ANGKOR and I

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4 the first survey of the wrecking of the Angkor archaeological site since 1970, by experts from the west. A collapsed gateway lay at the scene, and I was dazed at the pitiful site of the many ruins buried in the jungle. Cambodians who in the past were my close friends, were missing. On the request of 3 Cambodian conservation officers, we sent out an appeal to the world along with certain Southeast Asians who were linked to cultural heritage, to rescue the archaeological site. This was the “S.O.S. Angkor Wat.” (It was adopted in 1985 and recorded in this book). By that time, I had already moved to Sophia University. In 1979, Sophia University initiated a campaign entitled “hands of love to Indochinese refugees,” and since then it has conducted relief work for refugees from Cambodia. The university later effected works of aid globally, its mission being the educational spirit of “Men and Women for Others with Others.” Giuseppe Pittau, the President of Sophia University, endorsed this refugee relief to Indochinese refugees. He visited Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand, supplied medicines and funds, he sent out student volunteers, and carried out “activities of service that consisted in not abandoning people in need.” The philosophy of our archaeological relief team is “by the Cambodians, for the Cambodians.” It was for that purpose we established in 1996 the Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human Development close to the site, and commenced the training of Cambodian conservation officers, and stone masons capable of processing stones. We, who had entered the country in order to rescue the monuments, desired that the Cambodians, who were overcome by a war that had persisted for 24 years, reclaim their courage and hope. Hence, in order that the restoration may be carried out by the Cambodians, we proposed the training of personnel. In August 2017, the team of the Sophia University Angkor International Mission (also known as, Sophia Mission), which was involved in saving both monuments and refugees, was chosen as a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award,