Narrated Version

Slide 1: 

Cambodia By Alyss Burgert

Geography : 

Geography

History : 

History Early development of Cambodia consisted of unpredictable leadership and erratic government policy. France established protectorate over Cambodia in 1863. After eventual freedom from France in 1953, Prince Norodom Sihanouk ruled at autocracy and continued to rule until 1970. In 1970, his prime minister General Lon Nol, overthrew him and established a military government which only lasted for months. The Khmer Rouge (Communist Cambodians) began a war with the army of Lon Nol until 1975, when it gained rule (Wetzel, 1995).

Khmer Rouge( autogenocide) : 

Khmer Rouge( autogenocide) After the Khmer Rouge overthrew the Lon Nol government, they began to systematically eliminate the Cambodian population. From 1975-1979, an estimated 1.5-3 million Cambodians, or 20-40% of the total population were killed. Hundreds and thousands were executed and others died of starvation and disease during forced urban evacuation and labor camps. The first to be killed were Buddhist monks, urban dwellers, government officials, and those with western education. This is a picture of a memorial dedicated to the victims. Affonco, 2009

Refugees : 

Refugees Hundreds tried to escape across the Thai border, many did not succeed. Some made it to Thailand and Malaysia, but found the camps implorable with starvation, disease, overcrowding, and violence. Many remained in these camps for years until they were able to resettle in receiving countries throughout the world. Over 180,000 sought refuge in the United States, many in Seattle Many were from rural Cambodia and illiterate or semiliterate in their own language.

Economy : 

Economy Before 1970 Cambodia was rich in natural and agricultural resources and unlike other Asian countries enjoyed a stable export. It shipped rice, rubber, coal, and cotton worldwide. It has gone through many economic downturns in the last 30 years. According to Jones, 2008 Japan has given Cambodia over 1.2 billion in oversees development, but currently the countries GDP is below $600 and ranked 131st out of 179 in the United Nations Human Development. Today is has found a rich oil reserve that has remained untouched. It is still unknown whether wealth from the oil industry will be used to help it poverty stricken citizens (Cain 2009).

Language : 

Language Khmer is the official language of Cambodia, similar to Sanskrit. It has the oldest written records of any southeast Asian language in stone inscriptions dating back to the seventh century. In the United States today, many Cambodians speak their language while at home, but many cannot read or write Khmer (Cambodian Culture, n.d).

Religion and Spiritual Practices : 

Religion and Spiritual Practices Most Cambodians today (95%) are Thervada Buddhists. Teachings that the suffering we all experience can be traced to desire and passion. The only way to escape suffering is to diminish one’s desire of lust, aggression, and deceit (Szczepanski).

Family Structure : 

Family Structure Cambodia is more of a nuclear family than the extended as seen in other Southeast Asian cultures When families live together, it is mainly due to financial means (Wetzel, 1995).

Roles : 

Roles Women have a large amount of respect in traditional Cambodian culture. She is the leader of the family, generally handling financial aspects and educating the children. Women all take care of things within the home including cooking, cleaning, laundry, and care of the children Men typically carry the role of working outside the home and making the income. Boys are expected to be involved in religion and community Girls represent the families by marrying someone who deserves her families respect (Wetzel, 1995)

Pregnancy and Child Birth : 

Pregnancy and Child Birth Family planning is not common which results in large families One method of birth control is the use of some herbal medications (made of herbs, hot water, tree root, and wine) that are thought to be effective for abortion by increasing excess heat in the body. Hospitals and physicians are not common for the birth of children; a midwife at home are where most deliveries take place. Most of the midwives are actually called birth attendants and learn their practices from other women and do not undergo traditional training (Mony, 2004).

Postpartum Care : 

Postpartum Care A period call Sor Sai Karchey ( weak tendon). A women is considered in a fragile state Cambodians believe that a women’s body becomes cold after delivery. A mother lies on a bed above a fire with her baby, this is called a roasting. Women are also not allowed to shower for a few days and may only sponge bath to keep from cooling. Keeping the body covered from head to toe is a very important practice. Tos is also common postpartum, and is believed to happen when women to not uphold to postpartum traditions. It is described as mostly physical and can be benign. For example: tos sorsai results from heavy lifting. Other practices… (Mony,2005)

Nutrition and Food : 

Nutrition and Food Each family usually owns its own rice paddy lot, garden, and raises livestock. Rice is the main dish of each meal and is accompanied by soup, fish, meat, or vegetables (Wetzel, 1995).

Medical Practices : 

Medical Practices In rural Cambodia, herbal remedies, dermal techniques, maintenance of hot-cold balance, and rituals are the principle forms of medical treatment. More than one is traditionally used. The presence of spirits often play an active role in lives and it is thought that sickness may be a result of an evil spell cast by another. Cupping, pinching, or rubbing (known as coining) are the most commonly used. Emotional or mental illness are well known in Cambodia, but it is commonly denied and feared. When someone is know to have mental illness in a family it brings great shame, so in consequence many present themselves with physical illness, to avoid letting others know about their mental illness. Cambodians in the United States utilize both traditional and western medicine. Spiritual healers are found throughout the United States and used to get rid of bad spirits (Wetzel, 1995).

References : 

References Cain, G. (2009). The curse of oil looms for cambodia. Far Eastern Economic Review, 172(5), 56-59. Cambodian Culture. In World66. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://www.worl66.com/asia. Jones, G. (2008). Inside out: Cambodia. J@pan Inc., (80), 49-51. McCall, P. C. (2009). To the end of hell: One woman's struggle to survive cambodia's khmer rouge. Library Journal, 134(9), 80. Mony, Keo. (2004). Postpartum practices. In Ethnomed. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://ethnomed.org. Szczepanski, Kallie. (n.d.). Profile of Cambodia. In Asian History. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://asianhistory.about.com. Wetzel, L. (1995). Cambodia. In Ethnomed. Retrieved August 1, 2009, from http://ethnomed.org/culutres.cambodian. camb_cp.html.