Cultural Views of Community
I have to say that there are many things I had to overcome in going to Cambodia. Most of the things were attitudes which I had to be willing to lay down so that I could learn new views. One of the aspects of culture that hit me first was that of community. I realized immediately that individualism is looked down upon. The basis of Khmer culture is relationship. The language clearly portrays the relationship between all aspects of the community. Maintaining peaceful relationships is very important to Cambodians, so cooperation, conforming to the status quo and communal living is essential and consistently practiced in Cambodian communities.
When I first moved in, Cambodians could not understand my insistence on doing things myself in my home. Helpers, whether they are older children, nieces, aunts or neighbors, are essential parts of every Cambodian home. Cambodian women told me time and time again that foreigners who did not want to hire locals to clean their houses or cook their food made Cambodians feel like they (the foreigners) did not trust Cambodians or want to have a relationship with Cambodians. Also, Cambodians viewed people who wanted to do everything themselves as foolish. At first I thought they viewed it as pride, but that was my cultural interpretation. Cambodians really have no concept of individualism or its connection with pride. No, they simply see it as foolishness – the ignorant acts of someone who has not been trained to understand the value of community – or more seriously, the acts of someone who is deliberately choosing to reject the community.
There are so many examples where my clashes with Cambodian hospitality, working practices, living arrangements, learning patterns and world view exposed my American upbringing. My culture says: I need privacy; I need to do things on my own; I need to be self-sufficient; innovation and creativity are praiseworthy; I deserve what I earn; success is based on my abilities alone; etc. In contrast, depending on others, doing the same as others do and have done over the generations; rejecting a need for privacy; having two do the job one person could do . . . Westerners often label these traits as negative, inefficient, or rude. Yet it is these traits that help to maintain Cambodian culture, and more specifically, the peace and order within the community.
Who can really argue that cooperation, sharing with each other and esteeming the good of the community over the desire of the individual are bad traits? Even Aristotle promoted such ideals. I believe that Americans could learn a lot from this ethic rather than looking down on those who admit their weaknesses and need for help. In fact I have heard many Americans claim that we as America or Americans really don’t need any help at all. No matter how mighty we think we are, the reality is that we all really do need help – we can’t get through life all by ourselves in a healthy way. We need each other within the community, both locally and globally speaking. I wonder how much closer we could come to living peacefully as Americans if we were humble enough to admit that?
When I first moved in, Cambodians could not understand my insistence on doing things myself in my home. Helpers, whether they are older children, nieces, aunts or neighbors, are essential parts of every Cambodian home. Cambodian women told me time and time again that foreigners who did not want to hire locals to clean their houses or cook their food made Cambodians feel like they (the foreigners) did not trust Cambodians or want to have a relationship with Cambodians. Also, Cambodians viewed people who wanted to do everything themselves as foolish. At first I thought they viewed it as pride, but that was my cultural interpretation. Cambodians really have no concept of individualism or its connection with pride. No, they simply see it as foolishness – the ignorant acts of someone who has not been trained to understand the value of community – or more seriously, the acts of someone who is deliberately choosing to reject the community.
There are so many examples where my clashes with Cambodian hospitality, working practices, living arrangements, learning patterns and world view exposed my American upbringing. My culture says: I need privacy; I need to do things on my own; I need to be self-sufficient; innovation and creativity are praiseworthy; I deserve what I earn; success is based on my abilities alone; etc. In contrast, depending on others, doing the same as others do and have done over the generations; rejecting a need for privacy; having two do the job one person could do . . . Westerners often label these traits as negative, inefficient, or rude. Yet it is these traits that help to maintain Cambodian culture, and more specifically, the peace and order within the community.
Who can really argue that cooperation, sharing with each other and esteeming the good of the community over the desire of the individual are bad traits? Even Aristotle promoted such ideals. I believe that Americans could learn a lot from this ethic rather than looking down on those who admit their weaknesses and need for help. In fact I have heard many Americans claim that we as America or Americans really don’t need any help at all. No matter how mighty we think we are, the reality is that we all really do need help – we can’t get through life all by ourselves in a healthy way. We need each other within the community, both locally and globally speaking. I wonder how much closer we could come to living peacefully as Americans if we were humble enough to admit that?
posted by Gecko Girl at
7:48 AM
2 Comments:
All there is a whole lot to say about the issue, but I would like to comment on how our (we Americans) cultural bais, which as been shaped by Reformation enabled capitalist and Enlightment values effects the way we operate in the world. What often makes us effective (competion, effiency, initiate, thrift, time, critical and analytical thinking)in our own American culture are often our own worst enemies in other cultures which are more right brained and not so affected the Protestant Reformation's part in the creation of capitalism. In order to function in the Cambodian Community, you have reliquinsh control. You have to embrace the notion that many things are out your control and that is ok. Cambodians live in a world that is out of their control. Politicians, military, police, nature, and spirits have control over them, so they naturally learn to depend on each other, or obtain the power to control what has been controlling them. For the foreigner, we need to learn that we don't have to be in control. Our need to control everything is an obstacle of having effective impact on the Cambodian society. The more we examine our cultural biases as listed above, and adjust them to living in an 'out of control' system, we will be better able to operate in that system and have an impact through actually empowering the Cambodians to things themselves instead of us being the 'one in control.' It is true we often hold more knowledge, finances, skills, and other resources, but the question is how to we make these thing available with being in control? How do we become servants of Cambodian? Of course I don't have all the answers but I do know that by examining our cultural baises to see how they serve as obstacles in our service to Cambodians is one step. Part of that process is relinquishing the desire to control everything from our own life, happiness, situation, etc., to the lives of others.
By
Anonymous, at 5:23 PM, January 31, 2006
Excellent point about control. That is certainly a huge part of the picture. Thanks for that comment! Also, don't worry about having all the answers, your experience and perspective certainly add valuable insights which give more depth and breadth to my thoughts. Thanks!
By
Gecko Girl, at 7:33 AM, February 01, 2006
Post a Comment
<< Home