On the road, we try to ‘observe only’. It’s not easy. But we try hard; to still our minds and hold our tongues. Few opinions and no judgements. Because honestly, what can we conclude? We just pass through!
But for Cambodia; we will not hold our tongues.
We read like always. We look like always. We listen like always. But what we learn and see and hear appals! Cambodians endure an awful abuse.
To stay still sanctions. To SPEAK OUT is the least we can do.
And we SHOUT OUT against Cambodia’s Strongmen and Henchmen. Three bloody SETS of them! And their feeble flurry of Aiders and Abetters.
Yes, they pull in … after 50 years of colonisation, after 8 years of collateral Vietnam War damage and after 3 years of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge!
Pol Pot leaves a third to a half of surviving Cambodians with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Researchers find this PTSD passed on to the next generation. The personality of a nation alters! A nation fills with traumatised people. Depression, insomnia, dull passive behaviour, violent outbursts, blurred vision, headaches, panic attacks ….
Fertile ground for Strongmen and Henchmen? Surely, not! But yes – three SETS of them. And old Cold War enemies aid and abet from the wings.
• Strongman No. 1 – Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge and Vietnam soldier. The Soviet Union and Vietnam prop him up.
• Strongman No. 2 – Ranariddh, the rebel son of the former King. He hates Vietnam and the United States funds with pleasure.
• Strongman No. 3 – Sihanouk, the former king. He swings with the wind; the French, the Chinese.
These Strongmen gather Henchmen. Together, they grapple for power. They seize and grab. They snatch, just in time. If need be, they trample to death. They build no schools and pave no roads. In 1993, 15 years after Pol Pot, the United Nations says “enough”. Cambodia becomes a UN protectorate. Then, 16,000 troops, 5,000 administrators and 3 billion USD flow in. They organise elections and 80% of Cambodians vote. Strongman No. 2 wins, marginally. The other two balk! The UN helps mediate and negotiate. Strongman No. 3 becomes the figurehead king, Strongman No. 2 first prime minister and Strongman No. 1, second prime minister. For Cambodia’s sake!!!!! The UN pats itself on the back and leaves. Donors and NGOs, 2000 of them, stay behind.
The horror doesn’t end.
Strongmen No. 1 and No. 2 dish out the government departments between them. Their Henchmen trip over each other. They pay their Strongmen in Cambodia. Henchmen claim lucrative government positions. The plunder continues, this time unopposed. Strongmen suffer paranoia. Personal armies grow from the hundreds to the thousands. Assassins gun down journalists. Hand grenades explode at political rallies. And in 1997 tanks rage full-blown warfare in the streets of Phnom Penh (capital city). A coup. Strongman No. 1 is top dog.
From then to now, little changes. Elections rig every 4 years. International aid groups pledge 500 million USD each year. And anti-corruption legislation gets an umpteenth draft.
Strongman No. 3 passes away in 2012. Another son, not No. 2, replaces him. A new party emerges from old players. Sam Rainsy leads this Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP).
We find an English newspaper. We chat to young Cambodians. And we too start to suspect everything! We distrust these pleasant streets of Phnom Penh.
Cambodia is an Apology for a Democracy. Harry and I prefer the One Party Communist State that is Laos.
Oh my, the players confuse, the statistics repulse and the stories sicken. What to SHOUT OUT about? Spoilt for choice! I select these three stories to tell. One is about Schools, one is about Land and one is about Ladies in PJs (pyjamas).
– Schools –
The Khmer Rouge abolishes normal schooling. Most people over 40 have very little education. School building efforts only commence in the 1990’s – 12 years after Pol Pot’s regime! This story is about schools today.

We visit this school close to Seam Reap in west Cambodia. This school is named after Strongman No. 1.

Many parents cannot afford to pay these bribes. Their children stay at home and work in the fields. These are the lucky ones.

And so it goes on … Principals pay local Education Officers who pay National officers … all the way to the top. All cash!

By the time these children are in secondary school they are well versed in corruption … and pay for exam papers and better results.

This young man, standing with Harry, cannot complete his studies … because he cannot afford the bribe money at university.
– Land –
The Khmer Rouge destroys all title deeds. Afterwards people just settle were there is space. Today, the government is the custodian of all land. Land grabs are rife. For a bribe, government officials organise a ‘land concession’ or a ’99 year lease’. This story is about a typical land grab today.

This is a map of Phnom Penh, the capital city. The Boeng Kak Development Area, the pink orange blob in the centre, used to be a lake.

The government leases the land for 99 years to a Chinese and Cambodian consortium. Half owned by a Henchman (and wife) of Strongman Hun.

This used to be the lake! The Developer fills it with sand and by 2010 water spills into the streets and floods out the community at its edge.

See how well located this site is with the skyscapers of the capital city in the background. The civil services are visible in the foreground.
– Ladies in PJs –
The Khmer Rouge issues black uniforms for all to wear. This story is about clothing today.
I may be way off. But it strikes me. Bittersweet! So many ladies wear PJ (pyjama)-like tops and bottoms. Not black, but full of colour. Not good-fits, but comfortable and cheap. Not fashion statements. But perhaps, just perhaps, a ‘sweet’ statement about the ‘bitter’ Khmer Rouge days.
… my dears …
All the more relevant considering the depths that our own ruling elite have sunk to here at home.
Lets hope we wont sink to the same depths as what has happened in Cambodia. Maybe our vocal protest at home are a good thing?
Keeps our elected on their toes!
Well in theory anyway!
What an eye opener. I can see how sad it all is. Thanks for the deep insight. love Mama Gail
Human greed and lust for power seems to have no boundaries .Thanks for the insight
Cambodia a very Interesting country and culture. All the best for the rest of the trip
Colin & Debbie puenaar Durban South Africa,
So much sadness and greed in the world. I think it is not going to get better. Love to you.
So much sadness and greed in the world. I think it is not going to get better. Love to you.
So much corruption and greed in the world. Is SA headed in the same direction?