Can Cambodia Do Anything to Dampen the Effects of the Economic Crisis?

Op-Ed by KJE

Originally posted at http://about-cambodia.blogspot.com

First, we need to ask whether Cambodia is suffering from the same effects as other nations and whether the same sort of aid and support can be brought to bear in this country. Second, we also need to look at the current regional geo-political situation in face of repeated incursions by Thai troops into Cambodian territory. Some constraints might hamper the government’s ability to act decisively in either sector.

The media come out almost every day with another dire look at the Cambodian economy. If they are to be believed the country faces almost immediate collapse, or so one might assume. But is it really so bad, or can we discount some of the representations think tanks and many other institutions publish? What we do know, though, is that more often than not all predictions are more like reading tealeaves than anything else. Of course, they use certain parameters, but the values of those parameters are hypothetical, and as such rather subjective. Remember, some analysts saw oil prices at $200 at the end of 2008. The U. S. performed better in the 1st quarter of 2009 than analysts expected. So can we disregard them altogether? Certainly not, but rather than seeing them as absolute we should all take them with a little grain of salt.

The Prime Minister was originally very sanguine in his outlook and stated that the crisis will more or less bypass Cambodia, as it does not have an economic structure similar to other countries. He is right about the second part. Of course, he is a politician and they usually paint a better picture if they are in power or a bleaker one if they are the opposition. The same holds true in Cambodia. Naturally, he is now reviled for this remark from many quarters.

Of course, what he failed to see was that Cambodia with its narrow economic base and dependence on foreign economies, whether as the destination for exports or origin of tourists will eventually be affected one way or another. The current downturn in all major sectors proves the point.

On the other hand, we should also remember that leading politicians in the countries most affected did not see this crisis until it had already happened. It looks as though virtually everybody was literally caught with their pants down. I, for one, still remember the statements by the previous American presidential candidate John McCain that ‘the fundamentals of the American economy are strong’ right up to the minute big banks started to falter. The previous president didn’t have a clue whatsoever anyway. And the leaders in Europe weren’t faring much better either.

President Obama hastily cobbled together a stimulus package and a trillion-dollar deficit budget to put an end to the current downturn and to lead the American economy out of this recession.

Europe is still wavering and squabbling among themselves while the rest of the world is standing by, waiting for signals from the industrialized world to have its repercussions everywhere.

Now what about tiny Cambodia? Can Cambodia do the same? We know that the main sectors are the garment manufacturing industry, construction and real estate, tourism, and agriculture – mainly rubber, rice, and cassava (tapioca), and some palm oil. There is a fish industry, but it is mainly for domestic consumption, there was a somewhat sizable cashew nut production but many a cashew farmer converted to cassava or rubber.

Reportedly, the Cambodian national budget calls for $1.88 billion for 2009. $223 million or 11.9% is allocated for national defense and security. Unfortunately, the government has not made available the budget to the public or even the media. We do not know the allocations by sector. But we do know that the defense and security budget includes all expenditures for the military, the national police, the border police, etc. Therefore, this item looks less generous than at first glance. One also needs to remember the brief flare-up at the Thai border in 2008. It makes sense that the government wants to bolster its military power vis-à-vis Thailand. $399 million or 21.2% are set aside for health and education, which is less than most developed nations spend but still considered within an accepted range.

Budgets are passed and once people have money that is given to them, they tend to spend it. However, if there is a shortfall they won’t be able to. As the economy slows down and collection of taxes don’t meet projections all that allocated money may not be available to spend, so certain items, e. g. construction of new military barracks might be postponed, or some new schools might not be built. The major increases are to go into pay-raises for the military, teachers, and civil servants. They all say it is still not enough, and they are right. We should also remember that more than half of the budget is financed by foreign aid, namely a cool $1.0 billion.

Son Chhay, apparently the economic spokesperson for the opposition – not as one might assume Sam Rainsy, a financial expert - requested that the government impose tariffs in order to prevent cheaper imports from impacting the Cambodian marketplace. Previously he had also called for subsidies to farmers to strengthen their position.

Finance Minister Keath Chhon recently wrote that the government subsidized electricity with $300 million in 2008, and $450 million went to the fiber industry. But that was all in 2008. He said further that government intervention, say subsidies, accounted for about $500 million of Cambodia’s GDP, an estimated $10.3 billion at the official exchange rate or $29.24 billion by purchasing power parity. In other words, subsidies account for 4.9 % of the GDP. This is rather substantial. It would be interesting to know the public sector’s contribution to the GDP in order to really gauge the government’s efforts for the economy. I couldn’t find a source on that figure. Any emails to the finance ministry remain unanswered.

Now should the government support the private sector in a way similar to what the U. S. government is doing or would this be somewhat counterproductive as financial resources allocated for certain purposes, e.g. public works, would not be available there? In other words, funds to boost the garment industry would not be available for, say, building roads, which after all provide jobs in the construction industry. Consequently, you save jobs in one industry but lose jobs in another. I don’t think that makes a lot of sense. And remember, private businesses are for profit and business owners might not use public funds to bolster their overall business and save jobs but to guarantee their bottom line. We see market forces at work in the garment industry - nothing more, nothing less. It is not the government’s role to interfere in faltering businesses. These are not businesses too big to fail.

How would you support the tourism industry? You can’t just go out to foreign countries and corral tourists to be sent to Cambodia. Cambodia is attractive enough as a destination for individual tourists from Europe and the U. S. and package tourists from other Asian countries. If foreign economies tank, you can spend all the money you want in advertising but you may only say a very small increase, if that, in arrivals. What has been missed in the past can’t be caught up with over the short term – namely, a more diverse tourism infrastructure, mainly along the coast. Cambodia must appeal to package tourists from Europe and the U. S. The benefit lies in larger numbers. But the country just does not have an adequate infrastructure to accommodate those. Last year we saw an increase of just 5% as opposed to a predicted 25%. Well, the 25% were put out at the beginning of 2008 when the financial crisis hadn’t hit full force yet. All things considered, the 5% is still an impressive number. In the first 2 months of 2009, there were 2% fewer arrivals than in the same period last year. People in the tourism industry know this is nothing, certainly no cause for alarm. In spite of this being the high season, this is not a discouraging number, quite the opposite and the year is not over yet. This is not to say that the Ministry for Tourism shouldn’t make any efforts to lure more tourists into the country. But to spend extra money? I wouldn’t do that. Additionally, any dollar spent now will be just like of puff of wind and mostly ineffective, as it will show results, if at all, in July or August, traditionally low season in Cambodia with fewer arrivals to begin with.

Agriculture has been hit hard with a 40% drop in prices for cassava (tapioca) and a 15% drop in rubber exports in 2008 and the plummeting of prices by 50%. There is a rice surplus available for export, but it just so happens that other countries are saddled with the same problems. No amount of subsidy will alleviate this. After all, this is not a regional problem, this is a global crisis – one thing the opposition seemingly forgets when calling for protectionist measures.

The problems in agriculture are mostly homemade and structural. 90% of the entire annual rubber production is sold to Vietnam, which just rebrands it as Vietnamese and sells it on the world market. In times of slowing demand, Vietnam naturally stops buying Cambodian rubber and sells its own first. The marketing of the surplus in rice is hampered by the same problem. Recently, I was offered 200,000 mt to sell internationally. The agent for the seller couldn’t give me the international rice classification but gave me the Khmer names only. Nobody in Africa knows anything about Khmer rice, as good as it may be. Then they wanted a 15% down payment. This is unheard of in international trade, unless it’s a government. What I mean to say is that there is an insufficient knowledge base in the country, especially in agriculture, to market their products internationally.

