Leaving Cambodia #5

St. 108 near the riverside in Phnom Penh, with the city's (in)famous red "tuk tuks" and now ubiquitous black Range Rovers. In 2011, old model Lexus RX300 were the preferred car for the elite. Now, Range Rovers, new Lexus 570s and Hummers compete for space with European sports cars and even the occasional Rolls Royce.  Motorbikes, bicycles and smaller cars are expected to make way.

View of Wat Ounalom on Sisowath Quay ("Riverside")

Leaving Cambodia #4

Phnom Penh's riverside just after sunset following an unusual dry season rain

Leaving Cambodia #3

 

Phnom Penh's Phar Chaa or 'Old Market' at dusk

Leaving Cambodia #2

Protestors outside Democracy Park with a view of the Canadia and Vattanac Bank towers, the two largest skyscrapers in the country

Leaving Cambodia

 Core group of opposition protesters in Freedom Park in Phnom Penh

After more than 2 years in Cambodia (cumulative), I will leave Cambodia in early January for a new job in Bangkok. I will do so with conflicting feelings. Recently I've realized that it's time to leave Cambodia. Professionally, I am ready for new experiences and more responsibility. On a personal level, I have become increasingly frustrated with some of the day-to-day hassles that come with living in Cambodia, some of which seem to be worsening (traffic). When my tolerance for these difficulties was not improved by travel outside the city/country, I knew it was time to consider my next move. I've always tried to avoid becoming the 'angry expat' cliché (anyone who has lived abroad in the developing world will know this stereotype): why stay and bitch when you can easily leave, unlike locals who will struggle to obtain a visa even if they can afford to live abroad?

I am looking forward to living in a bigger, more modern and international city. But I know that I will miss Phnom Penh and I will face similar issues in Thailand. Certainly, I will miss being able to travel into 'the field' and work directly with target populations. The atmosphere at my next job will be more corporate and the organization works almost exclusively on a policy level. It will not be a very immersive experience, and I do not expect to learn as much Thai or make as many local friends. From my previous experiences in big cities, I know that they can be incredibly isolating at times. Making friends is very easy in Phnom Penh, and you run into the same people all the time.

Freedom park with the new Vattanac Bank tower in the background

While I anticipated having mixed feelings about leaving Cambodia, I could not have foreseen the daily protests that are now occurring almost directly outside my apartment building in Phnom Penh. Trying to pack or read materials for my new job is difficult when the walls shake due to the bass from nearby speakers. The constant activity around my house has also made it difficult to come and go on my motorbike, and there is always the possibility that the government will intervene or more aggressive protests will break out. But apart from how the protests disrupt my schedule, I am glad that Cambodians are finally speaking up against corruption, impunity and the deplorable wealth gap (there are now thousands of Range Rovers and Porsche SUVs clogging the city's narrow streets while real wages for ordinary Cambodians have stagnated). When I first arrived in 2011, almost no one spoke about politics. Many of my friends asked me to not say the Prime Minister's name out loud in public. When I returned in late summer 2012, I was hoping the overall economic/political situation had improved in the year I was gone. Instead, there were fresh accusations of land grabbing, environmental destruction and politically-motivated arrests. Through my work, the more I learned about the country, the more cynical and resigned I became. But now there is less fear and change seems possible, even likely. This does not mean that I endorse the opposition. As a rule, I don't put much faith in any politician. But I am happy to see that a real opposition exists.

More than anything, I hope that peace will prevail in the end.

Dieng Plateau #2

View of Sulfuric Lake, Dieng Plateau, Central Java, Indonesia  

Garment Manufacturing in the Spotlight

While the factory collapse in Bangladesh has garnered worldwide attention, a second factory accident in a week has occurred in Cambodia. Garment manufacturing is often cited as the bedrock of the 'Cambodian development model'. Due in part to the UN's occupation of the country in the early '90s, garment factories have received extra scrutiny here and are supposed to be 'sweatshop free' as evaluated by the UN's Better Factories Cambodia (BFC). These accidents, alongside other incidents over the last few years including mass fainting and fires, question the veracity of that label. But beyond basic safety measures, few observes seem to question the garment industry as a whole and its much touted development benefits.

