Social and Political Siem Reap

Ilona and Tadhg are sure they have the bravest Dad “eva”! What superhero Dad would offer his sole as piranha bait?! Only a slightly-bonkers one! Yes, Daniel dipped his toes into this:
Then immersed his feet completely in the tank much to the shrieking delight of the kids! It was amazing, the fish thronged to his feet, and nibbled away at the dead skin. A fish foot spa. I placed my hand in (just to reinforce my own bravery, not to lose face in light of Daniel’s resplendid heroism), and man! the fish bit and nibbled, and it felt all too weird on my one offered finger!

We had a lovely time in Siem Reap. Staying in a luxurious boutique hotel, hidden at the very end of a dusty rickety lane helped. You walked through secluded tree covered boardwalks over a fish pond, surrounded by coconuts, palms, banana, bourganville and frangipani trees into a little haven. The swimming pool was divine, and perfect to restore inner calm.

….and zany enough to have a dance with banana trees!

The difference between rich and poor, the haves and have nots, the tourists and locals is stark here. Initially on going around Angkor, I considered all the slave labour that went into its making, over many centuries and considered myself lucky that I didn’t live back then, as I would certainly have been a slave, lugging stones. However, in further reflection, I would not! By dint of a lottery of where I was born, and the opportunities that have been offered to me through my life, I realise I am very very fortunate (and lucky). Being able to take these four months out to travel is a luxury that I am so thankful for.

So in a way, I am enjoying the luxury of all that we are experiencing here, being chauffeured around in tuk-tuks, eating new foods and really enjoying life, but do not take it for granted, nor feel in any way entitled to all that we can afford. We feel it is just the luck of life’s lottery that we were born into privileged societies…..and it is really difficult to know how to change that arbitrary and unfair system.

I do not take any of it for granted no matter how I present these amazing photos, as there is poverty all around us.
From the parents huffing glue on a park bench at 8pm at night, with their wide-eyed malnourished docile baby sitting vacantly half naked on the ground beside their bench, idle; to the ever so friendly amputees trying to engage us, showing off their stumps and scars and asking for money; to the begging teenage girls, babies on hips brandishing empty milk bottles pleading for money; to the persistent kids selling trinkets, postcards, books….anything…. at decreasing dollar value as you try to politely shake them off; to the silent forlorn and weary “have-nots”, melding into the rubbish piles on the street, barely visible and forgotten by their families and by society.

We frequented an Aussie social enterprise cafe, (run by two sisters from Geelong!) which trains and gives employment to street kids. It was called Sister Srey (after the very ornate temple) and the kids returned every day for pumpkin soup (they miss their Watties favorite!). We met interesting and kind people there.

We also went to a “made in Cambodia” Market, and were able to buy some ethical recycled products, and got to talk to two gorgeous street kids who were running the stall by themselves – aged 10 and 14. Their stories are sad, but their inner serenity and outward smiles were uplifting. There were other worthy organizations there – women who collect plastic and recycle it to make bags, placemats etc; craftswen who make silk; villages who make clothes, children’s fabric books; jewelery from can tops; we tried to spread the money around….as we are passing through; though the people in this country need long term solutions.

Siem Reap is very touristy, and we ate luxuriously. Ilona couldn’t resist ordering a curry served in a coconut shell, and devoured it!

We went to a Khmer dinner and dancing performance, which although a bit twee, was beautiful.

And of course there was the not so trivial matter of the rugby World Cup Final. Daniel had quietly extended our stay in Siem Reap, making sure that the telly worked and showed the sports station (even calling a technician in to get a crisper picture). Tadhg, Ilona and Daniel went around sporting All Black transfers on their faces and arms the day of the match.

It was a very exciting game. The only unfortunate thing was that the English commentary was dubbed over in Khmer….probably as an interpretative measure, to tell anyone who was watching it what was going on, as rugby is not a sport that is played here at all. I have seen more sport played here in Cambodia than Vietnam. Kids play a badminton footie game, volleyball and there are many early morning aerobic classes on riverbanks and in parks. Anyhow, Tadhg and Daniel were super-excited by the win and crowing happy for a few days, following all the post-match stories from the NZ media.

There is a rather dark side to Scambodia (as one of our tuk-tuk drivers described his country). The Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has been in power for the last 32 years, and has vowed to rule until he is 74. He seems to have his cronies, who do very well out of the status quo. One such example is that the ticketing system for entering the Angkor area, a UNESCO World Herritage Site is privatised! One person benefits from a country’s heritage, determining who can sell what within etc etc etc. It is really corrupt.

We also met two young American students who spent three months working in an orphanage. One of them lived here 9 years ago, with his parents who were doing humanitarian work. They were a bit idealistic, and felt they achieved a lot in their time here, but were also critical about the functioning of orphanages, and some of the dodgey practices they observed – regarding obtaining status as an orphanage, the funding they get, and charging volunteers to work there.

There is an opposition party – The Cambodian National Rescue Party – and interesting to see the political signs and slogans throughout the countryside, marking political territory outside houses.

There are more Cambodian’s People’s Party signs about the place though, the ruling party. They are everywhere, outside communal buildings, factories etc.

Last week while we were in Siem Reap, two opposition politicians were badly beaten up by government supporters. There is quite a murmur of disquiet over corruption and cronyism, although those who have spoken to also said they shouldn’t be speaking about it. Muted democracy here, although I find the English version of the Cambodian Times fascinating….

They do English grammar sections occasionally in the paper, which are quite scathing of current affairs, in a sort of mocking way, under the pretext of teaching grammar.
There also seems to be scant justice delivered to the former Pol Pot regime. Interesting to see that it is reported in the media, but little recourse to justice. Pol Pot saw his days out under house arrest, but with free access to his children and grandchildren, dying of natural causes – a luxury not afforded to the millions of Cambodians brutally murderred under his rule. There are some trials occurring at the moment, with the accused pleading his innocence due to a lack of choice, and evoking faithfulness to the Cambodian King (It still is a monarchy, with the ruling family reinstated during the 1990s; after the abdication of the King in 1975 and subsequent appointment to a high position within the Khmer Rouge regime).

I also read about an interesting NZ link, as evidence given under Parliamentary Privilege by a NZ Green Party member to the NZ Parliament in 2011 was the only outlet for placing this information into the Cambodian public domain. The NZ interest seems to come from a brother of a NZ man killed between 1975 and 1979; but with the court ruling that the brother was not directly affected by his brother’s killing in one of the class action trials!