Then there is this strange effect, I don’t know whether it’s a typical Cambodian feature. But once they see somebody is successful with one product they all scramble to trade or plant the same product. There were rising prices for cassava in 2007 and 2008 so many changed from cashew nuts to cassava. Now that cassava is afflicted by slackening demand, they don’t know what to do. Should the government simply buy up all the production that can’t be sold? I don’t think so.

The same applies to the rubber industry, which I happen to know intimately. The government actively encouraged the cultivation of new rubber plantations, and many followed that advice. Now world demand has dropped dramatically, and prices fell just as dramatically. Despite the drop, however, the industry will survive. They just face a lean year or two. Again, no subsidy would ameliorate this. We just need to wait for demand to pick up; and this will happen once the auto industry has retooled to better, more-fuel efficient, or alternative energy-driven cars. Tires will be needed for a long time to come, not to mention other huge industries that use rubber in their products, e.g. the health industry.

And now to the construction and real estate industry, which was fueled by mostly Korean investments and developers and Cambodian entrepreneurs who wanted to imitate them. For a while it all worked out well. I won’t repeat here what I wrote about extensively in other posts. Can the government do anything for this sector at all? The short answer is a simple no. The land law on the books, if enforced, is sufficient to protect landowners and prospective buyers. There is a need to regulate the industry, though. Developers’ escrow accounts serve to protect homebuyers and investors and should not be waived. Licensing of developers is another must. As I said recently, the speculators were dealing among themselves a lot of time. There were building and speculating for phantom buyers. They simply don’t exist in that large a number. Again, how can the government help? Aside from ensuring that shady developers don’t disappear overnight, it can’t.

The cause of Cambodia’s economic problems can be found overseas on the one hand and are structural on the other. For both there is no immediate remedy. Funds are scarce and limited and since this is a dollar-based economy, no amount of printing new riels would help, other than blowing inflation out of proportion. In the U. S. and other affected countries, it was and is mainly a financial crisis with repercussions across the entire economy. What Cambodia goes through is what can be called a tertiary effect – financial crisis abroad, recession abroad, dwindling consumption abroad, consequently dampening the Cambodian economy. Again, no amount of stimulus money can ward this off. Domestic consumption cannot be spurred artificially with the majority of people living hand to mouth.

I believe the only way to live through this is to sit tight and wait for the U. S., European, Korean, and other tiger countries’ economies, in short Cambodian trading partners, to pull out of the recession. The government needs to implement a better tax collection system, ensuring that state revenue is close to what is projected in the budget, stick to its programs, and spend the money where it is supposed to go.

The perpetual question of corruption comes into play at this point as well, and we are not talking about petty corruption of the policeman who collects $3 for a wrong turn and pockets it. We are talking about the corruption at the higher and highest levels. The government must make sure that all the money received as foreign aid, or earned as royalties for land or mineral concessions, or from leases of whatever kind, doesn’t end up in party coffers or in private bank accounts but in the national treasury. If that were accomplished Cambodia would have done a great deal to help itself and will live through this slow-down relatively unscathed and be ready for the upswing in 2010, which will hopefully be the year this nightmare ends.

Let’s not forget Cambodia simply does not have the structure and the size, let alone the resources, to implement policies a lá Obama. So far, comparatively it has not been battered as severely as the U. S. or Europe. That may be a poor consolation for the people who just lost their jobs. But it by and large is still a fact.

P. S. I worked 20 years in the tourism industry, and have 20-year experience in international trade (a few years overlapping), and am now engaged in the agricultural sector in Cambodia.

Dey Krohorm Evictees: Khmerization vs. KJE

A picture of KJE as posted at his blog.

2nd February, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization

“The 7NG’s eviction of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers is the grand theft of the century.”

The inhuman evictions of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers have generated emotions and heated debates among Khmers who supported the Cambodian People’s Party on the one hand and Khmers who viewed the inhuman treatments and the injustices perpetrated toward these hapless people as human right abuses, on the other hand.

The media, the UN and local as well as international human right organisations have condemned these gross violations of human rights. Many sensible people, who highly appreciate human decency, are disgusted at the scenes and images of the evictions that splashed around the globe. The foreigners, especially the white people, abhorred the despicable actions perpetrated by Oknha Srey Sothea, a close associate of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

But the behaviours and the comments of a particular white man named KJE, or Klaus J. Engelhardt, have attracted my attention greatly. This gentleman, the self-described entrepreneur who, in his blog, has claimed to have owned many businesses and a rubber plantation in Cambodia, has not only condoned the actions of Oknha Srey Sothea, but has attacked the Dey Krohorm evictees as some sort of villains and greedy land-grabbers.

In his comments in Details Are Sketchy blog, KJE wrote:

“I am probably the only dissenting voice in this. These people were squatters - it was a slum, infested with criminals and prostitutes; I know for a fact that they had no title to the land. They were offered $30,000, a lot of money these people will probably never see again in their lifetimes. They wanted $4000/m2 each, for land they couldn’t even define. I don’t condone violence, and I believe the city government should have given them appropriate housing, but holding out until it was too late was clearly not good advice they had received.”

KJE's somewhat unconventional comments which described the Dey Krohorm dwellers as "criminals and prostitutes" deserved a very strong response which I gave below:

"I am disgusted to read KJE's comments above. These squatters, as KJE termed them, have settled in Dey Krohorm since before 2001, some even since 1979, when the land laws give title to anyone who settled on a particular plot of lands for more than five years. If these people do not have the titles then no one else has the land title, Hun Sen and Chea Sim included. The Khmer Rouge regime has annulled all property titles in Cambodia. After 1979, all the people just occupy any houses and lands they could and claimed as their own. Hun Sen occupied many houses belong to rich people from previous regimes. Chea Sim occupied Mr. Son Sann’s house who was a former govt. minister and resistance leaders. Immediately after 1979, no one has the titles. Titles were only issued later on to govt. officials and those fortunate enough to pay for them.

In fairness, the Dey Krohorm dwellers, who settled there since 1979 or before 2001, should be automatically entitled to own the lands because they cannot afford to get the titles. They are demanding $4000/m2 because that’s what the lands are worth. KJE is siding with this heartless entrepreneur named Srey Sothea because KJE himself is a plantation owner who is probably guilty of land-grabbing as well. One would wonder if he had come to Cambodia to help Cambodia or to exploit Cambodia and her people."

And in Ka-Set.info, KJE has further revealed his inner self with these comments:

“As deplorable as the fate of the evicted people is, Khmer, both at home and abroad, obviously don't care too much about this as this is something that doesn't happen in their backyard. Likewise the 'barangs' who don't really care too much about the plight of the poor in their own countries but who are so vociferous in their indignation about events in Cambodia. One of the most outspoken ones lately has been the director from Bridges Across Southeast Asia, David Pred. But one is left to wonder what these people really want to accomplish with their protests, or whether those public outcries only serve to further their own agenda, whatever that may be. BASA is such a small operation, effectively a two-man show, that they really can't hope to have much impact. This is not to say that there shouldn't be any protests and people should be resigned to these events, but one would hope for a little more local participation besides the affected evictees. Even the opposition parties more or less pay only lip service. Maybe the local population secretly think that Dey Krahom needed to be erased?”

KJE’s comments touched my nerves that prompted my somewhat irritated response below:

“Equally, it is deplorable to see a 'barang' such as KJE, Klaus J.Engelhardt to be exact, condemning those who condemned the inhuman evictions of the hapless Dey Krohorm dwellers. KJE, who described himself as a rubber plantation owner, is probably guilty of land-grabbing himself. He is a known supporter of the Cambodian People's Party as he is a beneficiary of its policy of robbing from the poor to give to the rich. He has gone as far as defending the corruption and human right abuses such as the evictions at Dey Krahorm. It is a shame really.

