{"id":6150,"date":"2025-07-06T09:29:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T14:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?p=6150"},"modified":"2025-07-09T09:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T14:43:13","slug":"peace-clubs-and-a-bombshell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/2025\/peace-clubs-and-a-bombshell\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace Clubs and a Bombshell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last month I traveled to Prey Veng province to sign Peace Club agreements with two new rural Primary Schools. I’ve written about the importance of doing this in person<\/a> before – our work is about more than tasks, it’s about relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, when I go to meet the people participating in our projects directly, I notice things that I wouldn’t have otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The school bell at Prey Tompong Primary School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At the Prey Tompong Primary School in Ba Phnom district I noticed the school bell hanging from a tree and asked if it was a bombshell. The School Principal confirmed that it was the shell from an American bomb dropped on Cambodia decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n

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US Bombing in Cambodia from 1965 to 1975<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This was a stark reminder that Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam were once the most heavily bombed countries on earth. Prey Veng, located along the Ho Chi Minh trail, was especially heavily bombed by the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Prey Veng province was finally declared landmine free<\/a> but work continues to remove unexploded ordinance. As I wrote on my post then…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The tragedies of war do not end when the war ends. They linger long afterwards. Untreated trauma and mental illness. Unexploded ordinance. Destroyed infrastructure. Lost livelihoods and community. Disability. Landmines. Chemical poisons such as Agent Orange.\u00a0Weapons of war left in the community<\/a>. Even\u00a0higher rates of diabetes<\/a>\u00a0after famine. There\u2019s a temptation to label countries like Cambodia \u201cpost-conflict\u201d and focus on what\u2019s next \u2013 especially when the past is so painful \u2013 however the legacies of war don\u2019t simply disappear. Healing takes sustained effort.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Explaining who we are, what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it. Sounds simple but, in my experience, many NGOs skip this step on the community level.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Peace Clubs are one way that we’re still diligently working to address the generational legacies of war, cultural revolution, and genocide. Cambodia\u2019s traditional village level systems of conflict resolution and mediation were largely eradicated by the Khmer Rouge\u2019s mass murder of the political, educated, and religious classes. Under our agreement with the Provincial Department of Education, we’re equipping Primary Schools to run the Peace Clubs themselves as part of their Life Skills class so that the lessons can be sustained even after our project ends so that community capacity to resolve conflict can be restored. The students are gaining practical skills in nonviolence, conflict resolution, trauma healing, and community building. Through interactive workshops, peer discussions, and community service, participants are empowered to become peacebuilders and positive change agents in their schools, families, and neighborhoods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month I traveled to Prey Veng province to sign Peace Club agreements with two new rural Primary Schools. I’ve written about the importance of doing this in person before – our work is about more than tasks, it’s about relationships. Also, when I go to meet the people participating in our projects directly, I… <\/p>\n

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