So I Met a few Generals Today

And by a few, I mean like a dozen. 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, and a 4-star general. Pastor Setan said he is the commander of the Cambodian Army. Intimidating guy. Have to admit I felt pretty nervous, as they had me sitting right behind him the whole time he was giving his speech. His body guards kept eyeing me, and I didn't dare make any sudden movements. His son, a colonel in the armed forces sat right next to me. I got to chat with him a bit - he went to school in the States, at Oklahoma. Seemed like a nice guy, and he was a lot taller than most Cambodians I've met.

So the whole reason there were so many generals at this distribution was because the 4-star general was making an appearance. This is a 'camp,' really a tiny village, where retired, disabled veterans are living. It's right on the Cambodia/Thailand border. The government has given them each a plot of land for them to farm and settle. I was told this was a conscious effort to make sure that the Thais don't keep encroaching on their border.

We distributed rice and salt to the vets, and it was hard to see so many of them missing limbs. I can only assume that many of those wounds were a result of skirmishes and possibly leftover land mines that are all over this particular area. There were a number of signs on the roadside warning people to stay on the road because of the risk of land mines. Little scary. Land mines were only one worry, as the team was telling me that last year, when they came to this area, they saw a 10 ft long King Cobra. No such sighting this year. Whew.

-Ernest

Ps. More new rice for lunch. Soooooooooo good.

Overall I took fewer pictures of this event, mostly because of the nature of who was there. Didn't feel proper to take photos from the stage once the head general arrived. Plus it was all being videotaped for the tv stations. I'm pretty sure with all the video they've been taking with me in the background, Cambodians are probably sick of that funny lookin American guy that keeps showing up.

View from the front towards the drama stage being set up.

Mayuleth sitting in the general's chair (well before the general got there)...

Bags of rice and salt.

One of the wounded vets.

The gentleman on the right is the 2-star general in charge of this camp.

Another vet.

Pastor Setan and the 4-star general handing out a bag of rice.

I handed out a few bags too!