by Cédric Jancloes (Belgium), UNV Documentary Specialist

06 March 1998

Bonn, Germany: One of the privileges of working as a UNV in a country like Cambodia is that you can really share an exposure to human experiences. Working as a Documentary Specialist with Cambodia’s National Television, I feel compelled to share with you in turn some of the things I am working on at the moment.

But first a bit of background: my name is Cedric Jancloes and I am from Belgium (although I have almost never lived there!). I have been working as a UNV in Cambodia for the last two years, helping TVK (TV Kampuchea) to produce educational and cultural videos. This allows me to meet a lot of people from many different backgrounds. Since my Khmer language needs a lot of polishing, I’m grateful that colleagues working with me on the films we make are multilingual! I thank these counterparts for the feedback that makes my daily living in Cambodia so much more exciting.

As you might expect, the biggest problem in this field of work is the lack of resources and equipment needed in order to match the wonders of modern-day TV. Thankfully, the first element essential to film-making is the crew: things really get moving when the team spirit is there. Thanks to the creativity and support of the staff at TVK and of numerous friends, we have now built up a little editing table: we acquire programmes from all over the world and are able to dub them for broadcasting in Khmer. We have also arranged for bi-weekly broadcasting of the UNDP/Azimuths reportages and we promote many other programmes, too. We produce many different TV magazines of our own in a variety of fields and we have played a part in various important information campaigns (on birth-spacing, HIV/AIDS, ecology, and the upcoming census).

Working in the media, I have the opportunity to filter great amounts of information. So, in a sort of a way, you could say that, like most volunteers, I too have got close to the realities, despite being stuck in editing rooms most of the time. All in all, it has been an incredible experience. But a few months ago, I struck even luckier than usual.

In April last, over three hundred volunteers (mainly Buddhist monks) walked their way into Cambodia’s tense process of reconciliation. Travelling the country’s roads for a sixth year in succession, the Dhammayetra (pilgrimage of truth) went forth to give messages of peace and to spread compassion. Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan describes in One Million Kilometers for Peace how this "army of peace" brings people together from all over Cambodia to participate in a "new cultural ritual of remembering through the creation of new collective memories". Rebuilding the foundations of a non-violent culture through non-violence and solidarity, the Buddhist walk consciously arranges to take in zones of military activity, in order to share the dangers experienced by the local people and to highlight the suffering which is caused by violence.

After a week, as we were walking deep inside ex-Khmer Rouge territory, I heard my self thinking: "Why on earth am I here?; and, for that matter, why am I eating noisy (well, they had been noisy!) bullfrogs?" Well, by now I have thought of a variety of possible answers to the first question (I’ll leave you to guess about the second one!). The most sensible answer I can think of is that, very much like these Buddhist volunteers, UNVs’ achievements throughout the world are guided by the strong spirit of human partnership. I am now convinced of the power of that formula. New alliances based on a common desire for people’s social well-being rapidly bear fruit.

Sometimes this can be experienced most unexpectedly. On that journey, I soon came to realise this. The walk ended in Bantey Chmah temple. A few paces away, in April 1993, Japanese UNV Atsuhito Nakata had tragically come to the end of his road. Yet, five years on, volunteers still continue with peace initiatives and with outreach to eradicate suffering and poverty. It is not an easy task but, as they say here, you get there one step at a time. I feel very grateful and honored to be a part of this process and of the ideals which the UNV programme represents.

By the way, the films we made on the walk are coming out very well. We hope to offer a good glimpse of this challenging journey, with a televised travelogue in five 20-minute episodes: "The Mines Inside" , about the landmines; "The Seedlings", about the children and education; "Building Bridges", on reconciliation; "The Mother of Peace", on the environment and the sufferings of women; and "The Army of Peace" on meditation and Buddhist action for peace - this last one has already been broadcast on national TV. Over 15,000 flyers promoting this travelogue and its background music "Sounds of the Walk" are being sent throughout the world to networks of people friendly to Cambodia. While TVK is looking for the right occasion to air the series here, the individual episodes are already being used elsewhere. One was screened at UNESCO’s Conference in Paris and "The Mines Inside" was shown in December at the successful Landmines congress in Ottawa.

Looking back, all that sleeping in hammocks under the stars and eating the bullfrogs with the monks in temples was well worthwhile! I learned a lot more about Cambodian Buddhism, and the many latent strengths of the Khmer people. Just in case any reader knows of a possible source - we still need funding to enable us to put together a proper studio with the necessary equipment, and to produce within the next two years more than a hundred magazine reportages and at least twelve documentaries on Khmer culture.