What!!!!! An entry from this month's Police Blotter in the Phnom Penh Post. I especially love the last line!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Not so remote....
Its controversial but the more I know it the more I don't like Siem Reap (shock horror!). Its full of people who just want to "do" the temples and get out of Cambodia ASAP and its soooo touristy (of course). Its just not very real. Its also the only place I have ever got seriously food poisoned in Cambodia. That said I love (a) the guest house that I have stayed in a few times there [name be be confirmed!] , (b) the cakes from the Blue Pumpkin (c) the happy ranch horse centre - yeehaaa! and (d) a particular tuk tuk guy called Sambo...so it has its ups.
Anyway, this week on my daily commute to work, reading the free "newspaper" which is the "Metro" I came across a 1 inch by 1 inch story that said that Korea was going to upgrade the roads around the Angkor Wat complex.... Having done a quick search to look for more on this it appears to have got the same amount of column inches in the Phnom Penh Post. Clearly not a massive news story then. However, its interesting that it is Korea who are providing the cash - over $9m in fact. I can' say I've ever personally noticed the roads being that awful and quite like the fact that the more remote temples are ... well, remote(!) but there again I have not been in a large coach shipping Koreans left right and centre and those small roads must be terribly inconvenient when you have an entire temple complex to see in 6 hours.... They are banning trucks though which is good. However, what about banning large coaches with large grops wielding dangerous (yet somehow attractive) umbrellas?!
The alternative would then of course be one of the electric carts so you can be shipped around in Disney-like fashion.
Call me "temple snob" but ..... Terrible. Why oh why......
The Metro also did a centre piece on the delights of Cambodia last month - All very odd to be on the train going into the office reading an article on this fantastically exotic holiday I should be having in familiar haunts like Kep or even Siem Reap....
should take you to the full article.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A rubbish job?
In Cambodia and also a great many other developing countries the whole thing is entirely different. In fact there is a "pecking order" for rubbish picking because recyclables are worth cash... The fact is that recycling in Cambodia is no middle class ecowarrior event - Rather a means of supplementing income or actually making a living. How can you expect your rubbish to be handled in Phonm Penh?
1. First, if you have one your housekeeper will take the pickings. [I didn't have a housekeeper so first pick of the rubbish was...]
2. The security guy who guards your apartment. Once I got wise to the fact that our guys were picking through our rubbish for the best bits I started separating out the best bits for them(plastic bottles, glass and tins) from our rubbish and started handing it over to our security guard direct....
Sweeping - only dust remained in the bin on most days...
3. The moto men might have a look if they have a moment and if they think it will be worth their while...
4. Then the people who trawl the streets going through the bins... (they also collect from the people at 1,2 and 3 above by paying them for their finds)
4. Then the rubbish truck men who would have a good look at any rubbish before throwing the rest in to the truck.... They have special bags for their own personal finds attached to the side of the truck. I guess it is a "perk" of the job.
5. Then, the people who live on the dump. They scavenge through the rest of the rubbish hoping to find recyclables.
6. Finally, the rubbish is then sold to middlemen on the entrance to the dump - they then sell it to recycling companies for profit. A kilo of plastic is worth about 15p and a kilo of of iron or a glass bottle goes for 1.5p.....
The rubbish dump in PP has now closed. You'd think this would be a good thing - No people should be made to work tramping through other people's rubbish. However, this has meant that some of the poorest people are now even poorer and have no source of income. The new dump is going to be a closed site... when the fence is put up that is....
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Pyjama people
After a while though I did discover that yes, they did know... but what did it matter? In Cambodia wearing pyjamas out is the done thing. They are a stylish outfit saved only for going out. Why would you wear them in bed? They are smart... its too hot... etc etc For them to be a practical purchase, the only place you can wear them is out. Besides how will people in general admire your latest PJ set if you are just wearing them to bed. What a WASTE!....
It seems the women of Cardiff (being the capital of Wales in the UK for international readers) have now caught on to the concept of bed wear in the outside world.... Today it has been reported that the supermarket giant, Tesco, has banned women entering its store in Cardiff who are wearing their PJs. So many young women they say are shopping in their PJs it has become too much for some people. The women say they are a perfect solution when they don't have time to sort themselves out in the morning before taking the kids to school etc.“I’ve got lovely pairs of pyjamas, with bears and penguins on them. I’ve worn my best ones today, just so I look tidy,” said Ms Carmody of Cardiff, who had chosen PJs when trying to to “pop in for a pack of fags”. She also commented that if she was doing her "big shop" she would have got fully dressed (obviously).
