Homeland

Yesterday a neighbour called out to me and told me that she’s off to America at the end of this month (Embassy-willing). Two of her daughters are already there and setting up house. It took an educated guess that the destination she was trying to pronounce was “California” (there are many Khmer already there). They don’t plan on coming back any time soon so I need to stop by soon for a visit to say goodbye.

It is such a common desire. So many friends are keen to leave here and try their luck in the West. We’ve been asked to sponsor a Christian NGO worker to go and pick apples in Australia, leaving his wife and new baby in Cambodia. We refused not out of stinginess but out of a love for them and Cambodia, wondering what would happen to this place if all the Christians left.

Then this week, I attended a conference for the Micah Network on establishing a plan for Integrated Mission. One of the case studies was by a young Khmer man (probably my age, actually) from Teen Challenge who have a youth drug-rehab ministry. As he spoke, you could just tell that he loves Jesus. He also loves Cambodia.

As he was talking about why a family is better than institutionalised care, he asked us “You know how I know this is true?” Then, answered with “Everyone thinks that America is better than Cambodia. Or maybe Japan or Europe. But I want to tell you something… I’ve been to Canada and I know different.”

There was a chuckle from the audience where Khmer outnumbered the foreigners 20 to one. Everyone there knew some foreigner who had relentlessly (and mostly unintentionally) insulted this country by making comparisons with their own country.

“There I had to eat hamburgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner until I was sick of hamburgers. I was just dying for some sour tamarind soup. Oooh, that would have been nice.”

We were all laughing by this stage. The sour soup really is great! And it was refreshing to hear someone insulting the West.

Then he had us in stiches as he wrinkled up his nose and said, “You know, it also smells”.

It was an uproar. The wonderful lady next me was a little concerned I would be offended despite my laughter. She leaned over and said just one word in English, “Homeland”.

There really is nothing like being in your homeland (which my neighbour is going to find out the hard way). Many of my struggles here are not because Cambodia is worse than Australia (although Australia is now #2 on the UN’s Human Development Index compared to Cambodia’s ranking at 137 … not that we should compare) but because Australia is my home.

It’s a good reminder as we pack up and head home in less than a month (for just a year).

And then there will be times when even Australia doesn’t match up and I will have to remember that in the eternal scheme of things we are all only travellers passing through to our eternal Homeland.