Most of barangs, KJE being the exception, are disgusted to see the hapless dwellers being inhumanly evicted by a heartless so-called entrepreneur the like of Srey Sothea. In the eyes of KJE, David Pred, Amnesty International and the UN are enemies of progress due to their oppositions to forced evictions. One would wonder if KJE, who owned businesses and plantation in Cambodia, has done a good service to Cambodia and her people or he has come to Cambodia to exploit Cambodia and her people. I think he falls into the latter category.”

As not to be outsmarted by my comments, KJE retorted by calling me an “ultra-nationalist” and a “revanchist” who knows nothing. He further attacked me and Ki-Media for distorting the truth and engaging in libelous slanders. Here is his angry response to my comments:

“Khmerization's comment is one fine example of how many overseas, arch-conservative Khmer, especially the ones represented on KI-Media, distort and slant their 'reports' and comments on the internet, even resorting to baseless and libelous accusations. Nothing is further from the truth than what is claimed in his comment. It is clear this ultra-nationalist (revanchist in old left wing 'politico speak') doesn't know reality from fiction. How can he, observing matters and events from 2,000 or 3,000 miles away? Objectivity is an unknown term to him. Questioning the veracity of certain NGOs is legitimate as experts consider 95% of them to be superfluous. Please refer the article in Asia Times Online of Nov. 14, 2008. Nobody questions the work of AI, Oxfam, TI, or other reputable organizations. What this Khmerization, however, fails to address is the fact that obviously homeland Khmer don't pay
much attention to these matters, which after all was the subject of my comment.”

KJE has accused my writings as lacking objectivity which is absent in his writings, as one can see in his blog. His last paragraph in the above statement has proved my arguments from all along that Cambodia is what it is today- poor and dictatorial - because the “homeland Khmer” - the present leaders of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), including Prime Minister Hun Sen, never pay any attentions to any critiques or ideas. The egotistical and self-centred CPP leaders, abetted and supported by the likes of KJE, only care about their power, money and the rich and neglected the poor like the slum-dwellers of Dey Krohorm.

I, like many other justice lovers, am convinced that Dey Krohorm residents are the rightful owners of their lands and homes as some of them have settled there since 1979. The lands at Dey Krohorm is worth between $3,500-$4,000/m2. One would imagine that each family in Dey Krohorm would own from between 20-50 square metres. If they own 50m2, they should receive $200,000 (50m2*$4,000/m2) in compensation, not the pittance $15,000-$20,000 offered by 7NG. Now it appears that they will end up with nothing or just a house 16km outside of Phnom Penh that is worth around $3,000-$4,000 each. As a result the 7NG’s eviction of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers is the grand theft of the century.

Who to Vote for in the Next Election

Friday, February 15, 2008
Op-Ed by KJE
Originally posted at http://about-cambodia.blogspot.com

For some this is not even worth a second thought. They will vote for the party they believe will do the best for their country, whether or not they know a lot about their programs or how their party will achieve what they promise.

From what I read online and learn from overseas Khmer in conversations most of them would vote for the Sam Rainsy Party as the party and its chairman stand for changing what they perceive to be the most important issues and problems Cambodia is facing today. But whether overseas Khmer like it or not, they don’t have much weight in the grand scheme of things in Cambodia.

Although Sam Rainsy does not use the same message, he can probably be likened to Barack Obama in the U.S. in the sense that they both want change and convey hope. They both want to alter the ways and methods of the entrenched politicians who think more of their own pocketbooks than about the people.

But what about the people in Cambodia, and they are the ones that decide the elections? We know that the majority voted for the CPP in the last election. The opponents of the CPP allege voter intimidation and vote buying as the main reason they gained a majority, though not enough to form a government at that time. The constitution was changed and an absolute majority is now sufficient.

Now it is widely held that the CPP does not even have to resort to such rigging methods as their party machinery throughout the country is so effective and their hold over the smaller towns and the villages is so firm that they will most likely win a vast majority, even greater than the last time. We know that the CPP’s strength lies in the countryside with the rural population that is generally less educated, less informed, and more gullible than the city-dwellers.

The SRP’s main support comes from the more educated and better-informed city population and young people, mostly in Phnom Penh and, to a lesser degree in Sihanoukville, even though the SRP lost ground in the last commune elections in Phnom Penh too.

If the springtime commune elections, with 1592 communes going to the CPP, 27 to the SRP and 2 for Funcinpec, are an indication at all for the general elections in July, the CPP will even win a two-thirds majority, legally giving them a free hand to run the country as they choose. They could even abolish the monarchy, for instance. But even the CPP itself does not see this happening.

Despite rampant corruption, the muzzling of critical media, alleged human rights violations, tacitly tolerating illegal land grabbing, evicting the down-trodden from land they occupied and owned by possession for many years, there can be no doubt that the past years have changed the landscape in Cambodia, both economically and socially. Although unemployment is still very high and the widespread rural poverty is unabated, the signs of some prosperity are seen everywhere, from the many cars, especially SUVs, in the streets of Phnom Penh, to the packed restaurants at night and the new modern high-rise buildings going up. Some modest prosperity has also spread to the rural towns, though to a lesser extent.

Needless to say, the CPP claims all the credit for the progress Cambodia has made over the past 15 years; well, they have been in power all these years, haven’t they? As mentioned in a previous article, let’s leave out Funcinpec for its virtual insignificance in today’s political Cambodia.

The SRP has been sort of a gadfly in Cambodian politics, voicing its opposition in strong and aggressive words and questioning many of the government’s policies. But this has had very little effect on the course of events in Cambodia. The SRP also says that they usually fare better in general elections than in commune elections, but given the current economic growth, it might be a safe assumption that the CPP will ride this wave very successfully.

Both chairmen, and as such candidates for prime minister, are not without detractors. Hun Sen is seen as a quasi-dictator who rules his party and the country with an iron hand, notwithstanding the two factions within the CPP, intolerant of any opposition to his views and actions, and who considers himself the best leader for Cambodia. At least he can point to the longest reign as prime minister in all of SE Asia. But reports and studies show that under his rule the freedom of the press is restricted, civil rights are disregarded, corruption is endemic, and human rights are violated.

Sam Rainsy, a highly educated man, a banker, who did well for himself in his years in France, is seen as rather autocratic too, accused of being dictatorial with his own party, intolerant of different views from his own, not showing real leadership qualities. He does not have any experience in government apart from his brief stint as finance minister in 1993/4. His undifferentiated stance on ethnic Vietnamese, illegal Vietnamese immigration and the past history between Cambodia and Vietnam makes him appear as a panderer to older nationalistic segments of the population, and, not the least, overseas Khmer who bankroll a substantial part of his party machine. However, his lack of concrete proposals for putting Cambodia on the road to true freedom and prosperity is glaring. He is by definition a populist in the truest sense of the word.

Both seem to enjoy the limelight, as all politicians must, and give numerous speeches. Sam Rainsy is by virtue of his education the more articulate one, whilst Hun Sen comes across as rather crude in his public remarks.

Sam Rainsy shows up at every demonstration, strike, or eviction to denounce the government’s policies. Hun Sen uses many occasions such as school inaugurations, graduation ceremonies, to hold forth extemporaneously on whatever is on his mind at the time, from undisciplined driving, to too much drinking, to unfaithfulness of government officials, etc.

Sometimes, elections are not about what people stand for but who they are – what’s called the likeability factor. It seems that Hun Sen, despite his weaknesses and shortcomings, wins in this department with the people in Cambodia.

