(Cambodia AIDS Project)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
home l staff l background l death and funeral
mortuaries l patient portraits l patient stories
resettlement site l papers l links l donations
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(Cambodia AIDS Project) Phnom Penh, Cambodia home l staff l background l death and funeral mortuaries l patient portraits l patient stories resettlement site l papers l links l donations |
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| National AIDS Hospital (Roussey) Mortuary In 2003 the mortuary attendants at the National AIDS Hospital (Roussey) where we visit asked us to do something about the space, which was empty and dirty. They asked for an urn and incense. We provided a large Buddha, urns, incense, flowers, candles and small candles and incense to be placed with corpses. Twice a month on the new moon and full moon precept days we go to the mortuary, clean it, purify it with incense and amritta (Tibetan Buddhist medicine for the spirit made with herbs and chanting) and do a chanting service. Over time the mortuary has acquired a warm beauty which all of us appreciate. The biweekly service is one we look forward to and are grateful for. During Pchhum Benh, the annual days of remembrance for the dead, we perform more elaborate services, including chanting the names of all those who have died during the year and burning the cards we make for each of them. Sometimes there are bodies in the mortuary when we arrive. This happened both times our photographer, Bennett Stevens, was present. One was a man who had come to the AIDS ward from the tuberculosis ward the night before. Beth had seen him there. The second person was a young woman we all knew well. She had been on antiretrovirals for 22 days but received them too late for them to save her life. Her mother was with her and participated in the ceremonies for her with us before taking her body back to their village. |
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Chea Chum Neas Mortuary From the time we began working in Chea Chum Neas hospital in 2006 we wanted to do something to make their desolate and neglected mortuary an appropriate space for the newly dead and for those who mourn them. In 2008, thanks to Fireflies, a Singaporean Buddhist Charitable organization, we were able to bulldoze the filth; renovate the building and roof; have pictures of the Buddha painted for the vestibule and for the inner room where the bodies are kept; bring some potted plants; and clean and restore the space. The photos show the building in several stages of renovation and during two ceremonies. The first ceremony was informal on the day we finished installing the plants and doing basic cleaning. We were honored to have Ching Porn, the head of a nearby Vipassana center and a close friend of the late Samdech Maha Ghosananda, join us for chanting and give a short Dhamma talk. The second, more formal ceremony took place when Fireflies returned to Cambodia in late March. Two monks from the Salvation Centre Cambodia organization and an achar we have known a very long time (he is the one caring for the bones of Vy’s child in the website section on funerals) conducted the ceremony, including an eye opening for the Buddha picture. We were honored once again to have Ching Porn present, as well as two representatives from Fireflies, representatives from the hospital and others from Salvation Centre Cambodia. Following the ceremony we assisted Fireflies in distributing packages of necessities and money to all the patients, caring for the living as well as the dead. The photo of the broken statue in the desolate mortuary is by Bennett Stevens. The rest of the photos are by Beth Goldring. |
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Bennett Stevens 2005/2006. Used with gratitude.