Brandt Hoekenga, the Co-CEO and Creative Director for TIV Branding, traveled to Cambodia and worked on several projects we’re involved in. His experiences affected him in a way he didn’t expect. Here, shared with his permission, are his reflections on his time in Cambodia:
Several years ago we developed a brand and website for a non-profit that works to improve the lives of people in East Asia. It’s pretty easy as a designer and marketer to make things look pretty and never really understand the impact that your work can make. I always (always) say, “We don’t do brain surgery. But what we do can really make a difference in our clients’ worlds.”
So when were invited to visit Cambodia and participate in helping several of the projects that Cambodia Impact is involved in, we jumped at the chance. My plan was to write a blog about how fully immersing ones self in a brand is powerful. But I had no idea how powerful it would be. And instead, my blog turned into this. It’s not about our business. It’s about humans. Luckily humans benefit in some small way from our business.
THE IMPACT OF CAMBODIA
In a country, so blessed with beauty, it’s hard to ignore the ugly that stares at you everywhere you go in Cambodia. But as is so often true, the ugly is only skin deep. The love that connects Cambodia’s people and the smiles that give you a glimpse into that love is everywhere, and that’s the true beauty of this place.
The painful history of Cambodia is fresh. I feel the same pain so near the surface that I felt when talking to the people of St Petersburg Russian when I visited over a decade ago. The Russians talked about the Nazi blockade of what was then Leningrad, and the million people that died as a result, like it had happened only a couple of years ago. The Cambodian people experienced a tragedy that was more recent, with three times more deaths, but they talk about it in a different way. The pain is the same, but the anger that rose to the surface when talking to the Russians is replaced by sadness when talking to Cambodians.
Perhaps it’s because the genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge was inflicted upon Cambodians by other Cambodians. Perhaps it’s because the rulers of the country that are still in power were part of that genocide and the sadness is an acceptance that retribution may never be had. Or perhaps it’s just the Cambodian way. There’s an intrinsic kindness that’s like nowhere I’ve ever been.
The way of life is like nothing I’ve ever seen. There’s an attitude that seems to permeate everything from the dealings with vendors at the market, to the way traffic flows in what appears to be a totally easy going and unstructured way. Stop signs are practically nonexistent or otherwise ignored. Instead, people wait until they feel as though they’ve waited long enough and then slowly begin to pull out into oncoming traffic. Oncoming traffic appears to understand that they’ve waited long enough and without any annoyance, or reaction at all for that matter, it parts. There’s an understood hierarchy that gives the biggest trucks the right of way all the way down to the pedestrians. But there’s also an underlying acceptance that everyone’s trying to get where they need to go, so why not let them go in front of you.
I started our time in Cambodia feeling anxious. I had no idea what to expect as we drove from the airport to the hotel. Garbage was everywhere. People lounged in hammocks in structures I can only describe as shacks. Although to call them that seems disrespectful, because they are homes. And right next to those homes are other homes that would be considered nice if they were down the street in my hometown. But, there’s a sense of acceptance that puts any anxiety aside. The poverty of most of the neighborhoods would correlate directly with a lack of safety in the United States. The kind of neighborhood where you would expect to be mugged back home is home to restaurants filled with tourists in Cambodia, where a walk, even at night, feels without worry. The people seem fine with what they have and more importantly what they don’t have. And they don’t seem to want what we have unless it’s in exchange for goods or services.
Outside the cities and into the villages there’s an immediate jump back many decades, with the exception of cell phone stands made of reclaimed wood and rusted corrugated roofing. They sit side-by-side with similar structures selling produce that was picked nearby and carried to the highway for sale the way people have sold produce for hundreds of years. It’s a stark contrast between today’s technology and the way people lived many decades ago. These little reminders of new technology stick out like a sore thumb, but they aren’t the focus of the people, just another tool to get through the day to day in a harsh and unforgiving place.
The kids are kids like anyplace else in the world. If you wave at an onlooking child as you walk by, they smile and wave back. And when we’re in the village, they look timidly to make sure they’re welcome and then rush in for hugs once they’re encouraged with a smile. Languages that don’t match up are quickly replaced with physical touch and pointing. In the end, the communication centers around how best to achieve simple tasks, and a touch on the arm with a smile and nod serves as well, if not better, than a spoken “Good job!”