According to the Institute for Civic Education the CPP might win 61, the SRP 41, with the other parties sharing the remaining 20.

Using this projection, the assumption that the CPP will produce a weaker result, and a recent statement by the chairman of Funcinpec that they will surely win 6 seats, the SRP could theoretically form a coalition government with the other parties, foremost the Ranariddh Party and the Human Rights Party, albeit unlikely.

Again, as pointed out in another article both party programs have noble and ambitious, principally rather similar goals. We know what a CPP government looks like and what they promise and what they actually do or don’t deliver on, but what would happen if the SRP came to power in a coalition government?

In short, the SRP’s avowed goals are to:

1. Eliminate corruption
2. Reduce poverty
3. Bring back true democracy
4. Stop illegal immigration
5. Restore national sovereignty
6. Preserve natural resources and to protect the environment.

Corruption

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its people generally hardly make enough for a living so the workers in the public sector try to complement their income with all kinds of surcharges – they are simply not paid enough. If government officials and administrators make only $80 a month on average (excluding ministers, state secretaries, generals, etc.), which is in no way sufficient to house, feed, and clothe a family of 4, it is hardly surprising to see them charge extra for their required services, be it a passport, drivers license, or family book. If you want to have it done fast, you pay more. In the private sector this is called profit, in the public sector it is graft.

On the other hand, private enterprises pay bribes to government officials to secure profitable concessions and contracts. Are these the ones siphoning off what the U. S. Ambassador Mussomeli once publicly said is about $320 million lost annually due to corruption?

How to stem or eliminate this? The simple answer would be to pay the government workers more. But how much? And where would the money come from? And who are the ones raking in the big bucks in corrupt money, and what to do with them?

The expenditures for government workers’ wages for 2008 are projected to be around $175 million according to the draft national budget for 2008 or roughly 3.2% of the GDP.

The money for pay-hikes would have to come from other budget items. But according to the IMF, projected budget spending for 2008 is considered prudent, in other words, there is hardly any room for shifting monies from one department to the other, not to mention that 50% of the budget is still financed by foreign aid.

As to who is getting the big bucks through corruption in the government? Well, we can only surmise. Hard facts are hard to come by. But one thing is for sure; you take away their source of extra income they won’t let go easily.

So just to say ‘eliminate corruption’ doesn’t quite cut it. The SRP needs to elaborate.

Reduction of Poverty

‘We need to reduce poverty!’ It sure has a nice to ring to it and it will make poor people’s eyes well up with hope and expectation.

But how exactly do you stimulate an economy in such a way that it creates jobs by the hundreds of thousands in 5 to 10 years - an economy that had to develop back from a stone age level in 1979 to some semblance of a structured free-market economy in the last 15 years?

What areas do you target? Where do you focus your efforts? What new industries will you try to attract?

These are tough-to-answer questions, but they must be answered nonetheless.

Again, those catchall phrases in the party program just won’t do it.

Bringing Back True Democracy

Well, this is a misnomer from the start. Cambodia had never been a true democracy until the first free elections in 1993, so it can’t be brought back. Period. It should read ‘Implementing Democratic Reforms’.

Today Cambodia is for all intents and purposes a democracy with a parliament, a government, and a judiciary, although the system is still severely flawed. The governing party exerts unconstitutional control over the judiciary. There is no rule of law.

Vote rigging was rampant in the last elections, but even without that the CCP would have won a majority to form a coalition government, which it did. To believe that the SRP would have won enough seats to join with Funcinpec to form a government 2003 is belied by the results.

The country is ruled by an oligarchy who won’t give up their prerogatives easily. They will be an almost insurmountable opponent.

Stopping Illegal Immigration

Clearly, this is aimed at the Vietnamese. Just as the U. S. government cannot stop its illegal immigration, despite all those much-heralded cures such as building a wall, no Cambodian government will be able to stop Vietnamese people from coming to Cambodia as long as Vietnam has a Communist government and life is easier in Cambodia even for poor people. Those immigrants are economic refugees.

So will a SRP government be able to stand up to its Eastern neighbor in implementing visa regulations, better border controls, and other travel restrictions, which will also clearly affect its cross-border trade, which is substantial?

This is the most populist theme of Sam Rainsy, and he does not embrace real solutions taking into account all aspects, such as economic, social, and political repercussions.

Restoring National Sovereignty

Together with the ‘Vietnamese issue’, this is one of those populist themes Sam Rainsy incessantly harps on. Cambodia is a sovereign state, believe it or not. It undoubtedly has clearly defined borders. Yes, some of them, both on the Thai and on the Vietnamese side, are in dispute. This needs to be resolved in negotiations with both countries. But Cambodia signed a border treaty with Vietnam that is valid and in force. Any aberrations must again be resolved by negotiations.

Calling for the re-convening of the Paris Peace Conference is another point, which is meant for popular consumption rather than for substance. The Paris Peace Conference convened to prepare the way and arrange for the first free elections, and peace for Cambodia and was disbanded thereafter. The signatory countries to the conference, Vietnam among them, agreed on the inviolability of Cambodia’s territory. As a result of those elections Cambodia became a true sovereign state. No outside country has any power to alter that, not even another multi-state conference, unless Cambodia agrees to it. Cambodia is a member of ASEAN. The ASEAN charter includes articles recognizing the territorial integrity of each member country.

Indicating that Vietnam is still the secret ruler of Cambodia is somewhat of a long reach, and Sam Rainsy most likely does not believe that himself. This is cheap rhetoric designed to foster and foment xenophobia in Cambodia and it is misanthropic and counterproductive.

If Kampuchea Krom is considered part of that restoration, they must recognize that it is Vietnamese and will remain Vietnamese, as any international jurist will confirm. It is unrealistic to pursue the dream of a return of that territory to Cambodia or for it to become an autonomous state.

Preservation of Natural Resources and Environment

This is most likely the only subject where a different government can have an immediate impact if it has adequate means at its disposal to enforce all the regulations and laws that are already on the books to stop illegal logging, fight pollution, and start rebuilding the environment.

But will the robber barons of the logging industry timidly withdraw from their highly profitable ventures or will they fight back?

Additionally, there are other vital factors to be considered if a change of government should occur.

Since the current government and the administration are so corrupt what will the new cabinet do with all the civil servants that are on the take? Replace them?

If you sweep with an iron broom those employees will simply not show up for work, as they did under Communist rule. They will report in the morning and disappear after an hour or so to jobs outside. If they are fired the government would come to a complete standstill, chaos would ensue. These people, most of them loyal to the CPP, could not be replaced from one day to another.

The fat cats benefiting from the current system will certainly not go without fighting back. Those people hold considerable power in their hands. All of a sudden the new government might see itself confronted by a united front – don’t count on the two factions in the CPP.

Certainly, all those generals who usurped their position for their own enrichment won’t stand by idly waiting for the dismantling of their power and wealth.

And, would Hun Sen go quietly? If the elections in 1993 are an indication, he won’t, but he might have matured in the meantime and really meant it when he recently said that he will go into opposition if the SRP won a majority.

An SRP-led government would be confronted with innumerable problems and formidable enemies. It is doubtful it could tackle both at the same time.

No matter how you look at it, the picture would not be rosy if the SRP won. Quite the opposite might happen, perhaps even civil unrest or civil strife as in Kenya. That country is worth another look. The characteristics are very similar to Cambodia, although tribal lines are very dominant in that power struggle. But they finally reached an agreement to form a grand coalition in order resolve the problems facing the country. Could that be a formula for Cambodia to follow? Only joined forces can overcome the immense problems a developing country such as Cambodia faces.

