You and I, the last refugees

Pardon the Delay

First off, I apologize for the long delay between postings. Mainly it would be because all I've been doing lately is working and wandering around Bangkok on my free weekends. As it is the end of July I have one week left in my internship before I head to Singapore, but a busy week it will be.

I got back from a work trip to Phnom Penh Friday night after spending 3 days running around meeting with national NGOs and UN offices. In all it was very interesting to hear about what people have to say about the Khmer Rouge Tribunals, formally known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), as well as ongoing human rights abuse and corruption in Cambodia. For those who don't know anything about the tribunals, they are finally in process after 30 years. There has been about a 10 year delay as the Cambodian government and the UN have been negotiating how they'll work since the early 1990s. In any case, they're set up as an extension of the Cambodian judicial system with some foreign judges and lawyers involved. The problem? The Cambodian judicial system is heavily tied with the present problematic government in power. Also, they're only meant to prosecute the leadership, leaving 3 people left to try as the others have passed away. In any case, we'll see how it goes. It is sad that the only attention given to Cambodia is through the tribunals even as corruption and power consolidation abound and people are evicted, tortured and suffer daily.

I had watched "The Killing Fields" about two nights before leaving for Phnom Penh (great movie, those who haven't seen it, should.) Upon arrival in Phnom Penh I had two images juxtaposed, the one with tide of people all marching out of Phnom Penh as the KM emptied the city and the PP of today. I realized I was actively looking to see the destruction, assessing what are still scars from the bloody past and what could be a hopeful present and future. We spent a lot of time sitting on the verandah of a classic French house with the deep lounge chairs and wooden blinds overlooking the main square in Phnom Penh talking to individuals. In between meetings, my colleague/supervisor and I would sit around and talk about the Cambodian people and how much Cambodia has changed since the first time she was in PP in 2001. Below us, around 5 PM, a hodgepodge of Cambodians are out, including groups of monks in saffron robes walking through the square, children playing badminton, government officials with their bodyguards exercising, the elderly sitting and chatting, and taxi and motorcycle taxi drivers leaning idly against their cars waiting for the occasional individual in need of a drive during this low tourist season.

So far, I've been to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, and now Phnom Penh. Thailand is just so far far more developed than the others, although Vietnam is catching up very very quickly. The energy levels in the cities are just so incredibly different. Even on weekends, Hanoi seemed to have a need to pull ahead, to prove itself while preserving the still beautiful architecture and elegance of its past. Phnom Penh was different, many roads remain unpaved, buildings are heavily scarrred, the construction that is going on is nowhere near the hyper constructiction in Bangkok or vietnam. The sounds of hammering nails of sawing wood were not for commercial buildings but were generally for lower quality houses. PP does have a character and a charm to it that I cannot describe, but it is a bit like a chip on its shoulder and a bit of a weariness. In any case, it deserves a longer sojourn there that does not involve meetings after meetings. I was disappointed that I did not get to visit the eviction and relocation sites around PP as there was not enough time. The evictions, of course, are reasoned by the need for "development" --- indeed Cambodia needs much help, but not through processes that fatten the pockets of the businessmen and their allied government officials.

Sorry, no new photos this time.

posted by Mai-Lan @ 10:34