SINGAPORE (Feb 7): The 2017 film by Angelina Jolie – First They Killed My Father – captures the plight of a Cambodian family during the reign of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), or better known as the Khmer Rouge. Millions died under the regime which lasted from 1975 to 1979. One of them was James Bun Yong Roeun’s father.
Growing up, Roeun and his five siblings endured a life scarred by bloodshed and deprivation. Yet, he shows little bitterness when asked about the past. Instead, the 43-year-old tour guide turned bed and breakfast (B&B) owner channels his energy into welcoming tourists to his popular homestay in Siem Reap, immersing them in Khmer family life and the spectacle that is Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world.
He has also spearheaded a groundup effort to build a school in Phoumi Thnot, a village 15km outside Siem Reap. The village is home to some 176 families, most of whom work in construction earning just US$10 a day. Children play barefoot among discarded tyres with little access to education. “There are no schools within 10km around here,” Roeun says.
In 2018, he turned to crowdfunding and private donations to set up the school. Roeun has since raised US$15,000 for his Learning to Share Centre from donors all over the world, many of whom he befriended through his homestay and his time as a tour guide. Due to be completed by end February, the school will serve over 70 children ranging in age from five to 15 years. “I built the school because in my early childhood, I had no opportunity to attend school,” he adds. He believes that only education can break the cycle of poverty in Cambodia.
I met Roeun 15 years ago on my first trip to Siem Reap with my husband. Rolling our bags into the arrival hall, Roeun approached us, offering to be our guide. Over the next week, he impressed us with his encyclopedic knowledge of the temples, weaving history, folklore and archaeology to bring to life the chronicles behind the bas-reliefs and sculptures. He even introduced us to amok fish – a Cambodian culinary treasure – and gave us a window into the strength of his Buddhist faith.
After completing school, Roeun joined a monastery where he learnt ascetic discipline as well as English from the monks. He then decided to become a teacher, a vocation he enjoyed tremendously. When tourism began taking off in 2002, he answered a call by the state for Khmers who could speak foreign languages. He got licensed as a guide and went on to carve a stellar reputation, even winning bronze (third place) in the 2014 Wanderlust World Guide Awards. “When I first got the email, I thought it was a scam,” he says. The organisers flew him to London to receive the GBP1,000 prize.