Girl at the Cafe

So my third day in Phnom Penh I finished my meetings a little early and went back to my hotel to do some work. About 2:30pm before the afternoon rains came I ran out to a riverside cafe to catch some lunch. Of course, the rains came, and my God, they just dumped water on the city. Basically, everyone who could started going undercover.

A few minutes later I looked to my right to the side of the cafe. The cafe was open air and had a roof but no wall on the right except for a few bamboo trees between the wall and streets. That was when my eyes met her's. I was a well-feed American with a plate full of fries and sandwiches, I am pale and pasty white from working in an office all day, I was dry, and I had money in my pocket. She was hungry girl of about 10, she was carrying a half-clothed baby brother, she was soaking wet from wandering the streets begging, she had no place to go to escape the rain, and she was dark from staying in the sun all day.

She locked eyes with me for a minute. I could do nothing but think how different out two situations were and why she was in hers whereas I was in mine. Poverty has a way of making you think. After a few seconds of her eyes boring holes through me she left as quietly as she came.