Author: Charles Dittmeier

Remaining French Heritage

There isn’t a lot left in Cambodia to reflect the long colonization by the French.  French bread–baguettes–is surprisingly plentiful and popular on the streets, and all the doctors write prescriptions in French–which basically people don’t understand, but, hey, this is Cambodia, why should a patient understand what she is taking and why.  Around Phnom Penh there are still some beautiful remnants of French colonial architecture but many of them are disappearing fast.  This is one old French-era building that has been preserved as a reminder of bygone days.

Not Likely

A shirt with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the back?  That’s not a common occurrence in Phnom Penh and it’s not likely that its owner is a Catholic–or even knows who Our Lady of Guadalupe is.  Phnom Penh is a T-shirt printing hub and there are all kinds of shirts with all kinds of slogans on them displayed here–some of the slogans just gibberish, some with extremely obscene language, some with political sentiments probably not held by the wearer, etc.  Many Phnom Penhers can’t read English so the shirts are chosen because they’re cheap and someone likes the design or the colors.

A Change in Diet

Life in the boonies, in Cambodia’s rural areas, and life in the cities is quite different in many ways.  Some of them are to be expected, e.g., not needing to be available every day in late afternoon to bring the cow back from the fields.  Other characteristics of city life are less obvious, e.g., eating more meat in the city.  Many of the rural population are really poor and just can’t afford meat.  If they do have it, it’s probably just a few times a week at larger meals.  But in the cities, these vendors are everywhere, and at meal times hundreds of them are grilling fish and chicken and beef and pork on the streets.  Buying meat for a family meal is a relatively expensive proposition.  Buying a kabob snack or even making a meal of meat for one person costs much less and might seem much more do-able for the passersby on the streets of Phnom Penh.

Cambodian Anomaly

Here the young woman in red (and three other unseen compatriots) pass out paper advertising fliers to motorcyclists stopping for a light at an intersection.

The anomaly is that no one throws them on the ground!  This man has folded his and put it in the rack on his bike.  This goes against everything normal in Cambodian culture.  People throw trash on the ground and out of car windows all day long.  People at restaurants throw straws and white crumpled paper napkins on the floor or on the ground until the area under the table looks like a snow-covered field.  But in this one case, at the stop lights, people don’t throw the papers down even though it’s something they basically probably don’t want.  Strange….

Children’s Hospital

                                                                                                                             [Picture from the Khmer Times]
I was a little disconcerted to see this photograph in the newspaper of a bed at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Phnom Penh.  Dr. Beat Richner, a Swiss doctor, set up the first Kantha Bopha hospital in 1992 to give free medical care to children.  There are now four or five Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals in the country and they are the first choice for all parents with sick children.  I have encouraged many families to take their sick children there.  The hospital rules are strict; they won’t allow foreigners into the hospital, and I don’t know why but I figured if they were doing a good job, they can make up rules like that.  But then I saw this photo with three children in one bed and it gave me pause.  Kantha Bopha may be the best hospitals in the country for children but we’ve still got a long way to go!

Salesian Girls Schools Graduation

Today was the 23rd graduation for the students of the two Salesian Sisters girls technical schools in Phnom Penh.  One school teaches food service and sewing; the other teaches secretarial and business skills.  Both have two-year programs.  This year only three girls came from the school in Battambang in the north of the country.  Previously they would have 30-40 graduates but now that school has almost closed because it is easier now to get across the border to work in Thailand and the families of the girls pressure their daughters to work in Thailand to make money for the family–instead of going to school.

The graduates gather, happy and excited, before the ceremony.  The sister there to congratulate them is one of the fixtures of the Salesian ministry to youth in Cambodia.  She is 96 years old and still active and about everyday.

After the national anthem, these students performed the blessing dance that begins every formal function.  Notice the words in red on the wall at the right: Together we Build a Peaceful Society.  They are a sad indicator of the unease and turmoil in Cambodia because of the actions of the government.

A special part of this graduation day was the recognition of these women–mothers of students at the school–for participating in a wonderful literacy program.  All of them have advanced through Level 1 of the program that enables them to read and write.  Another sad indicator–the lack of literacy–of the failure of the present government that has been in power for thirty years.