Opinion: Cambodia will break your heart

Cambodian women hold their children as they wait near a hospital in Phnom Penh, June 18, 2007. (Chor Sokunthea/Reuters)

And, with a corrupt Ministry of Health, it sure won't heal what ails you either.

December 9, 2009
By Joel Brinkley
GlobalPost

PALO ALTO, California — James and Cara Garcia say they just wanted to do some good. She’s a registered nurse, he’s an emergency medical technician, working in South Carolina, and last year they found themselves on vacation in Cambodia, indulging Cara’s new interest in Theravada Buddhism.

Suddenly Cara was seized with the idea of uprooting their lives, moving to Cambodia and opening a health clinic for the poor. Her husband eventually agreed, and without realizing it, they stepped into a drama that proved Joseph Mussomeli’s prophetic warning about the state.

Mussomeli was the United States ambassador to Cambodia from 2005 to 2008. While there, he would tell visitors: “Be careful because Cambodia is the most dangerous place you will ever visit. You will fall in love with it, and eventually it will break your heart.” In a country where NGO scams are not unknown, the Garcia's story was found to be true.
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