Election Results?

The 5th ever national elections took place last Sunday July 28th. Registered voters, numbering over 9.7 million people, returned to their home towns to vote from 7am to 3pm and the unofficial results were announced on the news around 8:30pm. The month leading up to the vote was full of rallies and the week before was marked by a uptick in the campaigning including the return of the opposition figure-head (the CNRP president) Sam Rainsy, who had been in self-imposed exile in France, after gaining a royal pardon, although he was not allowed to be in the running. This 11th hour return seemed to kick things up a notch. But 24 hours before the vote, the campaigning stopped and there was a weird quiet that swept the nation. Some PCVs commented that it felt like the calm before the storm. The news leading up to the election was full of speculation about how the parties and people would respond to different results. Despite claims from the ruling party (CPP) and the major opposition party (CNRP) that the results could lead to war or violence, the country has seen limited violent episodes. On election day some violence broke out at a polling station (a wat) in an area of Phnom Penh when names were found missing from the voter list. Photos on the Cambodia Daily (English newspaper) website showed military vehicles overturned and in flame, and monks kicking and hitting people. 

Conversation about the election continues days after the vote. The unofficial results had the CPP winning by a relatively narrow margin: 68 to 55 seats in the National Assembly, and keeping the CPP in power for another 5 years. The international community which had noted that if the elections were not deemed free and fair aid to Cambodia would be cut significantly (http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/congressional-hearing-in-us-pushes-cut-to-cambodian-aid-34389/), seemed content with this result. However, the CNRP has called for a recount and on Tuesday issued their own results which had the opposition winning 63 to 60. Hun Sen has said that he is open to an investigation of the election results. So when will the country have the official results? Maybe mid-August. Seems like a long time to wait and that more speculation will follow for the next few weeks as the political situation of Cambodia remains up in the air, while people continue to go about their everyday lives.

I was in Phnom Penh during election weekend. Why? Well despite Peace Corps' travel ban and call for PCVs to remain vigilant at site, mosquitoes at my site had a different agenda. The weekend before the election I came down with a nasty fever and was told by the medical officer to come to Phnom Penh because I had the symptoms of Dengue. And what is Dengue you ask? A mosquito-born tropical disease like malaria except that there is no medication or cure. Cambodian adults rarely contract Dengue. It is commonly believed that only children get it, so my host family was confused as to how I got malaria although I am taking malaria medication. Trying to explain that I had Dengue not malaria was a bit tricky, especially when 2 weeks before my 11 year old host cousin explained that you can get Dengue from eating too many longan (a fruit in the same family as lychee). When I asked who told her that, she said she heard if from our host grandma (yeay). An example of medical misinformation that I encounter in my work as a community health educator. 

So I was holed up in a guest house room with Dengue during the election. While I seemed to miss the excitement of the election, the conversation has continued via the news as Cambodia awaits the official results. Although people seem to have gone back to their everyday lives, every index finger stained black with ink is an indication of Cambodians' participation in the shaping of their country's future. 

Movement

Yes it has been a year, to the day, since I stepped off the plane in Phnom Penh and touch Cambodian soil for the first time. Yet this is not one of those “Where has time gone?!” one-year-out posts. Sure I think about the passage of time a lot. I go back and re-read journal entries and postcards. But my move from the States to Cambodia pales in comparison to the movement that I have come to recognize in my community. It is this movement, migration or ebb and flow that marks the passage of time as significant.

School is Out! (Sort of…)

During Pre-Service Training (PST) we were introduced to the “informal school calendar.” On paper public schools begin and end on certain dates and have specific holidays. In reality, it is way more confusing and not that straight forward. At least I can’t seem to figure it out. Over the past year, between private (extra) classes and actually school I struggled to nail down my host siblings and host cousins schedules. An example of a common exchange - Me: “Good morning! No school today?” 13-year-old sister Nooan: “Only in the afternoon today. That is if the teacher shows up.” In my community I have it from several sources that school will end on July 30^th and begin again later September/early October.  And yet 8^th grade exams have ended so those kids have for the most part stopped going to school unless they pay for private classes. 12^th grade classes have stopped as well (if you make it to 12^th grade, it usually means that your family has the resources for you to do so and often continue onward - drop out happens much earlier than 12^th) and the majority of those students have gone to the district town (Pouk) or the provincial town (Siem Reap) to prep for the national exam on August 5^th. The results of that exam determine their futures - think if the SAT was the only determinant for college.