From the Southeast Asia Globe: 
“Cambodia is internationally branded as a sweatshop-free country thanks to BFC’s inspections, but the impact of the programme on workers’ well-being is far from glorious,” said Bent Gehrt, the Worker Rights Consortium’s Southeast Asia field director. “While all neighbouring countries have witnessed important wage raises without any ‘Better Factories’ programme, real wages in the Cambodian garment sector have fallen by 16.6% over the past decade. Workers are poorer today than they were ten years ago, and the vast majority is now employed on short-term contracts. Impoverishment and job insecurity pushed them to accept excessive overtime in factories where basic health and security standards are often not even met.”

From what I've heard from friends and through my job, working at a garment factory is considered a last resort. It's hard work and long hours for low pay, requiring employees to leave their families to share cramped quarters or be trucked in and out at odd hours. After a hard-won 'raise' of the minimum wage from 60 to around 70 dollars per month, local observes predicted that raises in rent and food costs around the factories would offset any gains in purchasing power. Stories of management cheating employees are common. While these claims may be unsubstantiated, it's worth noting that conflicting with your superior in the workplace is considered inappropriate in Cambodia, especially for women (who make up the vast majority of employees). 

One of our biggest challenges at CEDAC is younger generations migrating to work in factories or construction. In many areas, it already appears as though there is a 'lost' generation, with villages populated by older people and their grandchildren. Their grown children's presence can be seen in the abundance of motorbikes and cell phones bought with remittance money, but this trend seems unsustainable, at least in terms of supporting a village/family farmer economy. Without dedicated, able-bodied farmers engaging in farming as a profession, the prospects of improving rural livelihoods in the long term is uncertain. Somewhat ironically, given the contemporary image of mass urbanization and industrialization in the developing world, most of Cambodia's factories are located in relatively rural areas. In Kampong Chnang, massive, cheap looking warehouses appear as if they were simply dropped in the rice fields, like in Sim City. I can't imagine there are very stringent environmental regulations, which is especially concerning given the recent discovery of high levels of lead in rice from Asia.

Certainly, Cambodia needs jobs for young people, many of whom are not well-educated. Garment manufacturing is here to stay, and has undoubtedly helped families climb out of abject poverty. But is there any way to improve workers lives in this race-to-the bottom industry ? Western consumers buying the clothes hold the most power to persuade, but it's hard to object to cheap and stylish clothes, especially given the moribund economy. I fully admit that much of my wardrobe comes from H&M and the like. The even cheaper clothes I buy here appear to have 'fallen off the truck' or are perhaps the product of extra (undocumented) overtime. And what happens when another country opens up and is able to offer even lower wages and less scrutiny?

Dieng Plateau #1

Sunrise in Dieng Plateau, Indonesia

Jogjia vs. Phnom Penh

Terraced vegetable farms in Dieng Plateau, Central Java, Indonesia

One of the biggest advantages of living in Southeast Asia is the ability to travel at your own pace without a return ticket hanging over your head. The longer I'm here, the less the idea of a 6-month 'all-around the world' trip appeals to me. What can you really see in 3 days in each place? In Southeast Asia, each city (and many minor stops) has a nearly identical 'backpacker' strip of hostels, Western-friendly restaurants and grimy bars. The schtick gets old quick, especially the constant touting and scams.

During Khmer New Year, I visited some friends in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, or 'Jogjia'. Despite being home to the famous Borobudur and Prambanan temples, Jogia is only a minor destination in Indonesia. When I told people of my plans, most people followed up with: "And then you're going to Bali?" As beautiful as I'm sure Bali is, I was happy to avoid the aforementioned 'backpacker strip' and instead get to know Jogjia and take a few day trips. It's a pleasant city brimming culture (batik, traditional dance, period architecture, street art) and great food. It was also an interesting comparison to Phnom Penh. While Jogjia has the advantage of not being the capital (we also skipped Jakarta), it felt roughly equivalent in size and scale to Phnom Penh, just a bit less intense, more laid back. Instead of Range Rovers or McMansions, there are higher-end motorbikes and compact neighborhoods of small but sturdy single-family homes. While there were few exotic fancy restaurants, the quality of food at family places and roadside stalls was obviously superior to Cambodia. This was indicative to me of a more mature and balanced economy

