Cambodia - The Blind Masseuses
Cambodia has seen far more than its fair share of tragedy and
misery. The blind masseuses offer a glimpse of the true
Cambodian heart and will to carry on.
Seeing Hands Massage
With the onset of the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge,
Cambodia took a serious turn for the worse from the late 1970s
through the early eighties. When the Khmer Rouge were finished
killing or starving as much as twenty percent of the population
and finally thrown out of power, the land turned into a lawless
morass with all that implies. During this time, numerous people
were left disabled. A particularly significant disability was
blindness, which arose from torture or muggings undertaken by
throwing battery acid in the face of victims.
As the country recovers, a unique and heartening development has
occurred with Cambodians that are blind. The Association for the
Blind in Cambodia, along with international backers, has been
training the blind to be masseuses. Their motto is, "The blind
can see with there hands."
Members of the association travel the country to find potential
masseuses. The individuals are then trained until they are
masters of the art of massage. The Association has even gone one
step further. In Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, the
Association for the Blind has opened massage businesses known as
"Seeing Hands," which solely employee the blind masseuses.
I heartily and enthusiastically recommend you get a massage at
Seeing Hands if you're traveling in Cambodia. Driving anywhere
in Cambodia is a bone jarring experience. There is no better way
to get out the knots than one of these massages. The masseuses
are friendly and seem to be able to find every little knot. I
guarantee you'll feel like a new man or woman after getting one.
Each Seeing Hands location has slightly different prices, but
all are cheap as is typical for Cambodia. You can expect to
spend between three to five dollars for the best one-hour
massage you've ever had.
On top of it, you'll feel good to know you're helping people
help themselves. In fact, many of the masseuses make more money
a month than people who can see!