Cambodia:Episode Two

by Nik Munirah Nik Mohd Nasir

Tuesday 1 August 2006
Mass Khatan

We set off to Kampong Tamtao, the first village in the list. The target for today was just to perform the ‘khatan’ and the giving out of alms to the villagers.

It was an eye opener as our minivan drove past the small huts that lined our route to Kampong Tamtao. The villagers were going about their normal everyday life. Most of the children were not clothed. The huts they call home were so small, especially compared to the number of people in one family. There were animals everywhere; chickens, ducks. cows, dogs, cats. Perhaps the most unnerving sight was the pigs, happily joining in their other farm family counterparts under the wooden huts. (all the huts were built on stilts, and most of the animals were kept in a space/barn under it)

It was definitely a sight I am not familiar to, after all studying in the UK, with most of my community attachment (general practice) involves visiting families in proper houses with proper amenities. Such luxury was nothing compared to the bare (and I really mean bare!) necessities these people here call home. Sad but that is the reality.

It definitely sounded simple when he went over with us the procedure before we went of to Cambodia, and it looked pretty straight forward when I observed how the Cambodian doctor did it in front of me as I assisted him. But when it was my turn to do it, it was by no means an easy task! Everything was just so slippery and it didn’t help that my hands were not that steady as well. To make things worst, I think I must’ve have taken that much time that even before I finished stitching everything up, the local anaesthetic began to wore off and the child was by then, started to scream in pain!


At least there was only 2 stiches to go but by then, I could not go on (for obvious reasons!) and ask the doctor to help me. The poor boy! I felt really guilty. Nevertheless I was not discouraged and look forward to practice again when it comes to my turn later on (we took turns amongst ourselves so that everyone could have a go at performing the khatan).

In between performing the khatan, they also had a small ceremony to give out donated items to the villagers. I was given the chance to say a few words to the villagers, which was quite a new experience for me as the first thought that came to my mind was, ‘What do you say to a group of audience who could not understand your language?’ Although there was a translator who will translate what I will say to the audience, it still felt weird.

Some people might say that it seemed a bit superficial to just come to a kampong and give out things because it won’t really change anything. Well, I guess it won’t change anything if it did stop at just giving out the things. But it is actually more of using those things to win the hearts of the people so that they will be more receptive to our message: the spirit of Islam and of course, the need to work hard in order to change the condition that they are in now, just as mentioned in the Quran where Allah will not change the condition of the people unless they themselves strive hard to change what is in them.

(We can also witness this action in Prophet Muhammad's seerah during the distribution of booty at Ji'ranah (after the Battle of Hunain) where he gave a lot of the share to the new Muslim reverts of the Quraisy and Arab tribes to strengthen their faith)

The Christian missionaries have been doing this sort of work for ages e.g. going into villages and help out the people in the villagers. And in return? The villagers begin to take interest in Christianity. This happens in a lot of places. These Christian missionaries sacrificed the luxury of living in their own country in order to bring Christianity to people.

(Later at the hotel, I was greeted by a foreigner wearing a t shirt with words, “Christian Aid for HIV”. The man asked me where I came from and what was I doing in Kampong Cham. I wasn’t that keen on answering his prying questions but I got to know that he is actually an Australian living in Cambodia. See what I mean?)

Time for zuhr came and it was time to close shop and travel to another kampong to set up a new port. We made our way to Kampong Tulmui which is a few minutes journey from Kampong Tamtao. The sight that greeted us is very much less the same as it was in Kampong Tamtao. The mosque where we had set up our port was a humble one storey unfinished building. (Later we were told that the building of the mosque around here is done gradually, depending on the funds that came in. This is why most of the mosque appeared to be under construction, whilst awaiting funds)

The lack of instruments was against us, and so was time. We only brought 6 sets with us, so every time we finished using a set, we had to wait for that set to be cleaned and sterilized. And since we were racing against time, there were 5 ports for khatans being set up. By the time we finished 17 boys, most of our supplies ran out.

Nevertheless it was a great experience. We had 3 Cambodian students helping us out, currently pursuing their studies in Jogjakarta. Azie and Fatimah are both doing medicine while Tisom is doing pharmacy. They could speak Indonesian-Malay and had been a tremendous help to us especially since we can’t speak a word of Cham or Khmer. (Though we did eventually picked up a few words along the way)

By the time we got back from the kampong, everyone was so tired but the day was far from over. There are still some things to sort out before tomorrow’s mobile clinic. And Dr Sulaiman has already warned that the mobile clinic would be way busier and more hectic than today’s sunaton.

And we shall find that out for sure tomorrow…

Unfortunately En Man Shukri had to go back to Phnom Penh already, after helping us so much with the logistics since we first arrived. He left us under the care of Dr Sulaiman and Dr Muslim.

We were sad to watch him leave; after all that he had done for us and all that we’ve been through together.

to be continued...