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Published: November 2nd 2011
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Wall of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces precinct.It’s been just under 3 years since my last visit to Phnom Penh, but since my return, I’ve noticed subtle and some not-so-subtle changes around the city - some good, some I’ve yet to form an opinion on, and some obviously life-changing ones for a number of the inhabitants.
Probably insignificant to some people, but I’m saddened by the reduction in numbers of cyclos and their riders, around town. The ones that remain are obviously suffering financially, as many of the cyclos appear in relatively poor condition. Progress? Yes.....but I feel for the cyclo riders and their potential to earn an income. What are these guys doing now to support their families? They aren’t the most educated men, and many appear quite old now...they aren’t retiring gracefully and enjoying a pension, as there is no pension system here for non-government workers. I saw one guy the other day, peddling along with a medium size cupboard onboard...the guy looked about 70yo, and I couldn’t help but feel sad that at his age, he has to work so damn hard, for so little, in order to survive...but I guess he doesn’t have a lot of options...
Perhaps the cyclo riders have
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Slum area near school, where houses once stood been “pushed” off the road by the growth in car numbers – they seem to be everywhere now. As I mentioned the other day, it seems that every 3rd car is a Lexus 4WD, or Toyota Camry etc. There appears to be a growing divide between the people that “have” and the people that “have not” - Cambodia is still a developing nation, and at present not a huge exporter of anything, so I’m not sure what the growth industries are, that are enabling people to afford what I consider reasonably expensive cars.
It dawned on me this morning that perhaps the cyclos are becoming a fading memory as Cambodia rushes forward in the 21st century. I realised that the majority of people that I see using the cyclos, are older women.......perhaps they are too afraid to be on the back of those “fast” motos, and prefer the slow and steady pace, and relative safety, of the cyclos. So perhaps the need for this form of transport is fading into the sunset along with the aging cyclo operators, and the aging users.
I will never forget one of my first impressions of Phnom Penh when I arrived in
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Slum area near school December 2008. It was of a building that I considered derelict, and that had a “For Sale” sign on the balcony of one of the apartments. I was shocked to think that people lived in the building, let alone would try to sell one of the apartments. Surprisingly, the building is still standing, and people are still living in it.......and it still looks like it should be pulled down.
But on my side of town (about 6kms from Riverside and the tourist strip), development is very evident. Since I was last here, Central Market has been given a clean up and paint job and stands out like the landmark it is, however it’s fairly well overshadowed by the Canadia (their spelling) Bank Building. It’s the tallest building in P.P., and therefore probably Cambodia. If you get lost in a back street, you just have to wonder around a bit until you can see it again, and get your bearings back. The other day, I wondered in to have a look inside the Canadia bldg, and in particular, the new shopping area that is the process of being fitted out. I sat in a very sterile cafe, drinking really bad
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Slum area near school coffee, and watched yet another high-rise (Vattanac) being built across the road. I pass this building each day as I go to school, and it’s going to be very impressive indeed when it’s finished, but it’s in such contrast to the world around it, that I can’t help but think again, that it’s being built for the wealthy and the tourists, but not for every day Cambodians. The divide is going to widen.
I know progress happens, and you cannot stop it, and often times it does provide a much needed financial boost to the community, along with improved living conditions –so I’m not against it, in the right circumstances. I know that the construction of the Vattanac building is providing jobs to a great many people and will provide more jobs when it’s finished, so that’s good, it’s just that the building looks like it would be more at home in Taiwan or Shanghai, or K.L. etc...it’s all glass and sweeping curves – it will be beautiful. Perhaps this is the new direction for Cambodia, I just hope PP doesn’t lose the beauty, character, charm and magic that it currently has. I hope the growth doesn’t inhibit the
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Vattanac building...there's a new tower behind it, and a huge, glass forecourt over the shops etc. friendly nature of the Khmer people, and turn them into a bunch of fast-living, hard people, who forget to love life no matter what, because that’s who they are now - no matter their circumstances, they appear to have a joy for life. Something we of the western world could, would, should embrace, but we just seem too busy....building glass towers !!!
The distance between the Canadia Bank Building and my apartment, is about 2.5kms, and along the road (Russian Blvd) are a number of government/ministry buildings that are also new, and they join up with the armed forces precinct at the end of my street (I’ve included photos of them in previous blogs). The buildings are impressive, and appear to be used every week for some form of international conference, so I’m of the opinion that the government seems to be trying to pull the country into the 21st century. If I had confidence that the “real” people were benefitting from the growth, and not just the “fat-cats”, I’d be really supportive of this development, but corruption is rife, so I have to think that the community isn’t the winner. Certainly, if you look across the road and
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Look closely and you will see the houses/shelters near the tree..next to the old railway line. Across the road, ie behind me, are the new, very flash, ministry buildings open your eyes for even a brief second, you will see some families living in some very basic shelters along the old railway line....somehow I don’t think they get a lot of comfort from the view across the road.
