Marady OUM (APSARA National Authority)

During my fellowship at the CSEAS’ library from September 2025 to February 2026, my counterpart, Minami Tosa, kindly advised and arranged visits for me at different libraries, including the Asian Research Library of the University of Tokyo, where I met Aki Tanaka and her colleagues on the 21st of January 2026. The weather was very cold, but my heart felt warm when Aki showed me some paintings drawn in 2007 by Khmer students in Cambodia in 3 different schools in Battambang province: O Pong Moan Primary School, Samdach Chea Sim Primary School, and Preah Monivong High School. She also sent me the link to view other paintings of students of the three schools, collected in 2025 by Mr. Pel Dora, a researcher at CARDI (Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute), with the involvement of Professor Akihiko Kamoshita, Professor, Lab of Regional Resource Reassessment, Asian BioResource and Environmental Science Center of Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences (U Tokyo).

In general, I feel that their artworks are quite simple but creative. To express their ideas, children drew lines to create different 2D shapes and filled them with colors they believed natural and alike. Some talented pictures even show the perspective of space and object arrangement. As for my understanding, all the paintings of 2007 share similar points of view regarding what they like and dislike. Children illustrate their lifestyle in a peaceful environment, including the scenic landscape of their house, the countryside village, school. Most of the time, we see mountains, rice fields, farms with vegetables and animals, ponds, people doing different activities, including working, sightseeing, and playing. This proves that we simply need the basic needs to enjoy life.

Samdach Chea Sim Primary School

 

However, some kids’ drawings demonstrate bad behaviors and souvenirs they might experience by themselves, see, or hear around them. Landmines, deforestation, domestic violence, drug use, gambling, hygiene, pollution, hunting, wars… are the elements that concern them. Those pictures recall some of my souvenirs from the 1990s when I was a child. For instance, afraid of landmines left from the Khmer Rouge Regime, my mom always told me to be careful not to go off the beaten track. Moreover, I was also living in a village where people enjoyed drinking, smoking, and playing gambling, which sometimes led to domestic violence. My mom told me that “if I don’t want to see or experience this kind of situation, just work hard at school and find a good job”.

O Pong Moan Primary School

 

Regarding the painting of 2025, students at O Pong Moan Primary school recall the same concerns as in 2007, while some paintings depict what just happened during and after the recent conflict at the Khmer-Thailand border. Meanwhile, students at two other schools show more concern about environmental issues. Their artworks stressed the fact that our planet suffers from human activities such as deforestation, rubbish management, air pollution from factories and transportation, water pollution, and many others. Global warming and its causes are affecting our daily lives. As a consequence, the weather is becoming hotter while flood occurs occasionally. Trash management is another hot topic. I remember that in the 1990s, in my hometown in Siem Reap, there was no use of plastic. We went to the market with a basket; meat or vegetables were packed in banana or lotus leaves; we brought bowls or plates from home for takeaway food. But now, every single item is packed with one plastic product or even two. The problem is that after usage, those plastics are thrown away everywhere, even in the water, in the atmosphere or under the ground, causing pollution, diseases, and infertile soil. Preah Monivong High School

 

Among many others, I really like the picture of a student depicting children in school uniform. It demonstrates different future careers children may wish. Looking back to the history of the country, we, the Cambodian people, have been through too much, and our life situation is still evolving. I am personally so happy to see young students believing in education for a better life. A good opportunity in academic life will make changes in many aspects for the development of our family and country. 

O Pong Moan Primary School

dd.Feb.2026