Summer break does not change my schedule much. I still spend the mornings in the health center weighing babies and talking with mothers and am out and about in the afternoons. But it has been tricky to figure out times for activities and club meetings. It isn’t that the students are all that busy and they aren’t heading off to camp or on vacation travel. I am confident that soon I will figure out this “informal school calendar.”  

Things have gotten quiet around my house as a result of school coming to a close. Nooan (13) and Parey (18), the two girls who have lived with my host family for the past 7 years or so, whom I call my host sisters though there are not blood related to my host parents, left last Saturday for good. They packed up all their stuff, got in a tuk-tuk, and off they went. Parey stopped in Pouk where she is living for a month in preparation for her exam, while Nooan continued on home to a floating village on the Tonle Sap. Depending on how Parey does on the exams and the schools she gets into, she and Nooan may be in Siem Reap town in the fall; their future is up in the air, but they will not be back to live with my host family. I had been told that this would come to pass, but it seemed to creep up on me and I miss them already. My host brother, Leak (18), is also staying in Pouk for the exams, but I am sure that he will be back and forth.

Leaving School

Kids grow up, graduate from high school, and go to college/university. A trend with which I am sure most who are reading this blog are familiar. My community is pretty well off and thus if a kid makes it to 12^th grade they seem to be going places (as mentioned above). Most of the 12^th graders I know, like Parey and Leak, have left the community to prep for the national exam.  And yet school dropout is common in Cambodia and my community is also not an exception. There are sellers in the market (all but one or two are female) who are younger than me. I have friends and acquaintances who work at their family’s café and who left school 8 years prior and they are not yet voting age (18).

Yesterday, I was talking with my neighbor who lives across the street and owns a storefront café that connects to her bedroom/living room. She is a mother of 3 - boy, girl, boy (the same combination as my own birth order). She is in her late 40s and her husband is a taxi driver and I have seen him around only a handful of times. The woman informed me that her daughter, Kit, was leaving that day to start work. Kit is one of those few people who I have met who has relentless patience and smiles. She is curious and takes the time to explain situations, ask questions that get at complicated issues, and is one of handful of people to whom I feel a true friendship with here. When I asked Kit about her new job, she expressed excitement, nervousness, and pride. A well-paying ($160/month) job in Poipet - the Cambodian-Thai border town about 60Km west - working in a casino with her older cousin. All I could say was to be careful, stay safe, come back to visit, call to update, and that I would miss her. She just finished 9^th grade.

On the way out I asked the mother after her two sons. She said the eldest was working at the local rice mill since finishing 10^th grade and that the youngest would be becoming a monk and living at a wat and studying there for at least the next 2 years (some 15Km away). He just finished 7^th grade. When I asked the mother what grade she had finished, she responded, “I never went to school, because that was during Pol Pot time [the Khmer Rouge].” She added that she was proud of her children. I am too.

Migration

Migration for work - especially in Thailand - is common. The pay is often better, but what is the cost to the community? To the family? Some of the surrounding villages experience a 60-70% population drop at certain times of the year for seasonal work migration. The majority are poor and crossing the border without a passport or work visa - illegally. Some parents go, leaving behind elders to take care of newborns, infants, or young kids. (I cannot tell you how many undernourished kids I have seen because the care taker can’t breastfeed and can’t afford formula…) While others uproot the whole family. From all accounts and from observations, this population returns for important holidays - Pchum Ben in October and Khmer New Year in April. Additionally with the elections less than 2 weeks away, I am told that these migrants will be back to cast their vote. Maybe they are hoping for a future where they won’t have to leave Cambodia for work - whether that is something that can be accomplished by a ballot or not, I am not sure.

