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Yesterday, 20 November 2019, was the 30th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. On that day the convention was submitted to the nations of the world to be signed and ratified. As of today, 196 countries have ratified it, including every member of the United Nations except the United States.
These are some economic indicators that were published recently. Note the 6.9% economic growth. Cambodia has averaged more than that for the past decade. Unfortunately the money does not flow freely through the economy but ends up in the pockets of the government officials and business tycoons. Notable also is the low median age and the low average income.
About nine or ten years ago there was a new law that motorcycles have to have rearview mirrors. There’s no law that says people have to use them and there’s no enforcement so check these pictures to see the effect of the law.
This is a really good example of what’s wrong with Cambodia. I have no problem with respecting the culture and traditions of a nation–I encourage it–but….pointing your foot at a car? Who was offended? The government makes a big deal of things like this to convince the populace that the government is with them and protecting them. And such antics distract from the failures of the government to do all the things it should be doing: providing schools, insuring medical care, protecting the forests and rivers, preventing land grabs, etc.
There is little law enforcement in Cambodia and especially with traffic law there is a general do-as-you-please attitude, as is evidenced by all these people driving on the sidewalks. Click here to see the pictures.
This is the kind of silliness the people of Cambodia must put up with. Their government regularly, frequently, arrests–and jails–people for innocuous Facebook posts. It is not unlikely that some of the offensive posts are actually true, but true or not, the government officials are so sensitive and thin-skinned that a bit of criticism or negative comment draws the thought police. It’s an insult to the people of Cambodia….
Recently I went to a graduation for a school for children with disabilities. Near the end the graduating students presented small gifts to officials who had come, as a little thank-you. When these two students with disabilities approached this official, he stood and at the same time his phone rang. He pulled out the phone and talked for three to four minutes while the two students–and the whole assembly–waited for him to accept his gift.
Now maybe it was his wife and she was calling with a special ring that they only use for real emergencies–but I suspect that was not the case. I suspect it was another example of the lack of respect and courtesy many government officials show toward the people they are supposed to serve.
Several years ago, we had a similar incident on Deaf Day. The main speaker and honored guest was a high official in a ministry. Right in the middle of her main talk, her phone rang–and she answered it! She talked for three or four minutes and we could hear every word from the microphone on the podium. She said she was busy at the time and then proceeded to set up a lunch date on another day. This is the disrespect and patronizing attitude so many in the government exhibit here.
Practically every day there are articles in the newspapers about corrupt government and military officials. It is really incredible how much this is just a normal part of the body politic. Click here for more.
The government of Cambodia is in thrall to China. Article after article in the newspapers–and the personal anecdotes of people we meet–tell how Cambodia has been sold to China. The Chinese government gives $600 million a year to Hun Sen’s government—with basically no strings attached. You can imagine where that money goes. And you can guess why the Cambodian government does little to stop the sinacization of their country.
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Here is a link to an article that describes the incredible transition of Sihanoukville, a coastal town, into a Chinese town.
And here is another article that describes the drive for development that is displacing hundreds of people who live around the boeungs (lakes or flood plains) and is causing flooding and other disruptions because the normal rainfall now has nowhere to go.