Back in Bali

We stopped in Kuala Lumpur on our way home – yes, I instinctively referred to Bali as home! – and it was strangely nice being in a developed city. Comforting, even. I think I kind of miss the luxuries and the familiarity of Western cities.

It is even stranger being back in Bali. It feels like being home, but it also feels safe and emotionally neutral in comparison to Cambodia – no recent and tangible memories of death. Well, at least nothing comparable to the widespread genocide under the Khmer Rouge. Despite how safe and comfortable Bali feels, Cambodia lingers on my mind. I applied for a human rights education position with Live and Learn, an organization works to promote access to land and forests for the Cambodian people. I felt grossly unqualified, but I know that my heart is in it and that I could learn fast enough to fill the position.

I didn’t think it would be Cambodia that would shake the human rights activist in me awake again. But it has. In my last months in Montreal, running away from my responsibilities with Students for a Free Tibet, I thought I had lost the passion and the drive to do human rights work. My experiences in Cambodia proved to me that my passion is still there. Maybe all it took was a break and a change of scenery to make me feel it again.