The Cambodia Daily
October 22-23, 2005
Laughter Is the Best Medicine: International Clown Troupe Brings Lighthearted Fun to the Sick
Something strange was happening last week at the Preah Bat Norodom Sihanouk Hospital, better known as the Russian Hospital. A group of oddly dressed individuals-including a man in a cow suit, another with polka dot suspenders and a woman with a smiley-face necklace-was roaming the halls, stopping at every patient's room.
For some they sang silly songs. For others they told jokes. For patient Kum Chan Ry, 28, one of the clowns blew a long, blue balloon and twisted it into the shape of a dog, teasing the patient a little before handing him his creation.
The gags were all part of a month of clowning-related activity organized by Clown One Italy for the benefit of some residents of what are not always the most mirthful places-hospitals, orphanages and centers for disabled people.
The group entertaining the Russian Hospital patients was part of a larger contingent of clowns from Italy, Cambodia, Japan, the US and several other countries, said Ginevra Sanguigno, the president of Clown One Italy, or the woman with the smiley face necklace.
Members of the clown brigade are also holding workshops on juggling, balloons, music, gags and origami, sponsoring children living with HIV and donating money to a school for the disabled.
"The purpose of the team (at the Russian Hospital) was to make the people who are going to die happy," said Cambodian clown, Sopheap Tep, 28.
Sopheap Tep said that he was hoping to improve his clowning skills by learning from some of the foreign clowns, as there are not that many clowns in Cambodia: just 6 or 7 in Phnom Penh. But he has considerable experience in the field-he studied circus at the Royal University of Fine Arts and has worked at the Sovanna Phym arts organization for 7 years. He has been interested in clowning since he was 8 years old, when he saw a circus group that came to perform in Cambodia on TV.
"They are artists already," Sanguigno said about Sopheap Tep and the other Cambodian clowns participating in the project, which received funding from the Italian public during an annual telethon last year.
Among the foreign clowns involved in the project was Kathy Blomquist, 42, a nurse from the US who works at famous doctor and clown Patch Adams' holistic medical center in the state of West Virginia, the Gesundheit Institute.
Clowning is our avenue...or transformation," Blomquist said, adding that even when a person has a dreadful diagnosis, clowning can make the situation into something more human.
At a speech given by Adams, she was wearing neon green glasses, fake hair of about the same shade, and a pink tulle skirt-her evening clownwear, she said, adding that her outfit makes fun of beauty standards.
You don't have to be dressed a certain way to be a clown, she said.
As the 61 year old clown, who gave his name as Wildman, explained," There is no right or wrong when it comes to clowning."
Not Just Clowning Around: Famous US Clown Brings 'Love Strategies' to Cambodia
Patch Adams often speaks about the love involved in his ministrations to the sick and the dying, but away from his patients' bedsides, he is not shy about expressing his anger on a host of issues-especially the government of US President George W. Bush.
The well-known American clown, who is also a medical doctor and the founder of a holistic medical center, was in Cambodia for a week-long visit sponsored by the NGO Clown One Italy.
Adams gained fame when actor Robin Williams starred in the 1998 feature film "Patch Adams" based on the physician's unusual life. He claims to be the first person to do clowning in hospitals, and he does not believe in receiving payment for giving medical care.
My work is peace and justice and care for all people everywhere," he said during a recent interview.
A tall, imposing figure with a scraggly mustache and a half head of hair dyed bright blue, Adams punctuated his explanations of his unconventional philosophies about medicine and life with blunt criticism directed at everything from capitalism to the media.
A self-described communist, Adams' most frequent anger was reserved for the US president and his administration, which he described as a fascist regime.
"Our country is the number one terrorist organization in the world today," Adams told an audience at the French Cultural Center.
As for his fellow Americans, Adams dismissed them as whiners who are on too many prescription drugs, and had praise for Cambodians, whom he described as mellow, despite their history of genocide. "Unlike in the US, they have a readiness to spontaneously enjoy," he said.
US Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle said the Embassy did not have a transcript of Adams' comments but added: "If anyone has any doubts about America's commitment to freedom of expression, all they have to do is go to listen to Patch Adams."
Adams "is a private American citizen, he's perfectly entitled to express his own opinions," Daigle said.
Another target of Adams' anger was the media, especially CNN, which Adams said turned down his repeated offers to speak a message of love for television viewers after what he said was a message of war aired by the network after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the US. "It is a crime against humanity what the media chooses to be interested in," he said.
Adams denied that his message of love, and his frequent mention of angels, has anything to do with religion-"I've never had a religious thought in my life"-and he had sharp words for missionaries, some of whom he has encountered in Cambodia, who help people on the condition that they convert.
Adams urged his audience to think about their "love strategy" in a world that is focused on money and power, a problem that he said he blames mostly on men. "A man does not care by nature," he said. "I think women should run the world."
Adams said he started clowning as a child when he realized that he could get away with things during school because he was a good student. Since then, Adams said that he has clowned every day for 42 years.
"You get addicted to people laughing. You want to make laughing," he said.
