WHY CAMBODIA?

Shortly after one of my first visits to Cambodia many years ago, I wrote in the Kauai newspaper "The Garden Island" about my visits to the country and described Cambodia as being "a forgotten country".   Back then, that is what it was so  far as the western world was concerned.  The country had only recently emerged from so much fighting and the atrocities of war - the secret devastating bombings of the country by the US during the Vietnam war, the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge, the subsequent confrontation with Vietnam and the eventual civil war.  No small country had gone through so much in so short a time span.  Yet it was ignored by the major western countries who had left it to its own devices in spite of the fact that they had known the very real possibility that literally millions of its citizens would be killed and eliminated. The only interest any western country had shown after the defeat of the Khmer Rouge was by the USA who decided that it would get rid of the then Head of State - Prince Norodom Sihanouk - and instal what was virtually a puppet govenment under Lon Nol who would do its bidding.

By the time I went there, fighting was still going on in places and some hand grenades were being thrown around occasionally but the puppet government of Lon Nol had been ousted and Prince Norodom Sihanouk was now back from exile as King Norodom Sihanouk. This did not please some western countries, so they withdrew most of their interest. China came to the fore and practically all of the much needed aid came from there.   Not many people in the west were hearing about Cambodia or knew much about it, and when I mentioned I was going there, I inevitably got the response "Are you sure you should be going?"   This was why I referred to it as "a forgotten country".

In spite of all I said above, I fell in love with both the country and the people as soon as I got here.   Literally every family - including the Royal Family - had someone who was imprisoned and/or killed by the Khmer Rouge regime alone never mind those who were wounded and killed by the bombings and fighting.  The Queen Mother had a sister and brother killed, and King Sihanouk had three of his children killed.  Nevertheless I met a people who were always happy, always smiling, always friendly and never angry.  I would walk down the street or sit on Riverside overlooking the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers and people I never saw before would come up and chat and ask where I came from.  In those days complete families would bring their dinner and eat it on mats spread on the grass and I would always be invited to join them.  How could I not love a people like that?

When I retired I decided to come and live here and I have never regretted that.  I expect I shall be here until I die.  That has puzzled many people too.  "Why Cambodia?" they would ask.  Apart from one very obvious reason - it is very affordable to live here especially if one is on a retirement income - there are other reasons too.

I have been living here now for exactly five years and three weeks as of the time I am writing this and in those years I have seen many changes in the country and in this city of Phnom Penh.

The country has been established as a democratic constitutional monarchy although some observers say that the Prime Minister rules the place with a "heavy hand" and not democratically.  Whether that is true or not, is not something on which a foreigner like me living in the country should comment. However what is true is that "heavy hand" or not, the Prime Minister has made this country very stable, and as His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan famously said in an interview on CNN a couple of years ago "Democracy means different thngs to different people".  The European or American style is not always good for everyone.

There is corruption here on many levels of course, but while not condoning it in any way we have to understand it is a developing country and corruption happens in every developing country - indeed it happens in developed countries also.  The US Senate and Congress, the British Parliament, big corporations and several other European countries - not to mention the big South American countries have not exactly been free lately of corruption and greed either.  In the developed world there is totally no excuse for corruption - salaries are high and most officials get enormous "perks" as well, but still they want more.  Here - while again not condoning it - one has to understand the reason for it.  Salaries and wages are pitiful in all walks of life.  A fairly senior policeman may get $100.00 a month.  A senior bank clerk will get between $90 and $100 a month.  Until recently the judiciary received a few hundred a month and an unskilled worker is lucky if he/she gets $50.00 a month.   Many NGO (non Government Organizations) workers who come from overseas to show Cambodians how to do a job will receive several thousand dollars a month plus expenses for the same job that the Cambodians are expected to do after the NGOs leave for maybe a maximum of $100.00  It is not hard to understand why some people will try to find ways - fair or foul - to get more money.   Unfortunately, most foreigners living here are unconcerned about what they can contribute to this country.  Their main objective is to earn their big salaries, live cheap and take what they can get without giving back to the country more than they can help.  I have got into much trouble from foreigners here when I state this truth.

In spite of  all the above - the Cambodians smile and are not angry.

There is poverty here which no one can deny but there is poverty in almost every country.  One reason for this is that an entire generation received no education due to the Khmer Rouge regime and the subsequent unrest.   If you have no education, then it is almost impossible to get a job.  Many provincial small farmers survive on $20.00 a month.  These are unfortunate facts but one also has to remember it is only 30+ years since the entire economy was very successfully destroyed - together with much of the infrastructure by the Khmer Rouge and nothing can be accomplished over night.  Thirty years is a very short time in the life of a country and more especially so if it is starting virtually from scratch and is ignored by others.  However, the Government now is providing many jobs for the poor people in various ways by employing people to maintain the new public gardens, by employing others to be security personal and by providing construction and other jobs.  But it takes time.

In spite of all the above - the Cambodians smile and are not angry.

There is crime here which no one can deny, but it has dropped significantly in the last couple of years.  Every country has crime. In the last twelve days eighty-three people have been shot in Chicago alone and what about the spree of killings in the United Kingdom last month?    These things happen unfortunately these days because of the anger that is felt in most places over sometimes the smallest of things.

But in spite of the above - the Cambodians smile and are not angry....and there are even more reasons than those for liking it here.

In the past few years I have become involved in many things concerning university students and young business people and entrepreneurs and I have been so impressed and proud of their ideas, their insights and their attitudes as well as their abilities.

Education is a main concern of everyone here from His Majesty the King - who works so hard for the good of his people - downwards.  The vast majority of students at university are from poor families in the provinces.  What impresses me is the lack of selfishness in the students. They are not just studying for themselves, they are studying for their families as well.  They take on sometimes meagre jobs while they study in order to send money home to help pay for education for their siblings and to help their parents. Do we do that in the west? No!  These young people have to be saluted and admired.

The Junior Chamber International - a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs has been started here within the last year and I have been graciously invited to go to their meetings.   The quality, calibre and qualifications of these young people reaches the standards of the highest anywhere.  This is a side of Cambodia that the tourist and casual visitor doesn't see.   What is also impressive is that these young people are not just working for themselves,  they make it quite clear that they are working also for their country to take it to the place where it can hold its head high and command a place on the world stage.   With their determination and ability, they will succeed too and the so-called developed countries should be aware that in the not too distant future, Cambodia will be an important actor on the world's stage.

These are reasons why I like it here and why I am proud to do whatever I can to help these people on their way.  Cambodia has become my adopted home and whenever I leave it, I am so happy when my plane touches down on my return.  It is a place where there are smiles and where there is a lot of friendship and where people help each other without question. I would like all people to come and see for themselves.