My One-Year

And with all this talk of schooling, migration, and sacrifice, my one-year anniversary of being in a country doing volunteer work seems pretty insignificant. That being said, thanks for keeping in touch and supporting me this past year. I look forward to another year of learning from mistakes, making a fool out of myself, innumerable humbling experiences, and reminders that I am one person just trying to make a little bit of a difference.

Happy 4th of July! (belated that is...)

On Thursday I headed to Phnom Penh to celebrate America's 237th birthday, armed with tinsel, glow sticks, and a light up red-white-blue star necklace courtesy of care package from the lovely Cori. For two days I met up and rehearsed with the "Peace Chorus" - a group of 8 other PCVs and 2 RPCVs who were invited to sing an a capella 6-song set at the U.S. Embassy's 4th of July party. The event was held all-day Saturday. It began with an official ceremony which we kicked off with the Khmer and American national anthems (cued by the entrance of 4 Marines). The U.S. Ambassador, William E. Todd, followed with a speech about America's long history of democracy and freedom and his hope that the ties with Cambodia will remain strong. After a toast, the Guest of Honor, Deputy Minister of the Interior His Excellency Mr. Sarkay also gave a speech which mirrored Ambassador Todd's remarks. Another toast followed and then one of the Embassy staff member's (in both Khmer and English) said "Let the festivities begin!" The party was then opened to the public ($5 for Americans, $1 for Khmer) and included face painting, a circus troop, a dunk tank, American flag cupcakes that dyed your mouth, photo ops with the Marines, a Harley Davidson motorcycle and the Ambassador's car, and of course an extensive food selection including typical 4th of July barbecue food. The Peace Chorus sang twice more; the American National Anthem after the Ambassador's 2nd speech to the some 1600 people gathered, and "America the Beautiful" "You're a Grand Old Flag," Bill Wither's "Lean On Me," and Katy Perry's "Firework" later in the day. All songs were arranged by recently dubbed RPCV, Diana. The party ended with a short parade which reminded me of a small town celebration like the 2011 Gambier 4th of July parade. For more on the celebration see the Ambassador's blog: http://blogs.usembassy.gov/.

Some of the Peace Chorus at down time

This 4th of July was unlike any other that I have experienced. It was not that I was away from family - I have spent ten July 4th's at Camp Wawenock watching fireworks across Lake Sebago with my cabin-mates. Last year was the first time that I had been home for July 4th since I was 9 years old. I was able to visit with my cousins (shout-out to Kate, Nick, and Kyle!) and relatives and see a parade and fireworks. And although this year, I saw no fireworks and wasn't around family, that wasn't what was different. It was because I am in a country that gained independence from the French in 1953 -  177 years after U.S. Independence. In a country that will attempt to have a free and fair democratic election for the 5th time ever and whose people have a very different definition of democracy and freedom than I have grown to know and appreciate for myself. As the election quickly approaches the U.S. is putting pressure on the Cambodian government to ensure human rights are upheld and that the elections are free and fair. Here is one of many recent articles: http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/39260.

World Wise Correspondence Program (http://wws.peacecorps.gov/wws/about/)

In other news, Peace Corps has a program called Coverdell World Wise Schools that connects PCVs and RPCVs with classes in the America to share their experiences and host country's with more people back home. I have been so lucky to have spent the last few months corresponding with the wonderful 4R class at Far Hills Country Day School. They have asked great questions about Cambodian culture and traditions, the weather, my work environment, the food, among other things. The hope is that this program opens up young people to the world and other people, but it is mutually beneficial. I have benefited greatly from answering the 4th graders' questions - they have given me another opportunity to process my experience further. Before FHCDS went on summer break, the 4R class sent me a package filled with arts supplies, goodies, games and other assorted things. Thank you so much 4R!! 

"Hello From New Jersey"

More photos and maybe videos later...