Let the Games Begin!

Campaigning for Cambodia’s 5^th “democratic” elections has begun (officially from June 27^th to July 26^th)! A little background: After the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979) and the Vietnamese intervention/invasion that put Hun Sen (the 61 year old leader still in power today), the United Nations and other donors started pumping money and resources into Cambodia (billions of dollars). One of the, if not THE, most involved restructuring project that the UN has ever been involved in, known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia or UNTAC. The mission was to set Cambodia on the straight and narrow, on the good ole course to democracy. And with 90% of the population coming out to vote in the first ever democratic elections in 1993, the mission looked like a great success and was touted as such. However, the UNTAC seemed to leave it at that and when the elections proved to have narrow margins and no one coming up really ahead, a long power struggle followed. A power struggle that many have said was (read: is) saturated with corruption, intimidation, coercion, manipulation, etc. (For a great, heart-wrenching, powerful, well-documented, extensive history, I recommend reading Joel Brinkley’s Cambodia’s Curse.)

Fast-forward to today. I biked out to a Village Health Volunteer’s (VHV) home to conduct a community education session about breastfeeding and nutrition (a lesson that I had done successfully earlier in the week in a different village). After having confirmed the meeting the day before, I biked into the front yard and found the VHV watching some Thai soap opera (dubbed in Khmer) with her mother and two children. No pregnant, breast-feeding women in sight, because as the VHV informed me there was a big campaign rally/parade going on and the village was all turning out for it. So after getting a tour of the house and the rice wine production (I will post on this later…) I rescheduled the session and biked back home for lunch of fish soup and fried rice. On the way I passed a large gathering of people decked out in the Cambodian Peoples Party’s (CPP - the current ruling party, headed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, President of the Senate Chea Sim, and Chairman of the National Assembly Heng Samrin) signature white polo shirt and white baseball caps with the CPP logo on each. Twenty minutes later I walked out of my house after hearing cheers and honking, to see a line of people (dressed as mentioned above) as far as I could see on the right-hand side of the road cheering and waving to a parade of cars and trucks with CPP stickers and with people (mostly students) riding in the truck beds. It was a full on parade/rally CPP style originating in Siem Reap 30Km east and ending on the provincial border another 30Km from my town. (I later saw a smaller version for one of the 7 opposition parties.) It lasted 30 minutes or so and I lost track of the number of vehicles and people involved.

gotta get 'em early - a youngster sporting a CPP hat

CPP supporters cheering and waving for the parade - as far as the eye can see

In addition to this display, there are billboards devoted to party members and different political parties and as of 2 days ago the trees on the side of the road (plentiful in some places) have been plastered with information. While a good percentage of the rural population cannot read and/or write, to me this is not the most effective strategy, but I like it better than the blaring loudspeakers attached to the tops of cars and motos that scream as I ride by on my bike.

It will be an interesting month for sure. Security at different political offices and government buildings have been tightened. Road blocks and added traffic are assumed. The General Commissariat of National Police has announced that nearly 20,000 security forces will be deployed during the one-month election campaign and up to 70,000 forces during the Election Day (July 28^th) to ensure security for all political parties and voters. Eight political parties will be on the ballot, competing for 123 spots in the Parliament and the chance to run Cambodia for the next 5 years. The three major parties include the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party led by self-exiled leader Sam Rainsy and the royalist Funcinpec Party headed by Princess Norodom Arun Rasmey, the youngest daughter of late King Father Norodom Sihanouk. 

the 3 major parties represented opposite my house

The National Election Committee has estimated that some 9.67 million Cambodians are eligible to cast their votes at 19,009 polling stations nationwide under the eyes of more than 7,700 domestic and international observers. In the last election (2008), Prime Minister Hun Sen's party won up to 90 seats, while the opposition totally won 29 seats and the royalist group won 4 seats. Most believe that the CPP will win handedly and Hun Sen has vowed to stay in the position of Prime Minister for another 14 years, at least.

