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Cambodian Grrrl -- Self-Publishing in Phnom Penh

Cambodian Grrrl -- Self-Publishing in Phnom Penh

Description

This 36-page self-published book contains four essays about Anne Elizabeth Moore's first winter teaching a large group of young Khmer women self-publishing in Cambodia. SHIPPING NOW!

FROM THE BACK COVER:

Cambodian Grrl features essays on Anne Elizabeth Moore’s media and education work with some of the brightest young women in Phnom Penh—and acts as a coming-of-age tale about a late-30s American punk.

But why, in Cambodia, do we not know about the killing fields, and in United States, you do?

I did not know how to answer Samouy’s question so I explained: in the United States, there are parts of history we do not discuss about, either. We do not discuss about the American Indians, for example, that the US government killed in very great numbers because they wanted their land, because that makes the government look bad. We do not discuss about when big corporations in the United States make mistakes with medicines or foods that poison people. We do not discuss about when we go to war, how many people we killed. We only talk about how many Americans died. I explained, The government does not like to acknowledge things that make it look bad.

Like when you meet a new friend, I told her, You do not say, Sometimes I am mean.

But I did not explain: in the United States, we do not learn that the government bombed Cambodia for many years, in secret, and that made it easier for Pol Pot to take control. We do not learn that when the Khmer Rouge came into Phnom Penh in 1975, declared Year Zero and pushed all the residents out of their homes into forced labor in the countryside, that they were telling people that the Americans were going to bomb again, that they needed to leave the city to protect themselves and their families. We do not learn that Cambodia had every reason to believe that was true. We do not learn that when the Khmer Rouge forced city dwellers out into the countryside, killing people sometimes by simply letting them wander around in the forests until they stepped on landmines, that they were not always planted by the Khmer Rouge. Many of them were American. We do not learn of our own contributions to the Pol Pot years. Because when you meet a new friend, you do not say, Sometimes I am mean.

Oh. Do you think it is good? Samouy asked.  

No. I think it is wrong. But I think it happens, I told her.

Added on Oct 26, 2009