This impression was even more pronounced in the countryside. We did an overnight trip to Dieng Plateau in Central Java, which forms the floor of a caldera complex between volcanoes. I was amazed by the condition of the road despite being the rainy season. But I was more shocked by the access to electricity and irrigation enjoyed by these remote areas. Farmers grow potatoes and other cooler-climate crops in terraces that sometimes reach the top of steep rock faces, with irrigation pipes snaking up alongside vertiginous steps. At sunrise, the valleys are dotted with the glittering home and street lights. In Cambodia, only an hour or two outside of Phnom Penh, people depend on car batteries for electricity. Despite the mostly flat land and the abundance of lakes and rivers in Cambodia, after harvest, most fields are dry and sand colored until June. The government has made some progress in these areas recently, but it has been slow coming.

This is not to say that I think of Indonesia as some paradise. My friends cautioned that Java is much more prosperous than the other islands. Indonesia is also notorious for corruption, topping the inaugural Corruption Perception Index in 1995. But in a way, that knowledge gave me some hope. If the farmers in Dieng have water and electricity despite the country's challenges, perhaps things will in improve as Cambodia develops.

Land Issues Continue

The Phnom Penh reports that the many of the ELCs granted in 2012 were from the country's last remaining protected areas, which appears to be a tactic to reduce conflict with communities over ELCs on actively cultivated land. Furthermore, similar land awards intended to help the poor are allegedly subject to high levels of corruption and nepotism.

Cambodia: Resource Cursed (again?)

CEDAC farmer showing us his future plans for his farm. The authors of 'Poor Economics' claim that a cash-transfer program to the poor may allow them to concentrate on longer term planning since their daily needs are satisfied.

'

"Every nation wants to strike oil, and after it happens, nearly every nation is worse off for it. It may seem paradoxical, but finding a hole in the ground that spouts money can be one of the worst things that can happen to a country." 

Sobering first words from Tina Rosenberg in an oped in the NYTimes on the oil resource curse and how oil-to-cash transfer programs can help combat it. Some great ideas here that Cambodia could implement after it starts earning revenues from its recent offshore oil deal with Chevron (an 80-20 split favoring the government). In 'Poor Economics' by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, which I recently finished and hope to discuss in more depth later, the authors make the case that cash transfer programs, even when they are unconditional (i.e. not dependent on sending your children to school), have a positive impact on the livelihoods and long-term prospects of the poorest families. Cambodian officials would be wise to implement a program along these lines, not just for oil revenues, but for all resource extraction revenues ('legal' timber from ECLs, minerals...even gambling), which are routine causes of conflict. Even assuming that some of the money will be siphoned off by corruption, having a system in place will allow for future improvement and at least some gains toward reducing wealth disparity.

Sadly, I doubt this will be the case. I predict that Cambodia will follow Ghana's lead in pledging the money from oil to big infrastructure projects, the kind that are "likely to be felled by mismanagement and graft" according to Ms. Rosenburg. For example, on a recent work trip to Prey Vang province, the community we were working had a large and modern looking canal nearby. I thought this was a good sign, despite the fact that there were no secondary channels to reach more remote farmers. My co-worker, however, pointed out that it hasn't functioned correctly since several wall portions were washed away during the floods of 2011, and there is "no money" to fix them. He predicted the other new canals and water gates in the province would face a similar fate in the next several years.

Saigon-Hue #8 (out of order)

Incense censer on the Heaven Terrace. Nam Giao Esplande. Hué, Vietnam.

North wall. Nam Giao Esplanade. Hué, Vietnam.

The Nam Giao Esplanade is the only surviving site that was used for sacrificial ceremonies by the Emperor based on the dogma of heaven fate of Confucianism. The structure of the terraces are derived from ideas about the Universe composed of a circular heavens and square earth.