We shall see. Will there be more of the status quo or is Cambodia ready for change? 

"soksabai dtaam plow" (happy journeys, safe travels)

The winds of change are blowing. And not just blowing in the angry black clouds and drenching afternoon showers. I am really talking about how I am coming up on the one-year mark (I will write an extensive blog post about that when it actually rolls around don’t worry) and friends around me are ending their commitments and heading home, while I am just really getting started - so much still to learn, so much still to do.

The string of “I’ll see you laters” began with my good friend from middle and high school, Jen, who ended her commitment working at KHANA in PP last Friday. She was on a one-year Luce Fellowship and after a little travel, a closing conference, and a long trip back home, Jen will arrive in NJ in mid to late July and promptly prepare to start her one-year Master’s program at the University of Chicago. Jen, a medical anthropologist (I will give you that title, you deserve it!), has been an incredible person with whom I have had the pleasure of sharing the past year. Not only is she a person outside of PC (and those relatively objective) with whom to talk and vent, but she is a near and dear long-time friend who knows me like many others do not. Throughout the year she was always just a phone call/text or 6 hour bus ride away and I was comforted knowing I always had an even-keeled, highly intelligent, highly perceptive friend with whom I could swap stories, share experiences, and get advice. Jen generously introduced me to PP (a city that I find big and intimidating), her neighborhood, neighbors, apartment and so much more.

Not all friendships last. Those that do are special. Those that move beyond the stereotypes and inside jokes of middle and high school and evolve are truly incredible. This year with Jen, together in a once foreign pace on the other side of the globe, proved the power of our friendship. I am excited for her as she takes her next step although it will be a giant step away from me, but I know that the physical space means very little after such an experience like we have had. I will miss her and expect that the times when I am in PP will lack a flair and excitement that Jen brings everywhere she goes. I know that I will try to call/text her when I think of something funny, confusing or upsetting or when I get off the bus in PP and realize the number doesn’t work anymore or chase someone down the street in PP yelling “JEN!” only to have the person turn and be just another foreigner. (Is this starting to sound like an episode of “How I Met Your Mother” or some rom-com? Maybe I should stop…) Anyway, Jen - thanks for a truly memorable year. Cheers! Joel kyo nung samnang la-ah!

Jen making a wish during her sendoff/farewell weekend in PP.

Around the 'Bode

Holidays

Has it really been another month?! I guess the time flies when you are having fun, right? During that time a few of the innumerable Khmer holidays have passed, including Visak Bochea Day on May 24^th which commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and passing to nirvana (remember Meak Bochea Day Feb 25^th which commemorates Buddha’s preaching to the gathering monks). There was loud music playing from the wat all day but mostly everyone seemed to go about their daily lives as usual. Then there was Pithi Chrat Preah Neangkol, or the Royal Plowing Ceremony, on May 28^th  which corresponds to the start of planting season (rice that is). However this holiday is not strictly observed by farmers, who adhere more to the weather and rain to come. In my community, one of the midwives threw a huge house party for the occasion. Yesterday marked the last public holiday for a long time. It was the Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk’s 77^th birthday.

I was 30 feet from the Queen Mother. Why? Read on!

Still G.L.O.W.ing

My GLOW gals surpassed their goal of educating 100 community members! Within 3 weeks of finishing the camp in Siem Reap, they had conducted one session on goal setting (see last month’s post) and three sessions on puberty and healthy relationships (two of which were co-ed). Can you imagine four 9^th-grade girls teaching their peers about puberty (and co-ed groups at that!)?? It made my heart soar. These young women were incredibly mature, prepared, posed, confident and supportive of one another. They educated 102 people and contributed to the 641 indirect beneficiaries of the Camp G.L.O.W. project (I submitted the completion report last weekend to the Small Project Assistance aka SPA community).

another GLOW Superstar, Kimsan leading a co-ed session on puberty

Visitors and twer dom nar-ing ("traveling")