When we are lucky enough to have Cambodian people to interact with who speak English, they are as kind as the smiles of those who don’t. Our guide turns out to have been a Buddhist monk for 7 years before leaving to become a tour guide and translator so he could make enough money to help support his family’s farm. He is amongst the most excited to learn what we’re teaching and participates in every task with as much enthusiasm as the kids, coloring worksheets with animals two by two, doing crafts portraying the parting of the red seas…all the while asking questions because he believes understanding other people’s beliefs will make him a better and more kind person. He’s well above most I’ve met already, so the fact that he wants to improve is a comment on the kind of person he aspires to be.
He reveals more about himself as we spend our 10 days together. We struggle with his name when we first meet in the lobby of our hotel on our first trip out to see the temples. He introduces himself as Prathna, but you can call him Brad Pitt. We misunderstand his name through his thick Khmer accent and say we’ll call him Mr. B. And we do so for days before we finally read his first name on a crown he makes with the kids and realizes what his name actually is. We’ve been calling Mr. P, Mr. B for days and he is too kind to correct us!
Perhaps the most striking example of the contrast with beauty and poverty is the trash that litters the land. Magnificent landscapes stretch out behind piles of garbage. And the people seem to toss any and all trash on the ground. It feels like an insignificant action, but it’s an indication of the lack of cleanliness that contributes to the coughs that many of the children have. We squirt disinfectant into their tiny hands before sharing snacks every day in hopes that they will understand. But it seems to be another accepted way of life for the Cambodian people.
In a tuk-tuk ride through Siem Reap, Christy comments that everywhere we go there are groups of people sitting together and talking. That the community is amazing and as Americans, with our tendency to close ourselves into houses and block out the rest of the world, there’s something about that ability to relax in conversation with each other every day that is so endearing. It’s the same culture that sees generation after generation living together and taking care of each other.
As we fly away from Cambodia, I’m struck with a question. What do I do with this? How do I take this amazing experience and apply it to my everyday life? It seems like not doing so would be like being handed a treasure and then locking it up in a dark safe never to enjoy its beauty. So many lessons learned and so many things seen that shouldn’t be forgotten.
My biggest takeaways:
One of the biggest things I’ve gained is a clearer understanding of the power of spirituality. Perhaps that’s a subject for another day because there’s a lot to be said. I do know there were a lot of misconceptions cleared up for me. And a lot of beauty in the motivation for the work we did. Above all, it helped me understand my family and why they are so devoted. I now understand how the guidance from strong beliefs can take away many of the questions people face daily and allow people to start two steps ahead. That’s a beautiful thing, to have a purpose every morning when you wake up, especially when that purpose is to do good in this world.
My other big takeaway is confirmation of something I’ve always believed, but something I’ve never done anything about: We are all just humans. These kids, growing up in what we would consider squalor, are no different than the kids that grow up in what Cambodians would consider opulence in my town. They were just born into a different culture and a different situation. They’re just as smart. They’re just as kind. They have just learned a different set of rules and were dealt a different set of opportunities, and that’s what makes them seem so foreign until you interact with them one on one, face-to-face, in a truly personal way. It seems the world has forgotten this, whether it’s because of the misconceptions we were raised with our whole lives, or the news that beats us down every day. We forget that we’re all the same and I’m reminded we’ve forgotten this way too often. What felt like progress to build a foundation on in the past, now seems precarious. And it reminds me that there’s so much work left to be done.
So I guess if there was one thing to do, it would be to do what I can to teach those people I come in contact with about my learnings on this trip. When people ask, tell them the truth about what I learned, not just about the tourist’s perspective. When I have the chance, reinforce what I’ve learned with my son Tage and make it a part of our everyday thinking. And above all, help do what I can to promote the idea that we are all just humans and we need to treat each other better. It doesn’t matter what color, what religion, what culture or what nationality, we are all the same and only love and respect will bring this world together.