However, what is most disturbing in the current situation of the opposition party is that it appears to revolve around one person, the chairman, only. The one or two other personalities with some profile mostly remain in the shadows. Sam Rainsy seems to micromanage all levels of the party machinery. He has not formed a recognizable shadow cabinet. Will he have, or be able to recruit, capable ministers, or will he just have the same sort of uneducated party functionaries in office as the current government? Perhaps his cabinet will be as inept as the present one? Proof to the contrary has not been forthcoming.

He makes all public announcements and is the SRP’s only visible persona. Those announcements and speeches are missing one very significant feature: he does not offer any concrete solutions. He pounces on the incompetence and the mistakes of the current government. If the ADB, IMF, and the World Bank see political stability in Cambodia, although coupled with some form of repression, Sam Rainsy is not very credible by declaring the opposite.

At the present time vast amounts of money pour into Cambodia from South Korea and China. Cambodia has a very special relationship with both countries. The to-be-inaugurated South Korean president was a one-time economic adviser to Hun Sen. These two countries wouldn’t invest so much money in Cambodia if they did not consider it politically stable. Will these investors have the same confidence in an unproven government?

Most of the South Korean businesspeople come to Cambodia because doing business here is much easier than in China, where they used to go until recently. But regulations and red tape have become so cumbersome they now choose Cambodia. Will that change with a Sam Rainsy government?

The recent defections from his party are some indication that at least a few of the higher-ups in the SRP see their leader as somewhat ineffectual. The party seems to just muddle along without a clear strategy. It doesn’t look like they are really prepared and ready to take over the government.

It might just come to pass that the general population will see it the same way. Undoubtedly Sam Rainsy’s intentions are good, but it takes more then condemnations and populist rhetoric to turn elections and a country around. An anti-government stance alone is not enough.

It won’t come as a surprise then if the CPP wins the next elections on its merits alone (without having to resort to vote rigging). Should the SRP, however, use the next few months to formulate clear-cut policies, concepts, workable alternatives and solutions, present credible and capable personalities for a competent cabinet, and convey all this to the public successfully the outcome might look different.

So the answer to the question of who to vote for will, of course be left to the individual people. But for them to see real alternatives, the political scenery needs to change first.

How to Stimulate Tourism in Cambodia

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Op-Ed by KJE
Originally posted at http://about-cambodia.blogspot.com

Prime Minister Hun Sen once said that Cambodia ought to develop other industries in order to ease its dependence on the volatile garment and tourist industries. Both are very susceptible to fluctuations caused by economic problems in Cambodia’s export partners or main tourist markets. The recent downturn of 46% of garment exports in the last quarter of 2007 proved him very much on target with his assessment. It would now be time to let actions follow words, to implement a policy for creating a secure base for at least one of those two industries.

But since these industries form the basis for Cambodia’s badly needed foreign exchange, there is not a whole lot the government can do to develop other sectors of the economy in the short run to balance these foreign exchange earners for Cambodia. They can only try to deflect the adverse impacts of foreign economic downturns or even recessions. Again, with the garment sector it will prove difficult to counter a slackening foreign demand.

The picture for the tourist sector, however, is very much different, as it has been shown that especially European tourists, even in the face of economic hardships in their countries, do not like to forgo their annual vacation. Southeast Asia has long been a very attractive market for Europeans, except for the periods of political unrest or instabilities, or natural catastrophes, e.g. the tsunami in Thailand and Indonesia. A look at recent events in Kenya, which is heavily dependent on tourism, is a case in point what political strife can do to this industry.

So first and foremost, political stability is the number one priority in attracting tourists from all over the world. The 1997 power struggle and the 2003 anti-Thai riots were recent events in Cambodia that undid all previous efforts in a budding growth industry. Tourists react instantaneously and choose other destinations nearby. And, tourists are not so much influenced by the form of government or ideologies as both Cuba and Vietnam prove as by a good price/product ratio and an environment with little crime. Cambodia has two formidable rivals in SE Asia when it comes to tourism, one is Thailand, and the other is Vietnam. Thailand can hardly be outdone by Cambodia, and Vietnam might prove difficult since is has many more excellent beaches along its coastline than Cambodia.

Besides its famous Angkor Wat, Cambodia currently seems to emphasize Casino resorts to lure Thai and Vietnamese high-rollers to Cambodia, apparently forgetting that these casinos don’t contribute to the economy overall. The government collected about $18.7 million in 2007 from casinos in taxes, and an undisclosed amount on the land leases. It can’t be too much since in 2007 the budget indicated only$8.5 million revenue for all government land leases. The casinos' profits probably exceeded that by a multiple of that amount. No money lost at the gambling table is ploughed back into the economy.

Normal package tourists, however, not only spend money on room and board but on excursions, restaurants, souvenirs, and last but not least on drinks. On average Western package tourists spend about $2000 (€1500) per capita in their host country including the cost of hotel accommodations. So-called backpackers are an entirely different story though.

Another aspect is length of stay. The minister of tourism stated in January that the average stay per tourist is between 3 and 4 days. They spend about $770 each. This is a far cry from what tourists spend in Thailand and how long they stay.

On researching the possibilities for an investment in the Sihanoukville area this writer’s agent also spoke with the director of the regional airport. This airport can at this time already accommodate jet airplanes up to Boeings 757/767 or the Airbus 330. The airport announced plans to lengthen the runway for 747s and larger airplanes, thinking a bigger airport would automatically attract direct international flights. When negotiating with international airlines, however, the airport management quickly found out that the future for those direct international flights is somewhat far off in view of the lack of a sufficient tourist infrastructure in the area. We learned that the announcement may have been a bit premature and the issue will be revisited in 2009, when new planned projects have at least been started.

Though there is an abundance of hotels they lack international standard with the exception of the three 5-star resort hotels operating there. The rest caters to the economy and local tourists. Besides room and board they don’t have much to offer. Western package tourist expect more, and this is what we are talking about – package tourists, because they are the ones spending the big bucks and leaving them in the country.

Airlines need to operate at an approximately 65% load factor in order to be profitable. Looking at 3 weekly flights of 250 seats each at an average load factor of 65% this will result in 25,350 arrivals per year. In introducing new routes airlines must also look at the airport facilities. Sihanoukville does not offer any technical assistance, ground operations, etc. at this time. Airlines need to have a support system in place to handle their flights. To put this on the ground they will need those 3 flights a week to make it affordable. Besides tourists, Sihanoukville airport will probably see only few other arrivals, such as businesspeople.

This translates into roughly 1,000 hotel rooms required to accommodate those arrivals. Currently there are about 252 rooms or suites in the 5-star category with full amenities, and about 200 rooms in the medium category without much in the way of amenities.

There is talk about another project for 1000 rooms by the Sokha group and just recently a Greek casino operator announced a resort with an undisclosed number of rooms near Ream Beach, but judging from the investment amount of $10 million it is a safe assumption that it will not have more than 50 to 80 rooms. In other words, you are still lacking about 500 rooms for just those 3 flights. But it is as yet unclear when these projects will begin, let alone be completed.

As outlined in another article previously a destination needs have the full complement of hotel categories to be competitive internationally, particularly with Thailand in Cambodia’s case. Ideally, this would roughly break down into 20% 1-2 star, 50 % 3-5 star, and 30% 4 –5 star accommodations. Amenities required include all kinds of beach activity, evening entertainment, and facilities for children.

