school pull them in opposite directions, and most of them know which one has to win. Seeing some of them learn to show compassion for other segments of Cambodia is so exciting, because it's such a huge departure from their whole upbringing.
"So have you been wondering where international aid money goes once it leaves donors' hands and enters the quagmire of Cambodian politics? Please read this article for a very interesting look at money in Cambodia.
"What is even more fascinating and encouraging is that some of the Khmer Riche children attend Logos International School. These children are being taught Christian ethics, given an education to international standards, and introduced to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis. We have already seen dramatic shifts in some of these kids' lives and look forward to seeing how God uses them here in Cambodia in the future. We praise God for the privilege of working with so many different children at Logos as the school represents dozens of different nationalities and straddles all economic layers."
I don't pretend to understand my students' lives, but I know they're intense. The wealthy ones' entire world depends on corruption and dirty money. They've experienced their own sort of trauma: the weight of secrets much bigger than themselves and pressure to live a very limited, if self-indulgent, lifestyle. Home and school pull them in opposite directions, and most of them know which one has to win. Seeing some of them learn to show compassion for other segments of Cambodia is so exciting, because it's such a huge departure from their whole upbringing.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Should I laugh or cry?
I assigned my first-ever research paper in my 11th/12th grade class. I knew they needed practice writing formal research papers, and in my naivete, I thought that with some careful planning and clear instruction, I could be the one to guide them step-by-step through the process. That was my first mistake: overconfidence. There were a lot of mistakes after that. Now, I'm about 10 hours into a 30-hour grading process. If you gave me a choice between having my wisdom teeth out again and finishing the last 20 hours, there would be no contest.
Anyhow, after reading Alan Paton's novel Cry, the Beloved Country, I let them choose from four different research topics. Three of them went OK, but on one, I vastly underestimated students' prior knowledge and research skills. They had to compare apartheid in South Africa to slavery/civil rights in the US. Despite special meetings with me outside class to discuss research on this topic, they've struggled to gain an accurate overall picture of US black history. Nearly all of them have some interesting claims. So far, I've encountered the following gems:
“Slaveries in Africa started on December 1, 1955...
Slaves who worked on the big farm [in America] have to take care of fish and other sea food...
If the [American] blacks ever go against the law they will face punishment and they even got arrested and if they did more than that, all the black people will be kill. So [Rosa] Park got arrested in jail for going against the law. The black people cannot get merry with the white people, but later on the blacks and the white people can get merry.”
“In America, there was a massive slavery that started from the 1600s, and it ended due to the civil rights movement that led to civil war in 1865.”
“Martin Luther King was widely revered after winning the Noble Prize Winner Award. His amazing act of offering his life up to protect and save the lives of his own race without having to do anything much but give a strong speech and through nonviolence made him a true hero in my opinion.”
Accurate info but not the best wording: “The different reasons for slavery and apartheid in both the US and South Africa were that the slavery in the US is different from the slavery in South Africa. In the US, the slaves works in plowing fields, as a servant that had a lower class which was not considered to be important than white people, had no education, and the slaves came from all around Africa. As for in South Africa, the slavery and apartheid have the similar ways as in the US, likes the black people works in mines that are lower class that is not important than white people that has no education and it is only found in South Africa.”
“The Civil Rights Movement started in 1961, by President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860. He started the Civil War between the free, north state and the slave, south state.”
“The next movement was sit-ins that the black people would just gathered around in anytime anywhere and just sit there and did nothing but it was representing the protesting the racism.”
Lord, give me patience...and help me and my students learn a LOT through this long, laborious process!
Anyhow, after reading Alan Paton's novel Cry, the Beloved Country, I let them choose from four different research topics. Three of them went OK, but on one, I vastly underestimated students' prior knowledge and research skills. They had to compare apartheid in South Africa to slavery/civil rights in the US. Despite special meetings with me outside class to discuss research on this topic, they've struggled to gain an accurate overall picture of US black history. Nearly all of them have some interesting claims. So far, I've encountered the following gems:
“Slaveries in Africa started on December 1, 1955...
Slaves who worked on the big farm [in America] have to take care of fish and other sea food...
If the [American] blacks ever go against the law they will face punishment and they even got arrested and if they did more than that, all the black people will be kill. So [Rosa] Park got arrested in jail for going against the law. The black people cannot get merry with the white people, but later on the blacks and the white people can get merry.”
“In America, there was a massive slavery that started from the 1600s, and it ended due to the civil rights movement that led to civil war in 1865.”
“Martin Luther King was widely revered after winning the Noble Prize Winner Award. His amazing act of offering his life up to protect and save the lives of his own race without having to do anything much but give a strong speech and through nonviolence made him a true hero in my opinion.”
Accurate info but not the best wording: “The different reasons for slavery and apartheid in both the US and South Africa were that the slavery in the US is different from the slavery in South Africa. In the US, the slaves works in plowing fields, as a servant that had a lower class which was not considered to be important than white people, had no education, and the slaves came from all around Africa. As for in South Africa, the slavery and apartheid have the similar ways as in the US, likes the black people works in mines that are lower class that is not important than white people that has no education and it is only found in South Africa.”
“The Civil Rights Movement started in 1961, by President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860. He started the Civil War between the free, north state and the slave, south state.”
“The next movement was sit-ins that the black people would just gathered around in anytime anywhere and just sit there and did nothing but it was representing the protesting the racism.”
Lord, give me patience...and help me and my students learn a LOT through this long, laborious process!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
