Category: Politics and Society

Politics and society in Cambodia

The right and duty to vote

Today I finally got my Kentucky ballot finished and tomorrow morning I will take it to the embassy and they will carry it to the US and drop it into the US postal system. That is a BIG help because Cambodia doesn’t have a functioning postal system. They have restarted sending mail outside the country (there is no incoming mail unless you have a post office box) but a letter to the U.S. takes an inordinate amount of time–and may never arrive–so a really important letter must go by courier (DHL, UPS) at $40 a pop.

Sad farewell

This evening we had a farewell reception for U.S. Ambassador Patrick Murphy and his wife Kathleen. He has been an exceptional ambassador–his terms was extended twice–and the Khmer press is crediting his tenure for real improvements in Khmer-American relations.

After greeting everyone individually, the ambassador gave his prepared remarks and they were one of the best speeches I have heard in my entire life. He was so positive and affirming and came across as so sincere.

Fr. Kevin and I have known the ambassador through our contacts at mass and were invited to the reception. Standing next to me is the Ambassador to Timor Leste who was recently appointed as dean of the ambassadors. He too comes to our weekend masses.

Earth Day

Some notes about our Earth (from the Morning Brew website):

  • Earth happens to be located in a remote corner of the Milky Way, a location that presents fewer threats, like a huge star devouring us with its gravity. The star we do have nearby, the sun, is stable and the perfect distance away to sustain liquid water (important!).
  • When the sun does send deadly flares our way, they’re not calamitous because the Earth’s core produces a magnetic field that deflects radiation.

Stop Covid-19 System

This shop has a string up to keep customers from entering and it also displays a “Stop Covid-19” QR system poster for recording those coming to the shop.
A QR code poster for an NGO. A customer uses an app on her phone to scan the QR code, and her presence at this site at such and such a time is recorded in a government database.

More than 155,000 shops and institutions have signed up to participate in the “Stop Covid-19” program which seeks to record who visits a site in order to assist contact tracing if necessary should a Covid-19-infected person visit that location. When introducing the scheme, the government downplayed any concerns about privacy but there are no restrictions or limitations on the way the government can use a person’s personal information if the person uses her phone to scan the QR code at a store.

Human Rights Watch has warned: “Cambodia’s QR Code system is ripe for rights abuses because it lacks privacy protections for personal data. These concerns are heightened by the government’s stepped-up online surveillance of Cambodians since the outset of the pandemic, putting government critics and activists at greater risk.”