Cambodia is now a destination for sightseeing tourists, backpackers, and, unfortunately, sex tourists. This needs to change. The goal must be to attract families as package tourists to complement the sightseeing tourists to Angkor Wat. After all, even those 25,000 projected package tourists, once the flights have been started, would spend about an additional $50 million in Cambodia. In comparison to the $1.4 billion spent by the 2 million tourists that came to Cambodia in 2007 this is a rather modest amount. But it would only be the beginning. Eventually, the goal should be to have an equal share of package and sightseeing tourists. The outlook by the World Bank projects the number of tourists at 3 million by the year 2011, so the majority of them should be combination sightseeing/beach resort tourists.

Again in comparison: in 2007 Thailand posted $16.13 billion in revenues from tourism. Each tourist spent $1,135, not including miscellaneous expenses, such as souvenirs, outside restaurants, etc. Thailand, however, is still recovering from the effects of numerous bombings in the South, and the military take-over of the government. One can clearly see what the situation could be like for Cambodia.

Currently there are approximately 100,000 visitors to the beaches in Sihanoukville, although one can sometimes read estimates of up to 200,000. If the majority of the foreign tourists could be converted into package tourists the area would need a lot more upgraded and new hotel rooms than the 1,000, and revenue would rise accordingly. Package tourists would be an addition rather than a replacement for existing tourist arrivals.

But to change this, hotels in the right category must be available. Giving present hotel operators incentives to upgrade their hotels to meet international standards can do this. Some of them have ideal locations in Sihanoukville, especially on Ochheuteal Beach. It would be for the government to encourage the private sector to either build more resort hotels, or convert the existing ones. Those incentives could be a lower tax rate for a number of years, no tax on foodstuffs, combined or collective advertising with the tourism ministry abroad.

There is large number of guesthouses in the $10 to $20 a night category, many of them operated by foreigners that cater to backpackers. Some of them are located right on the beach. Prime locations ought to be reserved for beachfront medium-priced, upscale and high-end properties in order to generate the better revenue for the country. That is not to say they should be evicted, but since they usually rent the premises, the owners of the properties must be encouraged to upgrade as well. As far as tourism goes Cambodia must lose its image as a ‘cheap’ destination, rather it should elevate its image to an ‘affordable’ destination.

Another problem area is the sex tourist business. Since this part of the business cannot never be completely eliminated the local government must nonetheless clean up the city and assign special sections of town, perhaps out of town, to those businesses – the ‘red light district’. Establishments in which prostitution is openly tolerated and conducted only deter family tourists.

In order to avoid inflicting material damage on present owners and small businesspeople those conversion should be done in phases, or by normal attrition, something like the gentrification in inner cities in the developed world.

The emphasis on casinos must be abandoned. Casinos attract a certain clientele, which normally is not in line with the development of regular recreational tourism. The city of Las Vegas started as a pure gambling Mecca before it changed its marketing thrust to encompass families as guests. Why should casinos occupy valuable beachfront land? Casinos can be located at any place in or outside town. People who want to gamble and take in a show will go where the action is, no matter where it is located.

It is vital for the development of a viable tourism industry to attract not only big hotel corporations with luxury properties but also individual and local hotel owners that can give the property a special touch and local ambience. The Sheratons and the Holiday Inns are interchangeable, the medium-sized local resort, in contrast, should preserve its Cambodian character. This segment mostly makes up the 40 – 50 % of the 3-4 star categories. And, being the entrepreneurs whose bottom-line is directly determined by their own management, they will put their maximum effort into marketing and running their property. It is a well-know axiom that private enterprise is always a lot better at promoting businesses than a government ever can.

One big obstacle for the development of the important segment of mid-market properties is the outrageous land prices in Sihanoukville. Although beachfront properties are irreplaceable, and can, therefore, command premium prices, second or third line properties are still priced at around $200 a m2 for smaller lots. Cambodia must get away from its concept of ‘bigger is better’. Yes, the individual land owner, and in essence as such is a speculator, loves the multinationals. They fork over millions of dollars into his pocket in one single drop.

But there are many smaller companies in Europe and North America that would be interested in developing family-style resorts. For them those exorbitant land prices are prohibitive. After all, if the cost of land is $2.0 million, and the cost of the resort itself is $2.0 million, that split of 50/50 in cost makes it unprofitable. In comparison for luxury resorts in the U. S. and the Caribbean land prices make up only 13 – 15 % of the total cost of the resort.

Some regulatory work might be advisable in this respect, in fact is necessary. It might even make good and sensible policy for the government to buy back or expropriate valuable beach front property in the public interest, or offer incentives, such as subsidized or fixed, reasonable prices for land purchases targeted for tourism development, tax exemption for imported furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FFE), tax rebates for vehicles, e. g. minivans, used in the business.

There is plenty of ocean-side land available but it seems to be in the hands of a few select people. These people usually own a large chunk of land they want to sell in one piece. But smaller properties do not need 30 ha or so. They can do with 1, 2, or 3 ha. In fact, many of the smaller Thai resorts occupy less 1 ha (e. g. on Koh Samui). Though Cambodia enjoys a free-market economy where the government should not interfere with the mechanisms of the marketplace, it should nonetheless implement at least some regulations through which the impact of development would benefit the Cambodian people as a whole and not just a few. After all, wouldn’t quite a few jobs be better than having rich people getting richer through originally government-owned land.

The Cambodian embassies abroad should network with local chambers of commerce to publicize Cambodia’s need for foreign tourism investments, targeting small, medium, as well as big business.

Of course, last but not least, access roads need to be built and electrification is just as vital as diesel-powered generators are not really environment friendly and too costly to operate. In general, environmental concerns must be addressed. Solar or wind power should be encouraged with tax breaks or tax moratoria as well as import duty exemptions.

Most of the countryside is still not electrified. This leaves only Sihanoukville as a site for further immediate development, but there is a natural limit imposed by the availability of suitable land.

Once the foundations for a greater number of package tourists have been laid the government needs to create a tourist board that markets Cambodia as a destination in overseas countries. There are many trade shows, from Berlin to Las Vegas, where this can be done very effectively. Representative offices in the main markets to support tour operators and travel agents are another effective tool for this. The Internet offers proven avenues of promoting Cambodia.

Though this catalogue certainly is not all-inclusive with every measure Cambodia’s government should or is able to take, it could be a rough blueprint. It was written by a tourism expert with 20 years of experience in the industry.

Building Boom Revisited – Are these the first signs? [Comment by an oberver in Phnom Penh]

Saturday, February 9, 2008
A comment by an observer in Phnom Penh
Originally posted at http://about-cambodia.blogspot.com

The investment and building construction companies didn't count on Khmer culture when starting this building spree. Khmers have commented that living in apartment buildings, crammed in with other families, reminds them of the Pol Pot times and its not their culture to live like that. As such, no one has been buying these properties. Two Korean companies building on separate locations in Toul Kok have had to stop construction halfway through because they have no advance sales of their properties to provide the funds for further work. The government has bailed one of these companies out by injecting the cash they need to continue building, in exchange for a share of the company.

If the government wants to continue doing this it will soon run out of money. [Note by KJE, the author of About Cambodia blog]

An Unsung Hero - A Cambodian Life

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Op-Ed by KJE
Originally posted at http://about-cambodia.blogspot.com/

Please post your comment at the author's blog by clicking here

There are so many heart-rending stories about the people who went through the terror of the Pol Pot regime, then survived the refugee camps in Thailand, to finally make it to a new home country arranged for through a joint effort by the UN and several Western governments, most notably the U. S. and France, which two countries had had the most impact on the recent history of Cambodia. These people arrived in their new homes destitute, without speaking the language of their host countries, not knowing a whole lot about that strange new culture. Most had children who were literally thrown into a new and very different social and educational system, who had to enter school without knowing a word of English. The elders had to find jobs, mostly menial, to carve out a bare minimum of living. But eventually, they all managed to establish new lives, some with great success, some with less, some failed and remained poor, some turned to crime, but the great majority were integrated into their new societies, making their way from poor immigrant refugee to respected members of their community.