Ratanakiri #3

Sunset from the sacred Yak Lom crater lake

Ratanakiri #2

--> Mr. Sal Hueng, of the  --> Kachok ethnic minority group, weaving a traditional carrying basket  Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri, Cambodia's remote northeast provinces, are home to a 'mosaic' of indigenous peoples, as the guide books put it. I'm always confused as to how ethnicity is defined in Cambodia. I know Cambodians that claim to be 100% Chinese but whose parents and grandparents were all born here, who claim that 'Khmer' only means dark skinned people from the countryside... only to have others tell me that the dark skinned people in the countryside in Siem Reap are minority groups. However, there are clearly different traditions, languages and religions in the northeast, areas which have only recently been opened up to the rest of the country.

Mr. Hueng's home garden

These groups clearly face serious development challenges, and suffer from greater poverty than the rest of the country. The new roads into these provinces are a good step in the right direction in ending their isolation. However, with roads brings migrants attracted to the cheap land, and entices locals to leave their homeland in search of work in other provinces. It's also apparent that the new roads have also facilitated significant deforestation, which I discussed earlier. People who lack technical knowledge of agriculture even when compared to their poor peers in the lowlands must now learn to farm more intensively, as foraging in the forest is no longer an option for many.

Mr. Hueng reviewing his crops and smoking a hand rolled cigarette

These populations have historically suffered from discrimination (as in, recorded by Chinese emissaries who visited the ancient Khmer empire nearly a millennium ago). I wouldn't be surprised if that discrimination is continuing, especially considering their strong accents in Khmer and the widespread preference for white skin and soft features. CEDAC, among other local and international NGOs, is working with the indigenous people in both provinces to improve their livelihoods and to gain a more prominent voice in public affairs.

The Global Farmland Rush

A recent NYtimes oped discussed the global implications of what I described in my previous post on Ratanakiri. While in Cambodia, many accuse the ruling party of abusing its position, the demand side of the equation is something I hadn't considered in depth as contributing to the issue in Cambodia but is obviously a huge factor. If local governments aren't considering the affects on their people carefully enough, could it be possible to discourage international companies from using products from disputed land through tracing the source and threatening boycotts?  

Ratanakiri #1

Sunrise in Banlung, Ratanakriri province, Cambodia

For the last two weeks of January, I traveled with my CEDAC colleagues to Siem Reap and Ratanakiri provinces to visit projects and attend meetings. While I was happy to have another free day to visit the temples again in Siem Reap, I was mostly looking forward to finally seeing Ratanakiri, the exotic-sounding northeast province famed for its weather, natural beauty and diverse numbers of ethnic minorities. After I had been blown away in Mondulkiri over the Water Festival holiday--I hadn't realized that Cambodia had such a varied landscape with that much forest remaining--and I had high expectations. And while it was certainly an eye-opening and illuminating experience, unfortunately I wouldn't call it a particularly pleasant one.

All my life I've had a certain sensitivity to environmental issues, especially deforestation. I'm not sure why, but there are few things more depressing to me than the prospect of almost all global forests being wiped out in the next 30 years. Its gotten to the point where I can't even watch Planet Earth:  the inevitable 'but their fate is threatened....' at the end makes me too sad. Anyone with any knowledge of the issue would point out that I didn't do myself any favors by coming to Cambodia, a country notorious for its high deforestation rates. Somehow, during my first visit, while I knew that Cambodia has been largely deforested, I had stars in my eyes. I told myself that the forests had been cleared long ago, and now what remained was protected. Sadly, that is not the case.

Recently clear-cut land. Ratanakiri province, Cambodia.

We took a new road to Ratanakiri from Siem Reap, through Preah Vihear and Steung Treng provinces. Nearly the entire route, small islands of forest were surrounded by a sea of burnt stumps, symmetrical clear-cut tracks and rubber tree seedlings in perfect rows. Trucks loaded with massive logs routinely passed us. The dirt-floor roadside stall we ate lunch in served us on two-feet thick hardwood tables and regal-looking solid wood chairs. Every two kilometers, there was another ad for a Chinese earthworks machine company. It was the real-life inspiration for the deforestation illustrations in every middle school biology text book--the only thing missing was the stampede of scared animals in the other direction. I kept waiting and waiting for this nightmarish landscape to end (a coworker put on Michael Jackson's 'Earth Song' unprompted), and for the pristine Ratanakiri forests advertised to tourists to begin. But it never happened, and before I knew it, we were in Banlung, the provincial capital.