To explain my thoughts re the growing imbalance here, my school as you know is within a slum, and it’s only about 10 mins by moto from the apartment. The route that we take, goes along Russian Blvd, past the new ministry buildings and armed forces precinct mentioned above, turns left onto Monivong Blvd and therefore past the Canadia Bank Bldg, then past the Vattanac building which is under construction....past a couple of universities, a flash hotel, and a large French hospital. We then make a few turns and arrive at the school, located in an area in stark contrast to the one we’ve just driven through. The government also wants this area for development and so has drained the nearby lake, and is in the progressing of buying people’s homes....for I understand, US$1000. They then kick people out and tear down the houses!!! With the changing face of PP, how on earth can anyone that has little means of
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Blvd near the Canadia Bank building getting a well-paid job, buy another house for $1000 they’ve been given??? I’m told the houses in the slum are worth US$8000, so they are being ripped off to start with. I do not like this face of “progress” at all !!! I cannot believe there is not mass outrage at what is being done, but I get the feeling that people know that they need to be silent and not speak up....the word “corruption” is only used by the locals when they know it’s safe to speak it out loud, and only after a glance around to see who might be listening.
I’ve personally seen the corrupt behaviour on few occasions already, and have heard a number of stories from trusted sources, so I know for a fact that it does exist........in fact the police and government don’t make any great attempt to hide it. I can only hope that this ugly side of Cambodia changes....I know that there are people working towards it, but it’s a slow process, and as they’ve said, it may not happen in their lifetime.
Another area of change that I would welcome in Cambodia, and quickly, is a total turnaround in
the attitude to litter. The common practice when walking along the street, is to just drop rubbish on the street. Sure, there are street sweepers almost everywhere (the human variety), and they do a great job of getting a lot of the rubbish, but sadly not all. When it rains, the drains clog quickly due to the rubbish and flooding occurs – it’s a shocking problem. Outside of the main “CBD”, the pollution is appalling. Streets, creeks, streams, rivers, lakes are simply filled with plastic bags full of rubbish, water bottles, food scraps (particularly around the markets).........it really is awful to see, but worse still, the negative impact on the environment could be avoided. I know there is an education program happening, so hopefully that will succeed in time, and before too much more damage is done.
On my personal wish-list for change, is the smoking in restaurants etc. It still happens here, and I find it uncomfortable. The good thing is though, that you only have to educate half of the population, as generally, women don’t smoke here. If they do, they’re often likely to be prostitutes, or considered such, so I think in my time here, I’ve
only seen one woman smoking...now, if we can just educate the men on the risks, we might see a positive change in this behaviour....fingers-crossed.
Another thing I’ve noticed this visit, and didn’t see last time, is the amount of people using mobile phones. The local networks are really, really cheap to use, and you can buy a mobile phone for $10, so everyone has one.....and they all use them for texting and talking while riding their motos, or driving their cars etc. Texting is a very accepted form of communication now. Honestly, I’ve never seen an accident here, which surprises me greatly as almost half the drivers are on their phones. The moto riders have a great knack of tucking their phones inside their helmets and riding along chatting.....but I also see them texting, and somehow manoeuvring through the traffic, on a regular basis. It’s all very scary, but it’s the “norm” here, so I’ve become quite used to it, but always make sure I look twice at the drivers of cars as they’re turning into a street that I might be crossing, just in case he’s looking at his phone, and not me...
As always, hugs
from Cambodia, xx
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Sylvi
non-member comment
Sad corruption
It's very sad to see all the high profile and govt buildings are new and pristine and ordinary people are being kicked out of their homes due to its location. It's always the ordinary person who looses out and the rich carry on as if nothing. They obviously have blinkers on. Sad but it's the way throughout the world. Now Jo Turner. she must be soooooo busy that she's totally forgotten how to communicate with her Aussie friends. I haven't heard from her since she left Bris and Pam said the same. Oh well. Hope everything is going well for her son's coffee shop anyway. Funny, the other night we wished for heavy rain as the local church bells went off on the quarter the whole night. It was like being back in Rothenberg Germany where the same thing happened to us. It's a totally archaic practice and makes no sense. Not much sleep that night. At the moment I'm looking forward to going home but I'm sure once back I'll start pining for travel after awhile. Once "normal" life sets in again with responsibilities etc I'll probably want to be back here. Oh well, that's life. I'm sure you'll be very sad leaving the school and the kids but do lots of high fives and "you go girl" dancing to make everyone laugh and then run the hell out so you can cry outside. But then smile and pat yourself on the back for having done such a great job. It's one life experience that has made you learn and grow and you've helped others do the same. Then it's onto the next adventure. Hope your cat is being well looked after by your house sitter and you have no worries there. Keep safe and happy. Hugs and kisses. Sylvi xo