Daley (G 01-08) and Abigail (L 01-08) Birkett (nee Brown) recently visited Cambodia. Abigail writes:

“It was one day in January that an email came through offering Daley a six-month internship in the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia – a UN initiative to help bring to justice the leaders of the Khmer Rouge. He had sent the application on a whim a few months earlier under the recommendation of a colleague at the International Criminal Court. Within a week we had told friends and family, booked flights, applied for a visa and made plans for everything we wanted to do while we were there.

Upon arrival I was stunned by my own misconceptions about the country. Anyone who has visited Southeast Asia will understand the intense humidity and heat, which is difficult to become accustomed to coming from Cumbria! By arriving in April, the hottest month of the year, we underwent a true ‘baptism of fire’.

Daley was straight into work after a couple of days in the country, and enjoyed his new routine, despite the hour and a half commute to work each day (the ECCC is based out of the city – 90% of employees shared a similar commute – however the time is due to the poor infrastructure rather than the distance). We had found a flat overlooking the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh with a lovely Cambodian landlady, who insisted on cooking curries and stews for us each week – much appreciated by both of us – especially myself, who was somewhat reluctant to venture into the markets for fear of being accosted by overzealous salesmen looking for a quick win from a naïve ‘bong’ (friend).

Prior to our move I had contacted international schools in the city with the hope of providing English assistance to local students. Sadly, this was not successful; however, when in the country, opportunities seemed to spring up in every direction.
Walking along the riverfront in downtown Phnom Penh – as I did each day as a means to acclimatize and take in the local sights – I found it was impossible to ignore the blatant poverty and what that led to. As a result I got in touch with an Australian-based NGO who happened to need a native English-speaking Human Resources Coordinator at that time in order to assist in setting up foundational documentation to support their fundraising activities.

As well as working part time at AusCam Freedom Project, I was invited to provide private tuition for a Cambodian family whose father was one of the most influential businessmen in the country. This opportunity was given to me from one of the international schools I had contacted previously, which had kept a record of our correspondence and had passed my details onto the family. Despite never having taught English before, I loved spending time with the children and seeing them develop with one to one support. Needless to say, being fully submerged in both sides of the social system was both insightful and extraordinary at times. One instance of this was when we attended my eldest tutee’s birthday party (he turned seven while we were there), which was grander than any average UK wedding reception – with the chef from one of the top city hotels providing the food. This contrasted starkly with the weekly ‘outreach’ initiatives I was involved in, providing educational opportunities for the street children along the riverfront.

During the six months we spent in Cambodia we were privileged to see Angkor Wat, Kep and Prey Veng Province (a weekend visit to our ‘tuk tuk’ driver’s home) as well as Bangkok and Singapore. Despite Daley being left hospitalised by a bad batch of parasites, we left feeling thankful to have seen what we did; to have had our limits tested; and to have met a huge variety of people from all over the world and from all walks of life. We were happy to get back to Europe and all things familiar – living and working in a developing country is an altogether different experience than visiting for a holiday – however, the more time passes, the more we look back fondly with a sense of wonder.”

Please click here to see photographs. (Photographs no longer available).

 

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