Rosewood chairs at a typical Khmer guesthouse.

There are many factors pushing the (further) deforestation of Cambodia, as there are in any tropical country. The demand for timber is high at all levels of society: most Cambodians still cook their daily meals with wood or charcoal; any family with means has a set of those fancy wooden chairs, at a minimum. Additionally, illegal logging by both Cambodians and foreigners is a constant threat, as the global demand for timber and especially rosewood makes even a single tree extremely valuable. However, it is clear that in the northeast, the largest contributing factor is the awarding of large economic land concessions (known in Cambodia as ECLs) to rubber companies and other agribusinesses. These concessions are highly controversial and are being accused of infringing on local people's land rights as well. While they were formally halted last May, deals still in the process before the decry are still moving forward, and there is no public list of how many that includes.

The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia Daily and others have reported extensively on these issues, and I'm certainly no expert. Cambodia needs development, especially in its agriculture sector, but this doesn't seem like the most sustainable way to be about doing so. While it may not offer much in the way of immediate pay-off, sustainably managing the few forests that remain seems like a better long term investment, from tourism, non-timber forest products, regulated logging, and sustained livelihoods for the people who depend directly on the forest. But I wonder if the livelihood of the people who depend on the forests are taken into account, or if then have a voice at the bargaining table. There has been some encouraging news in recent weeks, but in many areas, the issue is far from settled.

Saigon-Hue #9

Chinese character on Mausoleum exterior wall. Hué, Vietnam. 

Vietnamese, unlike most of its mainland neighbors, uses a romanticized alphabet for writing. This makes Vietnam a somewhat easier place to navigate: despite the fact that I find Vietnamese extremely difficult to speak, you can at least read the names of restaurants and streets, which is impossible in Khmer. However, despite the fact that there is longstanding antipathy for China (but not the US, curiously)  Chinese characters are everywhere in Vietnam, usually ornamenting graveyards, pagodas and small shrines. Through Wikipedia, I learned that when Chinese influence took hold in the 2nd century BC, Chinese became the sole script used for official and educational purposes. By the 18th century, vernacular Vietnamese had grown in prestige and was written using both Chinese characters and unique characters that resemble Chinese. An alphabetized system was developed by missionaries in the 17th century, and more formally introduced by the French, who sought to eliminate Chinese systems from the country. By the early 20th century, following more widespread schooling, the romanticized alphabet was the primary written form of the language. It appears that Chinese, or Chinese-looking characters, are used exclusively for religious purposes, à la Latin in the Catholic church.

The French also tried to replace Khmer script with a romanticized alphabet, but a young King Norodom Sihanouk had rejected the idea, marking one of his first conflicts with the French colonial regime that had hoped he would be a pliant figurehead.

Saigon-Hue #7

Lilly pads in Citadel canal. Hué, Vietnam.

Saigon-Hue #6

Citadel walls and moat, at dusk. Hué, Vietnam.

The Imperial City (Vietnamese: Kinh thành Huế) in Huế is a walled fortress and palace in the former capital of Vietnam.

Gate, inside the citadel. Hué, Vietnam

"In June 1802 Nguyễn Phúc Ánh took control of Vietnam and proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long.  Gia Long confided with geomancers to decide which was the best place for a new palace and citadel to be built. After [deciding] on a suitable site in Huế, building began in 1804. Thousands of workers were ordered to produce a wall and moat, 10 kilometers long. 

View of moat, walls and imperial-era building. Hué, Vietnam.

