The first time to Koh Pich after a tragedy

The Cambodian aunt and sister of a vicitim pray for their relative at the Diamond Gate bridge / by: TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images

After having dinner outside with friends this evening, I decided to ride my motor with them to Koh Pich (Diamond Island). This is the first time I rode across the bridge after the tragedy happened on 22 November 2010.

Everything is quite different from the last time I went there before the bad accident occurred. The north bridge where hundreds people died because of stampede is still being closed after the accident, so I was able to go to the island and back to the mainland only by another bridge.

There are not many people on the island though today is the weekend. It’s very easy for me to ride around the island unlike the earlier time I was there,  but I still think it’s better to have more people.

Most of the shops didn’t open especially entertainment places where now, there are only a few people there who mostly are the entertainment places owners themselves. It seem like no one dare to get on that entertainment instruments after something unpleasant happened.

I know that it’s not easy to forget about something happen on the last day of water festival in Cambodia this year. It take more time to calm people’s feeling that I myself have no idea when will this feeling goes away from Cambodians’ minds.

by: Dara Saoyuth

04/12/2010

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