Friday, August 03, 2012

Exam Season 2012: Students praying to pass their exam - Video and photos by Theary Seng

It's high school exit exam season in Cambodia on this 02 August 2012. This video was taken at Preah Ang Dorng Keur in front of the Royal Palace. The building houses a stone statue of Avalokitsvara from the Angkor era. The students come here to pray so that they may pass the exam. Is studying for the exam optional?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt-4GwvkjLU

What you see in the video:

Hundreds of students praying in front of palace for their exams this Thursday (All Photos: Theary Seng)
Hundreds of students praying on Sisowath Quay for their exams
Piles of lotus flowers discarded after students pray for their exams this Thursday
Exam time! Students praying...
 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some body need to examine the students why they need to go to such wortless ritual and exspect success. It would be better to pray that Cambodia would have so much jobs and not enought workers to fill all the need in every areena

Anonymous said...

បើមិនមានទំលាប់ឥចឹង​ ​តើត្រូវ ធ្វើយ៉ាងណា ? អាចជួយឲ្សអ្នកលក់ ផ្កា ទៀន ផូរ មានលុយដាក់ចូល​​​​​ កាបូក ហា!! ហា!!

Mr. Ha

Anonymous said...

What a crazy tiny evil land!!!

Anonymous said...

Long time ago, I also said the same thing. But late, try try to understand and situation of all natural and free expression of the people.
Please let my Khmer people in peace and my country is not a crazy country as you said.
Only Communist system did not have the religions or believes.

How about you own country ?

Anonymous said...

Why to pay bribes to pass the exams and pray for success same time?

Is this crazy or not?

Anonymous said...

Aide tois ,le ciel t'aidera .God is
truth.God can't save ,but money.

Anonymous said...

I did a different way. Before the last high school's baccalaureate exam, I pray Uncle Sam's greenbatch($20, 50,and 100 bill) then offer them to the exam officials, then take off for a full night party at friend house. two days later, it was surely, I passed. NOT BAD AT ALL !!!
100% guarantee success or money back when you offer those officials the God of uncle Sam's Greenbatch.

Anonymous said...

What about crossing the hand on the chest from right to left and from the forehead up and down or put the palms together before supper? It is called BELIEF, IDIOT!

Anonymous said...

12:45 PM

My country is a heavenly Kingdom of BRUNEI.

Your country will never have peace.

Anonymous said...

8:21 PM
A jerk like yourself love to talk nonsense. Yeahh you are so proud for being stupid. Barking like a crazy dog is your first name is it not?

This corruption is not from the students or teachers it is from the top. Hun Sen and hsi wife both are uneducated but they received plenty of PhD degrees (Push Hard Deeper). Their children went to school at oversea, but money and power they got degrees. Hun Manet, Hun Sen'
s step son was a very bad student, bottom of his class.

Teachers cannot earn money to feed their families, so you see.

Anonymous said...

9:04 PM
No, you got it all wrong. Since you barbaric Cambodians are good with trash talk, let me correct you with "sign of the cross".

The sign of Cross: When one says:
- In the Name of the "Father", his or her finger points to forehead.
-The "Son", his or her finger points to the upper chest below the neck.
-The "Holy Spirit", his or her finger points to the left shoulder then to the right shoulder.

I am not Christian of Catholic denomination, but I explore my self to read and learn about other belief.

Anonymous said...

12:22,
Oh this will surely help. Shut the fuck up!! This isn't a place for you to try and convert others for your belief!
If your god is mightier then other, why doesn't everybody pray to him/her?

Anonymous said...

12:39 AM
I replied to correct the barbaric Cambodians @ 8:21 PM and 9:04 PM. You got the problem?
Read careful before you wrote a stupid reply.

I would not mind to converse with your barbaric Cambodian like yourself. After all the whole world knew that barbaric Cambodian like yourself deserve barbaric leader like Hun Sen. You cannot deny that.

Anonymous said...

12:39 am
Their God must be the Mightiest that is why their nations are powerful and wealthy not miserable like Khmers, while a tiny Kingdom is fallen to Yuon for ever.

Anonymous said...

8:21 PM
I bet you live in the US. Your mockery intended to mock the cheaters, but you misled the public who read yours think that you attack American people whose 92% believe in GOD.

You better get your US citizen fast. Because the US love so much to deport all Cambodians back to Cambodia if they get a chance to do so.

Anonymous said...

Sure, most of us do believe in God.
From pagoda to Church and mosque alike. Money plays big role in livelihood of those worship places. Pray to heaven and money fall from the sky!!!
Pragmatic thinking. God of money speak a big vloume. In Cambodia again the God of Greenbatch makes the talk and guides the way to hell or prosper and both...

Thanks for comrade in arm's concern. My situation is all set. No worry about deportation and nothing to worry as I got through US higher education without a hitch. Thanks God of Greenbatch to pay for my tuition and fees.

Anonymous said...

My Beloved Sister SENG THEARY,
Please do your parents and ancestors a favor leave this ritual offering to ease our own KHMER spirits including your late families who lost their innocent lives to our own KHMER KIILING FIELDS.
You have your own belief but resprect orher faith as well

Anonymous said...

1:41 AM
M'am!
GOD does not need our money. He has a universe and we have too little. Since we communicate with each others through gold and money, we offered money to help one another.
I am so sick and tired of your braggart Cambodians causing endlessly pain.

Ben said...

1:53 am
We did not see anything wrong what Theary Seng did. She has a compassion and wants to educate her own people to see the reality, that in order to get education, students must study hard to pass the exam not to rely on this cult practicing.

However, what Theary Seng missed is she did not explain why this kind of situation occurred in the first place. Is it coming from as "Corruption", e.g., from the top to the bottom and Teachers' salary is too low to survive.

Many readers like I am, we see Theary Seng as a good reformer, and the good reformer does not live in the same old ignorant time, the good reformer can find way improve the society.

Anonymous said...

1:53 am
Our ancestors did not pray to evil souls to help to pass the exam like this one. Our ancestors many practice Snaeh, T'Mub, Ap, and Witchcraft and carrying until today.

Miss Seng is doing a superb job by teaching her ancestors that their old ways were the way to hell, and the new way dealing with souls to pass the exam is the way to a self destruction.

Anonymous said...

Dear My Brothers 3:06 and 3:21 AM,
I strongly believe you both were born once as KHMER and the same pathes your ancestors were religiously praticed and believed and it NOT thing wrong for big efforts of study and believing in some thing.
I support the Freedom of Belief and Thoughts.
If upi BOth are KHMER Converted Christian I respectfully aggree what your Belief and Thoughts but Please do not aatack others as EVILS like you just BOTH commenteded.
Best Wishes To You BOTH The NON-EVIL.
And I hope your BOTH parents are sti; alive !MY BROTHERS

Anonymous said...

Why fucking praying is a waste of time! The fucken teachers need to give the students the fucken answer!

What is the fucking problem? AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave got his PhD without going to school and these Cambodian students need to fucking answer to pass their test! I don't see any different here!