In the West we always read about these people and the hardships they went through. Their experiences must be remembered untarnished, undiminished, with respect and honor. After all, all of them were victims of a brutal regime, of two disparate political systems, of the battles these systems fought over hegemony of the world, and worst of all, it was not their fault. Ruthless ideologues subjected them to inhumane cruelty and barbarism with a whimsical, fanatical zealotry.

But there were equally affected people whose stories are seldom heard. Those are the people who lived through the same nightmares but did not flee their homeland, perhaps did not have the opportunity, means, or courage to do so, or simply did not want to. These people remained in Cambodia to work, freely or by force, under the succeeding repressive Communist governments, first Vietnamese, then Khmer. These were also survivors of the Pol Pot regime whose minds will also forever be scarred by horrible memories. These are the people who made up the population of roughly 7 million in 1993, at the time of the U.N. sponsored elections, versus the roughly 150,000 to 200,000 Khmer who fled the country (according to Marjorie Zieck in a study entitled UNHCR and Voluntary Repatriation of Refugees – A Legal Analysis).

I want to recount the story of one such survivor; a man who was not to be vanquished by the vicissitudes of geo-political power play and the unconscionable pursuit of unrealistic political goals by infamous rulers.

Born to middle-class parents in 1946 in the Northern region of Cambodia, Bun* and his parents moved to Phnom Penh as a toddler when his father got a job as a medium-ranked civil servant in the still French-run administration of Cambodia. He was the second youngest child and had two sisters and 5 brothers. The first years of his life were rather unremarkable, in no way different from many others in similar situations. He went to elementary and secondary school in Phnom Penh, where he met and made friends with many youngsters, some of whom he still knows today, 50 or so years later. He finished his secondary education with the French baccalaureate. Being of modest means his parents could not afford to send him to a college or university. His grades weren’t good enough for a scholarship either. Nonetheless, the French education he received left him with an open and inquisitive mind. His thinking was deeply influenced by his French or French-educated teachers, though he has remained to this day a firm believer in Buddhism and the traditional Khmer way of life. It also left him with one valuable asset; he learned the French language.

It was normal for many a young Khmer at that time to seek a career in the civil service, armed forces, or in law enforcement. If he became an officer this would lend considerable prestige to his social status, elevating him above his normal station in Khmer society. So he applied for a job as a police officer. He passed all necessary tests and was accepted as a cadet. According to him, the police force at that time was structured similarly to the military with the rank-and-file soldiers, the non-commissioned officers, and officers. He absolved a strict and severe training at the police officers academy and left as a junior lieutenant. But instead of being employed as a police officer in Phnom Penh, as he had hoped, he was posted with the border police in Northeast Cambodia along the border with North Vietnam, which was, as we know, Communist. He was also in charge of customs, which earned him some extra income. Little baksheeshes were as customary then as they are now. This was in the years of Sihanouk’s reign. He got married in 1967 and one year later had a baby girl, which was to be followed by 5 more baby girls until he finally had a son.

Eventually, because of his good work he was posted back to Phnom Penh where he was assigned to the secret police. Communist provocateurs and agents were omnipresent during those times, the Communist insurgency was in full swing, and the secret police was in charge of counter-intelligence. He was also promoted to the rank of 1st lieutenant.

Bun was not interested in politics and did not belong to any political party. For him police work was just a way of making a living. After Lon Nol toppled Sihanouk in 1970 the whole government and administration of the country was purged of pro-Sihanouk elements. Since Bun was apolitical he was not seen as a risk and was retained in his position in the secret police until 1975 when the Pol Pot insurgency finally achieved victory.

Since he was aware of his precarious situation due to his work in Lon Nol’s secret police he opted to flee from Phnom Penh even before the Khmer Rouge arrived there to evacuate it completely. He went into hiding in his home province but did not go to relatives or friends but went to live in the jungle. He left his wife and children in the care of friends and her family. He thought they would be safer without him. They could always claim he had died fighting with the Lon Nol forces. He also changed his name and got rid of all personal documents pointing to his true identity.

As the Khmer Rouge regime became more and more paranoid killing suspected opponents and the intelligentsia by the hundreds of thousands, he had to go ever deeper into the jungles to evade capture. Food had become scarce throughout Cambodia – a famine was ravishing the country. Altogether close to 2 million people died of starvation and by execution. Bun’s situation was even worse as he needed to survive on what nature had to offer in the jungle. Nowadays, there are reality shows on TV about survival in the wilderness. He actually lived it, and it sure wasn’t a game for him. No helicopter was waiting to evacuate him if he fell ill. He ate what the jungle would offer, insects, rats, berries, whatever he could find. He gave up hope of ever finding his family again when he learned of the scope of cruelty of the Khmer Rouge regime through his sparse contacts with villagers. Bun practically lived far from any normal civilization for most of the 4 years of the Pol Pot regime.

After the Vietnamese had invaded Cambodia in 1979 and driven out the Khmer Rouge he slowly ventured back into civilization, or what was left of it, by first going to his home town, only to find out that his parents as well as all his brothers and sisters had perished in the past 4 years. Inquiries about his wife and children did not reveal any news whether or not they were still alive or whether they had perished too.

He was a city person and couldn’t work in the fields so he decided to go back to Phnom Penh to try and find a job there. The question of his identity he thought he would be able to resolve somehow with the new authorities. Though a (different kind of) Communist of government, but an equally ferocious opponent of the Sihanouk and Lon Nol regimes, was in power, he thought he was too insignificant to be persecuted by them, especially since he had adopted a new name and shed his police past. Most of the new bureaucrats were drawn from different cadres. Previous government officials, if they still lived and had not fled Cambodia, were not employed in the civil service. We are in the year 1980 now.

After working a number of odd jobs he wanted to look for work more in line with his education. But he needed some form of identification to apply at government offices. Since many people had lost everything in the Pol Pot years, including all personal documents, it was relatively easy to get an id card in his new name. Subsequently he was able to land a government job, working in one of the ministries in various positions, ending as a special assistant to the minister in the late 1980s, even though he never joined the party nor was he ever active in politics, continuing his passivity in that respect. He had learned first-hand what it could mean working for the wrong side in a struggle for power. He wanted to rely on his expertise and experience only.

Since his return to Phnom Penh he had also frantically searched for any sign of life or whereabouts of his wife and children. He finally resigned to the fact that they were dead.

In 1982 he met another woman whom he married and with whom he had two daughters. One of the perks of being a government employee was that an apartment was assigned to him and his new family. It consisted of the ground floor of a typical Cambodian-style row house in the city.

However, shortly after getting married his first wife turned up in Phnom Penh looking for him. Now he was in a real quandary. He was married to two wives and had children with both. He loved them both, but the question of love had to be subordinated to how to take care of both families. He decided it the logical way – he believed he had a greater moral responsibility to his first wife and moved back to live with her and their children.

The second wife did understand when he explained he just could not simply leave his first wife. But he will take responsibility for his children with her as well. Thankfully, his second wife worked as a nurse and was not dependent on him for support. She also moonlighted as a first-aid station for a great number of neighbors with minor medical problems. This earned her some extra income, modest by any means, but still enough to feed and clothe herself and her children. Bun contributed whenever he could. He also divided his time between the two families.

His first wife certainly did not like the situation but couldn’t do much in the face of her husband’s resolve to live up to his two familial responsibilities.

In addition, he did find a number of his siblings’ sons and daughters, altogether eventually numbering 20. First there was one, and then a second one heard about him and joined him too. Word somehow spread to the other survivors and they all moved to Phnom Penh to live with their family.

