On February 17, 2009, former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav, widely known as Duch, became the first to take the stand in what has come to be recognized as one of the most monumental tribunals of the century. Over the course of the coming year, Duch and four others accused of orchestrating the Khmer Rouge atrocities of 1975-1979 will be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity – a process that, many hope, will bring a sense of closure and justice to the millions of genocide survivors.
• Buddhist monks met with the group in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photograph by Pushpa Iyer. •
Yet while the trials have received significant praise from the international community, many who take the time to look more closely at the situation on the ground are initially surprised at the seeming lack of enthusiasm – and indeed even a lack of awareness – on the part of a great many ordinary Cambodians with regards to the UN-backed hearings.
In response, many institutions (most notably the tribunal’s own PR department) and other organizations have sought to stir up public interest and garner grassroots support via a wide variety of outreach programs. Yet perhaps one of the greatest contributors to this indifference lies not in the lack of awareness, but rather in the deeply valued principles of Cambodian Buddhism, whose quiet effects on Khmer psychology are upon close examination quite striking.
I place special emphasis on the notion of Cambodian Buddhism as opposed to Buddhism in general in order to point out the enormous impact of the region’s specific historical context on the development of its own unique faith. In particular, the average Cambodian’s spiritual beliefs tend to consist not only of material from the Theravedic Buddhist tradition – the contents of which are in large part shared with believers from Thailand, Laos, Burma and Sri Lanka – but also largely of animist and Brahman elements, remnants of Cambodia’s pre-Buddhist period. As a result, modern Cambodians often believe in a rich supernatural world – one not only filled with ghosts, spirits and demons of various local colors, but also heavily founded upon the guiding precepts of Buddhism and existing in harmony with Hindu deities and components.
Perhaps one of the most palpable illustrations of animist influence is the way Cambodians understand and cope with death, and in particular, the ways in which the tragic deaths of millions during the Khmer Rouge period were dealt with in subsequent years. According to popular belief, the spirit of a person who has died a particularly violent, unnatural or untimely death is often bound to spend its afterlife wandering in the area of its passing. Therefore, up until very recently – when Buddhist monks began performing ritual cleansings, or liberations of ghosts, in areas of concentrated Khmer Rouge brutality – many Cambodians feared the country’s former torture centers and killing fields, citing extremely negative energy. Similarly, many who lost family members under the regime continue to make regular offerings of food to their loved ones – in part, no doubt, because of animist superstition (a displeased spirit is thought to bring misfortune to its neglectors), but perhaps also as a coping mechanism which permits the performer to meditate on, communicate with, and even seek symbolic forgiveness from the deceased.
Yet perhaps the most significant impact had by Cambodian Buddhism on the peacebuilding process, and in particular on the reception of the tribunals by the Khmer population, takes root in the notion of karma. According to the principle, the quality and circumstances of one’s life now and in the future is dependent upon one’s own deeds and misdeeds in past lives. Such a belief suggests that humans need not take direct action to punish evildoers, for justice will inevitably be carried out most fairly of its own accord. Adherents to the principle of karma therefore often prefer to focus their energies not on past injury – which, it is thought, was probably deserved as a consequence of errant acts committed in past lives, and whose perpetrators will no doubt be punished in the life to come – but rather on bettering the future. Consequently, Cambodians tend to focus less on establishing human institutions as instruments of blame allocation, and more on moving forward and even forgetting painful episodes, often brushing aside the largely Western idea of confronting trauma and its perpetrators.
Western psychology, of course, is often quick to denounce such coping mechanisms as unhealthy and even counterproductive, emphasizing instead the need to talk about past trauma and address issues directly. In many places, institutions and organizations attempted to impose more clinical approaches to healing. Yet it may be a mistake to devalue the traditional Cambodian approach entirely; after all, many studies have shown that the effectiveness of a treatment (be it medical, psychological or otherwise) to be dependent more on the beliefs of the individual in question and less on the method being used. In other words, the responsiveness of the individual being “treated” may depend most on the extent to which he or she believes in the legitimacy of the methodology. And in the case of Cambodia, healing practices based in traditional belief systems may ring most true to its citizens, thus making them some of the most effective tools in trauma recovery.
Of course, the international community’s longing to help the Khmer people move past their trauma is no doubt a noble cause, and it would be a mistake to suggest that outsiders refrain from peacebuilding in post-genocide Cambodia. However, we would do well to work hard at respecting local approaches to healing, and perhaps even to recognize that the Khmer Rouge tribunals may in fact exist less for the benefit of the Cambodian people and more for the psychological well-being of outside observers, who in general feel a much greater need to see justice served via judiciary channels. While this does not necessarily invalidate the hearings, a deepened appreciation of the Cambodian psychology might provide us with a renewed understanding of the trials’ role and meaning, and in effect, enable us to focus our peacebuilding efforts in the most effective, sustainable, and culturally sensitive manner possible.
Ashley’s blog entry is part of a two-part series written by WIP Contributor Pushpa Iyer‘s students. In the coming weeks, more entries will follow. Part I, “Legacy, Responsibility, Justice and Spirituality” will contemplate how Cambodia is coping with its painful past. Part II, “Identity, Sex Trafficking, HIV/AIDS and Property Rights” will explore some of the challenges modern-day Cambodia faces. – Ed.
Ashey Starr Kinseth is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in international human rights and development policy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Kinseth recently completed her Bachelor of Arts at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she studied a combination of international affairs, political economics, human rights, and world languages. She currently works as the Coordinator of Social Responsibility for Kinseth Hospitality Corporation, a family-owned hospitality management company in her hometown of Clear Lake, Iowa.
I liked this article for its deep religious intelligence.