I have been truly fortunate to have had visitors well before the first year mark which is more than most PCVs can say. There was Marcy and Jerry, Buffy and Bob, Madli and Leigh (fellow Kenyon classmates), and Rachel aka Ratna (my friend from studying abroad in Nepal with the School for International Training). Lucky for me my site is near the famous Angkor Wat temple complex housed just north of Siem Reap town and so very conveniently located for friends and family who are visiting Cambodia to meet up with me for lunch, dinner, or a stroll through the markets. In other cases I have had a couple of visitors spend the time and money to fly around the world with the sole purpose of seeing me (and the added bonus of seeing one of the 7 human-made Wonders of the Worlds, but that is a sidenote…) Cori came for a week around New Years. And most recently the lovely Laura!

On May 26^th I met Laura (one of my college room-mates) at the Thai-Cambodia border town of Poipet and we hopped in taxi headed to Battambang. (Sidenote PC: if you are reading this, know that AL was approved for the entirety of this trip.) We lost no time exploring; we hiked up to 3 different wats on hills (Wat Ek Phnom, Phnom Sampeau, and Wat Banan) totaling something like 1048 stone steps! All in a day! Then we headed south to Phnom Penh and met up with Jen (my middle and high school friend on a Luce Fellowship in PP) and hit up the national museum, the Royal Palace, the Central market, the Russian market, and Wat Phnom (another wat on a hill) before making the trek northeast to a part of the country I have never been to before. We stopped for a night in Stung Treng which is a provincial town tucked along the east side of the Sekong river which flows direct south from Laos. Beautiful sunset from the tourism training center where we stayed. Made our way directly east 2 hours amongst rolling hills and rubber and cashew plantations to Ban Lung where we spent one day visiting and swimming in waterfalls (Kay Tieng and Kinchaan) and a volcanic crater lake called Boeung Yeak Laom. The next day we went on a full day jungle trek (15K or so) for which we received red ant bites, bramble scratches and beautiful bamboo shot glasses carved by our guides. We were exhausted and enjoyed watching a thunderstorm roll in from the confines of our lodge - too tired to worry about the mice scurrying around our mosquito nets. We backtracked to Kratie a provincial town south of Stung Treng along the Mekong River (that's right, not the Sekong a different one) and took a ferry across to an island called Koh Trong where we biked the 14K around the island which thrives on its distinction as an ecotourism destination. The perimeter is lined by a half dirt half paved path with houses running along the interior and a huge expanse of farm land that boast plots of rice, green beans, watermelon, and corn and orchards of pomelos and bananas. Many houses had stunning garden and we got to check out a thriving oyster mushroom crop under one of the home. On the west side of the island was a floating village community and because of the unseasonably low amounts of precipitation the beach on east was massive - desert-like. Headed southeast to Sen Monorom where we took a break from our furious pace and rested and read in the comfort of our bungalow looking out on a land as green and lush as the Emerald Isle with hills and cool (I thought it was cold, but Laura thought I was exaggerating…) weather. The last leg of our trip was in Siem Reap where we spent 2 days tuk-tuking around the massive temple complex and meeting up with some friends. Some highlights included: Angkor Wat at sunrise, the relative emptiness of the temple on the outer circuit, our tuk tuk driver Mr. Nee, and seeing the King and the Queen Mother in Angkor Thom (massive ancient city complex) outside of the Bayon (boast 216 stone faces) at a ceremony of sorts - we were 30 feet away. As one fellow PCV remarked, I hit the height of my PC career right then and there. Laura was able to meet my community, host family (we played too many games of UNO to count) and health center staff and see some of my work before I put her on a bus to Bangkok. She seemed to leave on the wind as quickly as she had come. Despite the total time spent busing around the country (something like 45 hours of bus time!) we were able to see and experience so many wonderful things and I am so grateful that Laura took the time to see me and Cambodia.

Laura in BTB

@ the National Museum in PP

on Koh Trong in Kratie province

Royal surprise at the temples - the King and Queen Mother