The family with his first wife grew to 7 children, 6 girls and one son, and his one older sister who had also survived the genocide.

Now, this man supported two families numbering a total of 12 people plus an assortment of 20 nephews and nieces. Some of them were able to contribute to the family as soon as they had reached working age. But nonetheless, Bun’s tireless efforts sustained all these people throughout the eighties and early nineties.

Again, the government had helped him tremendously when it assigned him a two-story house in a nowadays very elite section of town, with enough rooms to house his large family.

He sent them all to school for at least a basic education. Some of them fared better than others, but eventually they all found jobs to support themselves. He was their surrogate father. According to Cambodian tradition his nephews and nieces all considered him their father. Traditionally, Cambodian families are very close-knit and children show extreme loyalty to fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. In the same vein, cousins are considered more like brothers and sisters.

On account of his work he traveled quite extensively as part of Cambodian delegations to ‘brother’ Communist countries like East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary, which left him a man with a rather worldly, sophisticated outlook.

In 1988 Cambodia was slowly opening its borders to Western people following Vietnam’s example, which had introduced its own kind of glasnost and perestroika, called Doi Moi (renovation). This was when the writer met Bun the first time. Bun had seen the change in Cambodia’s path coming. He, like many people, did some side business trading goods, initially mostly from Vietnam. But when he came in contact with Westerners, he decided there probably was more of a future in business than continued civil service with a meager income.

In 1989 he did his first business deals with the writer importing goods from Europe. The writer, in turn, saw opportunities there with rising demand for Western goods, as this country virtually needed everything. Money was in short supply, though, which created some sort of natural restrictions on those opportunities. But nonetheless, Bun and the writer set up a joint business importing all kinds of goods, ranging from cement, to batteries, to light machinery.

During the nineties Bun continued raising his big family. This had its benefits too. Whenever we needed some special service, he had someone handy to help with the work. I asked him, ‘Where do you find these people?’ He said, ‘Oh, this is one of my nephews and his friends.’ When I needed a business visa with a longer validity he turned to one of the older nephews who was an officer with the immigration police. I promptly got a business visa for 5 years for only a nominal fee.

As if he hadn’t enough dependents already, his second wife adopted a newborn foundling who had been left on the doorstep of the hospital where she worked. He got this youngest son at the age of 49. Of course, this is not old age for Cambodian men to have children. But normally they are grandpas at that age, which he was too.

He was blessed with good luck in that all his daughters found good husbands once they had reached marrying age. Being a semi-traditional Khmer he did not mind his daughters seeking their husbands on their own. But naturally, he had to approve the match.

His business ventures did not turn out to be so successful since many other people seeing the same opportunities just hopped on the same bandwagon. So eventually, you had 5 or 6 companies importing batteries, for instance, which led to a rapid decline in prices, oftentimes shrinking profits to zero or even a loss.

At the turn of the century he didn’t have much to show for all his business efforts. Eventually he stopped doing business altogether as bigger companies started taking over all sectors of business. He just made enough money to sustain his immediate family.

He renovated his house and rented it to foreign businesspeople. He himself rented a simple apartment for his family for under $100 a month. He lived on the rent income of $500 a month and the little money he earned as an interpreter for French companies who had come to Cambodia. For a time he worked for a French tour operator and made $600 per month. But this was short-lived as the anti-Thai riots in 2003 killed the tourist business.

He then went to work for South Korean entrepreneurs setting up garment processing factories. There he also made $600 a month. In the end he practically ran the factory, but the owners did not show their appreciation by raising his salary. He was too timid to ask for more despite my urging him to do so. He was afraid they might lay him off. In the end he did lose that job when the garment factory went bankrupt leaving behind unpaid wages of about $1 million (which debt the government assumed and paid the workers).

He then turned to on-call free-lance work for other South Korean businessmen. He made $50 each time they needed him for some service. But those calls were not frequent. It was just enough money to pay for the basic necessities. He was in dire straits again, but he plodded on.

I had always told him to sell his house and use the money to start a real business. He always rejected this idea saying that the house was the only thing he owned, and he didn’t want to lose it.

But in 2003 and 2004 his numerous South Korean acquaintances had started to invest heavily in real estate and made a lot of money. The land speculation boom had begun. Now he decided to sell his house and go into real estate to try and finally make some real money.

So he bought a small piece of land and ‘flipped’ it after a short time. With this money he bought a bigger piece of land and developed it and sold half of it. He is currently keeping the other half for prices to rise even higher to increase his profit.

Since he didn’t have enough money he asked his meanwhile grown daughters for loans, $5000 here, $10,000 there. So all his family will participate in the profits. (One son is still in college, the other still in school.)

Additionally, he became a partner with one of his French acquaintances who had opened a couple of boutique hotels in Phnom Penh. They are building another boutique hotel banking on the growing tourist business. This turned out to be a very profitable investment.

Except for his son, the second daughter with his second wife, and his adopted son, all his children, nephews and nieces are married now and have their own children. They all have good jobs (by Cambodian standards) or successful small businesses. One daughter met a Khmer-American on his visit to the land of his parents. They eventually got married and she now lives in the U. S. and has two children.

Thanks to Bun they all turned out well and are honest, hard-working and good family people.

It looks as though at the tender age of 61 success and a modest prosperity has finally come his way. He built a new house for his wife and the family of one of his daughters with her husband and two children live there too. He owns a big second-hand Mercedes limousine; his son drives a small Korean import. He has a live-in maid who looks after the grandchildren.

Every Friday the family gathers at his house to eat and chat and simply have fun. They all get along well with one another. After all the hardships in his life, Cambodia is finally good to him.

When I asked him why he has his daughter and her family living with him, because I personally can’t wait until my 4 children have left the house, he replied, “Oh, I can’t just live alone with my wife, it would be too boring. I just love when the grand children run all over the house, like when I am lying on the floor and they trample all over me. I need this.”

This is the story of an average Cambodian. This is the story of a hero. By his actions and what he did that many people would not do, Bun exemplifies the spirit of the people of Cambodia of the time that truly loved their country. He took charge of his own fate showing courage, bravery, and patience. He had an unwavering, indomitable belief in survival.

People meeting Bun would never guess what this man went through; and he doesn’t tell this story to anybody. I am a rare exception having been his close friend for almost 20 years.

When he met old school friends, some of whom have reached a high position in government, he can explain away his name change, because people in Cambodia understand what it was like in the late seventies.

When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia, a large wave of refugees left the country. A lot but not all feared for their lives because of the threat of persecution by the Vietnamese authorities. Among them were followers or members of the coalition government that had been formed to oppose the Vietnamese forces in Cambodia. They felt they had no choice but to leave Cambodia to save their own lives.

Bun on the other hand elected to stay and tough it out. He may have done so instinctively, without much thought to politics, motivation or whether any other options were available. He believed that his family was still alive. He fervently hoped to be reunited with them. That may have played the decisive role in his subconscious decision-making process.

He made sure that over 30 people for whom he assumed responsibility over the years made it through those hard times to build a new life for themselves. This alone was a Herculean task in itself. He had a will not to be defeated by the circumstances in his country. He showed tenacity and perseverance. But most of all, he was of firm and steadfast character when it came to helping his family survive. He is one of a generation that built the foundation of today’s Cambodia. They cannot be given enough credit for their contribution in building a new and free Cambodia. They are the ones making it possible for erstwhile refugees to come back and possibly retire in their homeland. And they are the ones that will pass on to their children a country worth living in again and to be proud of. A country that has a long way to go but there is this proverbial silver lining on the horizon, not the least thanks to him and his contemporaries.

*Name changed.