here we are together

I'm sitting here on my oh so comfy couch. Next to me is a not-so-little-anymore black cat. [Question: Is it wrong that I like to poke him while he's sleeping?]

I started out this evening to post about what I've been studying in my Music of Southeast Asia class. Well, more how it applies to me right now.

But, I got sidetracked. [Do you like the new colors?]

But never fear, I am back on target.



For my project in the class, I am trying to answer why dancers would have been a target for execution during the Khmer Rouge. I finally have settled on an acceptable (at least to me!) thesis statement, and am beginning to really work out the organization of my paper. Once this is done, I'll be able to lay out what information I have already learned, and find any more information I may need to fill in any possible holes.

In reading stories of survivors of the regime, it has been hard to stay objective. Sometimes I even catch myself thinking flippantly about events that transpired. I guess so that I can continue functioning emotionally?

For example, one young girl relates how she and her entire family miraculously survived the years of the Khmer Rouge, and made it to Thailand in hopes of making it to a refugee camp. The arrived at a camp, and were then bussed to a location.

After disembarking the bus, they were forced to climb down a mountainside, through a minefield, then arriving back in their own country they had just fled.

And my 'Self' says: wow. that was really kind of them to do that.

[I just got distracted again. Big surprise.]

This is not the only story I've. And I doubt I would be able to read all of the stories that exist from that time period.

Many of the stories cannot be told. The number vary slightly, depending on the sources, but approximately 14,000 peoples were brought in for questioning (that includes men women and children) and only 7 survived.

'Self': hmm... wow. seven - that's an odd number.

Oh ya, and there's the story of the little boy who was the only one in his family who survived.

He knew his father had been killed, because his father would not lie. The little boy survived because he lied. Thusly, the boy learned that one survives through deceit and dishonesty. And others who believed that all that was happening to them was their fault, their karma. They must have done something wrong at some point, right?

'Self':   ...

And yet, there were stories of survival - even by people who were targeted. There are musicians who had ties to previous rulers, who survived, because they had an artistic ability.

'Self': what?

What we discussed in class was that the way the Khmer Rouge ruled was through fear. And this fear was created by changing the rules. Even those who were originally leaders in the organization were afraid for their lives. No one really knew the rules. Probably not even Pol Pot himself.

In a previous post, I've mentioned how I am grateful for the Plan of Happiness, and how there is justice for both those who do wrong, yet seem to not receive their dues and those who did not do wrong and were dealt a raw hand.

Now I would like to mention how grateful I am for a God who does not change the rules on us, thus allowing us to live our lives free from fear. I believe there is a reason fear is the enemy of faith.

I also love that it is my academic classes that are continually driving home these points to me. That makes me happy.

So much more could be said.