Live Birds for Sale

The Pchum Ben Festival of the Dead was well under way when I took my Vietnamese friend Ha to the Royal Independence Gardens to enjoy the shriek of the Flying Bats with me. Because Pchum Ben is a major festival in Cambodia, both Preah Ang Chek Preah Ang Chorm Shrine and Ya Tep Shrine were very busy with hundreds of people coming in and out all the time. As it goes in Cambodia, where there is a group of people, there are street vendors offering various decorative and spiritual items for sale. Aside from pretty flower wreaths, one of the most offered articles by these temples were live birds and other live animals for sale.

Photo: Street Vendor Selling Live Birds in Siem Reap
Photo: Street Vendor Selling Live Birds in Siem Reap

I found this extremely disturbing and saddening. I don’t know how live birds sales go together with principles of Buddhism, but Cambodian Buddhists take great pride in trapping live animals, keeping dozens of them cramped in small cages and selling them for profit to other Buddhists who come to the Buddhist temple to worship the statues of Buddha. From what I’ve noticed, people buy these live birds, keep them clenched between their palms and close to their mouth while they silently utter their prayers (or wishes?) and release them with a beaming smile afterwards.

Photo: Dozens of Black Birds Cramped Inside a Small Cage Waiting to be Sold for Profit
Photo: Dozens of Black Birds Cramped Inside a Small Cage Waiting to be Sold for Profit

This act of release is what matters, I suppose. You can see the obvious spark in their eyes as they are doing it, however what they don’t realize is that in order to release the bird, that poor animal needs to be caught and caged first. But the saddest part happens shortly after the release. These birds have been kept in overcrowded cages, having no room to stretch their wings, often bleeding, suffocating or getting trampled by other birds – all that on top of starvation and dehydration because they are not fed which renders them unable to properly take flight after the release. As a result, you see those birds released, they take off and attempt to fly but hit the ground very quickly. Defeated and at the end of their strength, they helplessly die shortly after release. Only few are well enough to actually go and enjoy the freedom again. Those are presumably the lucky ones that get purchased before they are in the cage for too long.

Short walk across the fields surrounding the temples offers clear picture of what happens to the majority of the birds upon release. You can’t take two steps without stepping on a dead bird. It’s a very sad sight that makes whole purpose of “releasing” a life into the wild a complete joke.

Photo: Real Cost of Selling Live Birds
Photo: Real Cost of Selling Live Birds

I have seen young boys walking around with long stick, poking them with great thrusts into bushes. Then I saw the same boys walking towards the women sitting at the temple with cages full of live birds for sale, delivering another captive to join the others. I don’t know how they catch those birds with just the sticks, but they must have the means. The thought of hurting an animal is very saddening to me so I never actually wanted to see this in action. However I do think those birds suffer some trauma during the capture which could also be the cause of excessive bleeding in the cage and premature death.

Photo: Live Doves in a Cage Offered for Sale at the Buddhist Temple in Siem Reap
Photo: Live Doves in a Cage Offered for Sale at the Buddhist Temple in Siem Reap

The worst thing about this whole ordeal is that Cambodians take great pride in “releasing” those live birds. Nobody seemed bothered by the fact that those living creatures suffer a great deal while they are kept in horrible conditions which affect their ability to fly and result in near certain death. Shockingly enough, aside from having live birds for sale, women with cages also sell other live animals, such as turtles. I don’t know what exactly is done with turtles after they are sold, but I don’t expect much. They are likely starved to death as they are piled in buckets on top of one another without water or food. I am not a Buddhist expert, but whatever divinity the Cambodians are trying to impress with these acts, I’m pretty sure that it’s not working. If anything, it has the opposite effect. Live and let live, the principle on which Buddhism was founded is directly breached and crapped upon by everyone who buys or sells a live bird like this. You don’t have to be an expert to understand this.

