Essay by Michele Haines It was more than a year ago that I first saw Kenro Izu's awe-inspiring photographs at the Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York. I wanted to meet him and we made contact by telephone. Kenro explained the mission of Friends Without A Border and told me he would be in Cambodia by the end of the week. I expressed my fervent interest in helping him and his organization and told him I would meet him there. So I did and I started my dedication to raising money for the Angkor Hospital For Children. Although I was perhaps unprepared for some of the poverty and suffering I saw in Cambodia, I was even more moved by the courage and resilience of its people. I am a photographer myself (beside being a chef in my own restaurant) and was able to document in photographs some of the pride and beauty clearly visible among many struggling Cambodian families. In March, I returned to Cambodia for a week. I really wanted to go back to see what was happening after the coup in July and the rumors about Prince Ranariddh's imminent return from exile. It was important to see if the people I met last time were all right. I was happy to find my friend who works at the museum to be as eager as ever to learn more languages. She was concerned about the election to come in July. The pace in Phnom Penh seemed slower than the last time, with fewer tourists and not many signs of commercial progress. The French pastry shop was closed because of a hold-up at gunpoint and the little French restaurant was closed indefinitely. What a contrast with the little village on an island in the Mekong-just a ferry ride from downtown Phnom Penh and we were in a different world, a world of close families with everybody weaving cloth from dawn to dark.Then in Siem Reap everything was very much the same as it was a year ago-a provincial town has its own pace. The people were as nice as ever. I went around on a motorbike with a friendly young driver. I visited an orphanage run by a French man. I visited a shelter. I first went to the restaurant, run by the same group, where all the proceeds go for the shelter. There is, as we know, so much to give to help beautiful people. I visited the ruins again, leisurely following my precocious eight year old guide. I took him to the market to get a new wardrobe, although he seemed to think that his shabby clothes help him win sympathy and tips of tourists. I met Mr. Furuyama, one of the architects for the Angkor Hospital For Children. He was waiting for the contract to be approved so construction could start. It is very exciting! It is a good feeling to talk to people during their daily activities. I sewed with a nice lady whose whole family was killed by the Khmer Rouge. She runs the orphanage near Siem Reap. She speaks French fluently. Another lady, the sister of the people who run Angkor Village, a beautiful hotel completely assimilated with the culture and respectful of the art of Cambodia, also lost all the members of her family but she is very optimistic about the future of Cambodia. "I am working here and I am happy. I can still work and there is construction all around. They are even building a theater across from the hotel," she said. |