There are some people in this world who dedicate there life to helping others and there are some people who dedicate their life to helping themselves. It is this second category that makes my heart bleed. These people are not specified by age, money or race. They are just as they are and something needs to change.
I have always been aware of this but at certain times you are confronted by a situation that again reinforces the selfishness of these people. No matter how many times you witness such events it never increases your understanding of why people are like this. I know for me, my frustration and anger only builds but leaves me powerless all the same.
Yesterday I was again presented by a situation that boils my blood just thinking about it. I was at the learning centre, where i volunteer each afternoon when I noticed a small Khmer girl shyly pop her head around the door. She would have been no older than two, dressed in little sundress that was covered in dirty. Her face was dirty and her eyes looked almost distant. I didn't notice it straight away, but the girl had a horrible cut on the forehead. Quite fresh. The dried blood surrounding it camouflaged into her dark Khmer skin and the dirt on her face.
When I looked closer, I could see that she had only done it sometime that afternoon. I couldn't ask her what happened, I dont speak Khmer. But I knew that the woman sitting at the table taking part in a free english class could speak enough English to help me help the little girl. All I wanted her to do was explain to the girl that I was going to clean her forehead and put on a bandaide. In the situation, that is all I could do. But at least it would stop a potential infection.
The woman who was well dressed, definitely not from the local community, refused to leave her FREE english for two minutes, that is all it would have taken. But she would not help. Obviously to her learning english is much more beneficial for her. She is not going to make money in Cambodia by helping others but she will if she speaks good enough English. Or was it that the child was poor, much to far below the womans own social class and therefore didn't deserve her help.
By this stage my blood was boiling and I very bluntly said, "I'll do it by myself then". None of the other volunteers got up to help me.
The little girl was quite willing to hold my hand and come outside with me. She knew I was going to help her. Usually Khmer children are very shy on first meetings but not this time. Her face was expressionless and her eyes still distant.
Luckily the centre has a partly stoked first aide kit, so I had gloves and the basic things I needed. I'm no nurse so I didn't neeed much. As I was cleaning the area around the wound I realised that I forgot to get disinfectant. As I looked up from what I was doing there was a god damn Australian volunteer (who really had been no use at), with her camera stuck in our faces, getting for the perfect photo shot. A great photo to show her friends when she got home. And now she could say "Look at the great work that I was involved in when I helped the poor kids". Ha. It wasn't as though this was scary enough for the girl already. At this point this didn't both me to much, it was when I asked her to get the disinfectant and her face went blank. As if to say "you want me to help?" I ended up getting it myself.
So how is it that people can be so useless, and heartless. I thought at first it was a Khmer thing. People dont help others here. Its ever man for himself. Sometimes I can undderstand this. It is how they have had to be to ensure they survive and feed their families but its not right. But for that forienger woman, there's no excuse for that. I guess sometimes human being are just selfish. Thank god, we are not all like that. But it would be nice to wake up tomorrow and change this one feature within the world. Wouldn't that be nice.