Photo: Live Birds for Sale is a Business of Death
Photo: Live Birds for Sale is a Business of Death

Independence and Freedom vs Corporate Slavery

I had it all clear in my mind. I knew this was it for me and my lifestyle of a corporate slave. Everything came nicely together, I had not a slightest doubt that spending whole life in servitude so I can enjoy myself when I’m 65 was an awful lifestyle choice. The challenge I was facing now was to choose the best place to start my worldwide travels. It was a challenge, but it was one I was happy to face because it provided me with the most amazing feeling, the feeling of freedom and independence.

For the first time in almost ten years I felt like it was me who’s in charge of my own life. Nobody had absolutely no say about my next step. It was going to be my unconditional choice. How awesome is that? This true freedom of choice opened up my eyes to accept new horizons and I’ve realized that I spent near a decade of my life living conrtolled by somebody else. I had to get up when the alarm clock went off, not when I felt like, I had to go to the office regardless of how beautiful a day it was outside, even though I’d much rather spend it by the lake, I could ask for a vacation but had to do it with advance notice and only had so many days I could use – everything in my life was being determined by someone else, not me.

And here I found myself with firm grip on my own life, independent and free, no longer the property of my employer, my government, my family or anyone else. There was just me and my goals. I was choosing directions, I was choosing speed, I was choosing terms of service.

By becoming a corporate slave you give away your independence and freedom almost entirely. While I was employed, I wasn’t the person I was dreaming to be. I was the tool of my employer. I was there to take orders and deliver the product as per the requirements. The value of my life was given a price tag. I did what I was told so I could collect the paycheck and spend it according to the current community standards. There was no real freedom or independence in my life. My purpose as a corporate slave was to please my masters – the employer. Being a corporate slave, I obediently obliged which is what slaves do to avoid being punished. Corporate slaves, same as normal slaves in its true meaning live their lives in fear. The fear of being punished by being fired, or otherwise put into an undesirable situation.

The actual difference between a slave and a corporate slave is that corporate slaves have their minds locked up, not their bodies. Even though physically imprisoned, actual slaves were provided with food and shelter – corporate slave must provide their own shelter and their own food out of after-tax money they receive in exchange for their obedience. Unlike an actual slave, a corporate slave who loses his shelter must still come to work and follow his/her orders or else he/she could be punished.

The saddest part is that corporate slaves not only lead themselves into this imprisonment, they even ask and strive for it. Their life’s joy is provided by the reality shows on TV. And so their whole life becomes a rat race. They work during the best days of their lives, get taxed and whatever they’re left with is spent on things. The culture of consumerism controls their spendings by keeping them on high through advertising and media exposure.

Most corporate slaves are voluntary prisoners. It is not possible to lock someone up in a cage physically nowadays so setting oneself free is a matter of choice. However, most people will stick with slavery and turn independence and freedom their backs. Cage is the world they are familiar with. Walking out could be risky. And so they spend their lives instead of living them and will die without realizing how much they could have accomplished in life.

It is hard for me to hold it against anyone. I was exactly like that only a few months back. However, I’ve allowed myself to step back and look at the bigger picture from the distance. And when the first glimpse of bigger picture has offered itself, I have followed it to see what the rest of it is all about. I have not stopped until I got clear idea about what the world outside of the cage looked like. Like other corporate slave, back then I felt comfortable in a cage too. It wasn’t the life I would have wanted for myself, but there were forms of security in place that kept me inside. World out there could be dangerous – at least that’s what the media says. Staying inside of the cage offers some protection from this wild, wild world. And if you do what they say, there will always be a place for you in a cage.

I walked out. I dared. I exposed myself to the fresh air and the sound of the ocean. I felt the touch of independence, felt the touch of freedom and chose to soar on my own wings. I can go as high as I wish, take a turn whenever I see fit because it’s me who holds the reins. And this time around I’m not letting go easily. I’ve done it once and it cost me 10 years of my life. I know what I want and I’m gonna take it. My life belongs to me so from now on, I’m rowing my own canoe.

I do realize that freedom and independence come with responsibility. There will be no one to make decisions for me, now one to blame. But I’m ready and willing to accept this responsibility. It will be like the old days when I lived on my own terms. I’m back to my old me and I’m ready to kick ass. My first task as a free and independent man is to choose my first destination where to start my travels. It’s gonna be awesome.