In the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive a Division-sized force of North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong soldiers launched a coordinated attack on Huế seizing most of the city. During the initial phases of the Battle of Hue, due to Huế's religious and cultural status, Allied forces were ordered not to bomb or shell the city, for fear of destroying the historic structures; but as casualties mounted in the house-to-house fighting these restrictions were progressively lifted and the fighting caused substantial damage to the Imperial City. Out of 160 buildings only 10 major sites remain because of the battle." (via Wikipedia)

Saigon-Hue #5

Gate of the Citadel under a full moon. Hué, Vietnam.

My attempts at night photography persist despite quite limited success. Phnom Penh and Saigon's shophouses make both cities look like a clever piece of modern art at night: stacked boxes, some illuminated from within, others spotlit from above. But for obvious reasons, touring (empty) historic sights at night lends an air of mystery to already evocative spaces. While I like this photo's kind of abstract, painterly effect, it doesn't do much to capture the scene. The ceramic mosaics on the gate and the canals below were glittering in the moonlight, while the arches were in dramatic shadow.

Saigon-Hue #4

Tree in the canals of the 'Citadel', at sunset. Hue, Vietnam

Saigon-Hue #3

American 'dog tags' and French military medals for sale as souvenirs. Hue, Vietnam.

It goes without saying that I'm not the first American to note how friendly the Vietnamese are to Americans, and how no one (except government propaganda) brings up the 'American War.' It's 2013. Vietnam is a young country, with most of the population under 30. The US and Vietnam now have a good, even warm relationship. And yet, considering the biggest news story in Asia right now--the territorial conflict between Japan and China, and the subtext of residual anger over Japanese occupation nearly a century ago--it is remarkable that such a long and brutal conflict could be consigned to history.

My American friend working at an NGO in Hue said he forgets there was ever a war in Vietnam, despite the fact that the old DMZ is only a half hour from his house. It says a lot of about the Vietnamese people that they've been able to move on and focus on the future.* In Cambodia, politicians still use the fallout from the Khmer Rouge to explain the country's relative lack of progress on development indicators.

The 'Vietnam War' is similarly absent from public dialogue in the US, but surely for different reasons. As the US looks to finish in Afghanistan and with the legacy of the Iraq War still unsure, I think some soul searching is in order as to what exactly was accomplished in these conflicts and what long term significance they have, beside the loss of life on both sides. 

*It's worth noting that I don't speak Vietnamese, and I've only visited the country for two weeks total, so my impressions are not particularly nuanced. I have heard that returning emigres can face considerable discrimination. Certainly there are some who want to keep the conflict alive in public memory: at every stop on the Saigon-Hanoi railway, a prerecorded English track with nationalistic stories about the war is broadcast.

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Saigon-Hue #2

Incense at Tu Hieu Pagoda cemetery

Saigon-Hue #1

Mosaic at the tomb of Tu Duc

For my third trip to Vietnam, we took the Christmas week to travel from Saigon to Hue and back (with a stop in Daneng/Hoi An on the way) by train. It was great to have the chance to spend some time in Vietnam outside of its busting cities (Saigon IS 'bustling' incarnate), to see some of its breathtaking scenery, and to visit some of its historic cultural site, from both the pre-colonial and French periods.

While Cambodia certainly has the more impressive ruins in terms of scale and grandeur, Vietnam (the southern half, at least) offers visitors more intimate and contemplative relics that are perhaps more closely connected to our current world than Angkor Wat is. They are also much more recent...many of the sites we visited dated from the late 18th and 19th centuries, a period of which almost nothing has survived in Cambodia.

I was also struck by how very different Vietnam from the rest of mainland Southeast Asia. Whereas Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar all share a common religion and related tongues, Vietnam has its own mix of religious traditions and influences (Confucianism and characters from China, Catholicism and romanticized alphabet from the French). The iconography, temple layouts, and even color schemes are quite different (Cambodians have an affinity for acid pinks and pastel yellows, whereas Vietnamese seem to prefer cooler earth tones). 

My favorite historical place we visited is the tomb of Tu Duc, with low rise temples and courtyards set among serpentine canals and tree-lined hills. While apparently much of the art work from these sites was pillaged long ago, I was still drawn to ceramic-plate mosaics that ornamented many of the outer walls.