Why the caged bird sings...

by School of Vice

They say you can't keep a good man down, and they are right. They say you can't deceive the wise, and they are right too. But, what we have before us all and been privileged enough to witness [if one may use that adjective 'privilege' to describe our shared good fortune in our life time under these otherwise less than happy of circumstances] is something quite truly extraordinary altogether and one that defies even our loftiest expectations of men out of what benign forces - of Nature or their Maker - are thus disposed to elevate them above the rest of mankind or their fellows. 

And we are not even talking about a man, but a thoroughly simple woman with all her physical frailties; a young mother, a housewife with no grander worldly aspirations or political ambitions worthy of being nominated for an Oscar or prestigious global award, nor a woman who harbours economic opportunities of her own judging by the manner in which she immerses herself in the daily threat of arrest and random physical violence at the hands of the thugs on the streets who accompany her every move and keep her within their unrequited and obsessive gaze. 

She has neither been catapulted to her present fame or renown by the conventional inclinations of a 'good man', nor the acquired wisdom through formal education better privileged among her sisters around the world can be said to have benefited from on their rise to public platform and prominence. On the contrary, her star quality is entirely unique and quite indefinable. Even among those of her sisters at home with slightly better economic means would have thought twice and hard in choosing to have their residence within the vicinity of Boeung Kak, a suburban 'slum' the authorities claim stands in the way of their vision of 'development' by means of powerful rotten officials and deep corporate pockets. 

That quality is something that is found in her rather than given and which alone defines her person and marks her apart from her peers; that spark of divinity in her soul and the spiritual imprint of a saint that propel her above and beyond all the cultural impurities of her milieu and above all, the inhumanities of her fellow humans. Just listen to her pleading with authorities before she was physically snatched off her feet by a man in uniform and bundled into a police van and feel her agony and raw emotions - all spontaneous and unforced. 

It is as if a great soul is being torn apart between the expectations of Heaven and the banal evil and cruelties of this world of ours.  

Ms Tep Vanny making her acceptance speech at 'Vital Voices' award ceremony

Post by Sam Rainsy.