Author: Charles Dittmeier

It makes you wonder…

Here’s a picture of a schoolboy riding in the fast lane of one of the busiest major streets in Phnom Penh. But it’s the Kingdom of Wonder, so don’t wonder too much about the insanity. My theory on such counter-intuitive behavior is that 90% of the urban population grew up in the rural area where there were no cars, no paved roads, etc., and daily life was lived in the dirt roads of the village. They were the only clear places to gather and there was no traffic to disrupt a gathering. Those people later moved to the city and brought their ways of doing things with them and passed them on to their children. That’s why we average six traffic deaths a day.

On the Street

Having a mobility disability is not easy in Cambodia. The government’s social welfare programs are almost non-existent and are tremendously ineffective where they do exist. People with disabilities often have to fend for themselves, like this man in a wheelchair who darts among the cars stopped at a red light, looking for alms. The driver of my autorickshaw (like the white one by the wheelchair) got out and gave this man something.

Storm Damage

(Phnom Penh Post photo)

Today’s papers reported about damage caused by storms that swept across three provinces on Friday. 4 people were killed, 77 injured, and nearly 3,200 houses were damaged, 238 of them totally destroyed. This is not unusual in Cambodia where nature routinely makes itself known even though Cambodia is not directly affected by the big typhoons that cause so much damage in coastal nations like the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

Notable Quotes

We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation.

~ Pope Francis, speaking about refugees

Moving Up

This is a scene unimaginable just a few years ago when I first arrived in Cambodia—an appliance store, first of all, and then a row of water coolers and washing machines being offered for sale. When I came, an organization might have a plastic water cooler with a spigot and one plastic cup for everyone to use. Now the appliances above offer both hot and cold water. And as for the washing machines–there basically were none. Maybe some of the high executive families brought something in from abroad but they weren’t for sale here.

Bad Officials

The number of headlines in the newspapers that allege illegal and immoral activity on the part of officials here is amazing. These are three headlines I cut out of newspapers today. In case there’s any doubt, the Supreme Court headline is about officials grabbing poor people’s land. There seems to be something in Cambodian culture that encourages elected and appointed officials to see themselves as above the law and presented with an opportunity to enrich themselves at the expense of the common people. Of course it’s not all officials, but headlines like these are a daily occurrence, pointing out the misdeeds of ministers, the police, the military–anybody with authority.