Change self to help change country

Conventional wisdom says Cambodians are quiet, passive, peaceful and accepting. Generally, they believe karma dictates. Yet a sign in Khmer under Hun Sen's photo, both attached to a tree, reads: "Would die for ricefields." Another: "Would die in order to live."

"Would die for ricefields"

Jul. 5, 2011
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Pacific Daily News (Guam)

"You cannot open a book without learning something," said the great Chinese teacher Confucius.

Though I hated to open a book as a child -- perhaps more as a rebellion against my father's endless preaching about the value of education as a key to success -- I nevertheless was forced to open not one book but many as I struggled in my college freshman year, not just to learn something, but to get a decent grade.

A lot of what I read made little or no sense at the time, but one day it began to make sense, like a lightbulb that suddenly burns brightly.

In graduate school, I read a quote that inspired me. Equally as powerful as the poem "Don't Quit," to which I attached photos I took of the island of Guam and created a YouTube video, are the words of Harvard University educator and senator from Massachusetts, Edward Everett: "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

And that "something that I can do" is to write and share what creative and critical thought I have learned from great men and women who tell of their own experiences. Over the years, I have had significant opportunities to apply what I have learned, such as during my service in the Khmer People's National Liberation Front at the Khmer-Thai border.

American-trained in political science, I am a believer in, and have linked my life to, the principles of individual rights, freedom and the rule of law. Man lives and man dies, but those principles live on, thanks to the men and women the world over who fight to ensure they are perpetuated.

Today, I watch my countrymen fight among themselves. Many invoke the principles I mentioned, but routinely brush off, or criticize and oppose others, who invoke the same principles but follow a different leader with a different organization.

It's dangerous that Cambodians have a natural propensity to make anything and everything personal. When they do that, and live in a culture that teaches "honor" and "saving face," they are boxed in and the stakes in any dispute are artificially raised because of the overriding need to save face at any cost.

The resulting spiral breeds endless thesis-antithesis, and encourages the sowing of "doubt," about which I wrote last week, and which Buddha called "poison," "thorn" and "a sword that kills."

Thus, I have suggested that a cultural change catalyzed by individual changes in attitude is an essential foundation to political change. Russian writer Leo Tolstoy said, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

Although I oppose the violations of individual rights, freedom and the rule of law by Prime Minister Hun Sen and his regime, I acknowledge (as I have done in the past) that today's Cambodia under the Vietnamese-installed Hun Sen is better than the Cambodia of Beijing-backed Pol Pot of Democratic Kampuchea, known infamously for the 1975-1979 killing fields.

When the U.S.-based International Republican Institute (linked to the Republican Party) revealed earlier this year that 76 percent of Cambodians, surveyed in mid-2010, said Cambodia is headed in "the right direction," they cited better infrastructure -- roads, bridges, buildings, schools, health clinics.

Thus, the Asian Times Online's June 22 article by Julie Masis, a Cambodia-based journalist, referenced Cambodia's experiences with a fast economic growth (about 9 percent) over the past decade. Masis corroborated what Cambodians see as improvements. Only five years ago, Phnom Penh's tallest structure was a seven-story hotel; today, nine buildings have 20 or more stories and 55 others are between 10 and 19 stories. More high-rises are on the way -- "at least 200 additional buildings with more than 10 floors, including a 60-story skyscraper."

Yet IRI's survey also noted that 23 percent of Cambodians polled said Cambodia is headed in "the wrong direction." They cited corruption, joblessness, high poverty and high inflation.

A friend who just returned from Cambodia wrote: "Life in Cambodia is getting harder for the poor. Food prices rise rapidly and people have difficulty dealing with inflation. ... It takes more dollars to buy the same thing."

While Phnom Penh is described as "a bustling urban metropolis," and land prices are put at $3,000 per square meter, Julie Masis wrote that around 30 percent of Cambodia's population still lives under the poverty line (less than 75 cents per day).

While the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, increasing arbitrary and oppressive measures by the authorities have resulted in some localized rioting. Some 200 villagers in Kompong Speu battled with wooden sticks, knives, sling shots, against 300 armed police, routing the authorities. Villagers' patience is reaching its limit.

Conventional wisdom says Cambodians are quiet, passive, peaceful and accepting. Generally, they believe karma dictates. Yet a sign in Khmer under Hun Sen's photo, both attached to a tree, reads: "Would die for ricefields." Another: "Would die in order to live."

For generations, Khmers lived on their land peacefully. Now their tranquility is at risk. Many are forced to move as their land is needed for economic development.

Lately, I have collected published photos of events that occurred in Cambodia and created several PowerPoints now posted on YouTube, free of commentary. I encourage readers to spare a few minutes to view the presentations, accompanied by Khmer music and songs. The pictures speak for themselves.

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.