It seems these cultures are not miles apart.... or are they? In Cardiff, the women are, it seems, not generally trying to make an appearance (or be a style guru) when giving their PJs an outing - it's more a case of not being bothered after they have rolled out of bed. In contrast, in Cambodia PJs are for a special trip and, despite laughing at the fact that women there are parading around in the baking heat covered in polar bears, somehow it works far better for these women than those pushing their trolleys around Tesco in Wales. There is an element of pride in the Cambodians' outfit. It is nothing to do with being too "busy" or "lazy" to find some clothes. For some, wearing PJs may have to do with cost, cheaper than traditional Cambodian silk wear. However, in the market, western jimjams do seem to be a substantial investment at around $10-16 a go... (they are multi-function use after all).
Perhaps it is because the women of Cardiff are not wearing the right footwear with their PJs (furry slippers vs plastic high heels and matching earrings) or perhaps it is because their tops are not matching their bottoms the Tesco managers have got so distressed?!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Street life
Its the season of goodwill and giving and so a post about a time when giving is not right seems appropriate (in my opinion)!
Cambodia is a difficult country. I am under no illusion that when visiting on holiday or even for a longer period of time it is so easy to give a dollar here and there and you suddenly feel like you have made a real difference. This is where I plead with you to STOP! and think about the problem.
Yes, of course, it is true that Cambodia does not have a welfare system and some guidebooks may encourage you (irresponsibly) to think about this aspect of society and dig deep into your pockets. Yes, giving 1000 riel (about 25 US cents) might give you a warm fuzzy feeling that a Cambodian family are going to be eating well that night. Yes, you can afford to do it... so why is it so wrong or unhelpful?
Firstly, from an economic perspective, looking at the average daily national wage, which is around $1 (a factory worker might earn $60 a month, a waitress in an expensive western restaurant $70.... and these wages are the middle class salaries) giving even just a dollar to someone who is doing nothing at all is a bit of a punch in the face to anyone who is doing a job. By all means give a nice big tip to your tourist tuk tuk or waitress or the maid who made your hotel room bed instead.
Secondly, from a different perspective, people are put on the streets to beg by people engaged in human trafficking. Yes - really.
There is a baby who is passed from woman to woman on the riverside so that each woman can do their "shift" with the miserable looking baby to get more money from the gullible tourists. The baby is a hired helper! If you are going to give money to a woman because she has the miserable baby then that baby will become more desired by other women and so will suffer a childhood being carted around the riverside by various women to generate more funds. If the baby doesn't generate money (because you ignore it) the baby will be "out of a job" and this is no bad thing. Having a job when you can't yet walk or speak is a GOOD thing! Now there will be some of you still wondering - that if they do not give some cash the woman with the miserable baby - how will the baby ever get un-miserable and how will it eat? go to school? get a better life? etc. The answer is above, the baby is not getting the money. None of it. The money is going to the baby's mother/owner (do you think she ("Pimp") will be giving the baby a cut of the profits....nah) and the woman who hired the baby (she paid to use the baby so why is she going to care - The more awful it looks to her the better - The more terrible, the more $$$).
This is just an example because once the baby can walk it will be put out on the streets to do the begging by itself - Returning its profits to the person it belongs to, not keeping the money for itself. This person may be its mother or it may be someone who has purchased it to beg for it. A kind of slave trade. If you don't give cash then the mother won't have a need to put the child on the street (what would be the point?) and the "slave trade" will die out. It gets worse, some of the begging "slaves" are drugged by their Pimp to make them look even more pitiful. One particular drug makes people loose all sensations in their legs and so it looks as though they have a disability and can't walk at all....
Ahhh so a child with those big brown eyes you fell for finally gets a few riel from you. It is his or hers to keep because unusually they are not a slave beggar and they have run away from "home"... Yeah! What will they spend it on? You hope they will run off to go to school, buy a pen or two and eat a nice wholesome meal. Wrong! More than likely that money will go on glue. Street children in Cambodia have a huge problem with glue sniffing. Its such a big problem that adults have set up places where children can go and buy a small plastic bag with a bit of glue in it to get their fix. These adults have realised that the children are desperate and can't get enough money together to but a whole tube of glue so they "so kindly" have set up convenience stands with just enough glue to get a fix. Just like you were kind enough to give that riel.
Ok! Ok, the above is the worst case scenario - Some adults and children do need your help genuinely..... but a far better way to help is to: a) visit NGO craft shops (more expensive but better quality and you are helping those people, often disadvantaged in some way, who make the products earn a wage) b) visit Friends for a meal (just by the national museum - the food is fantastic tapas) The staff are all ex street kids who have been given a break c) use child safe tuk tuks and moto drivers (look for the child safe logo) d) visit the child safe drop in centre opposite Friends.
This is just a starter setting out why it is never the season of goodwill to give a dollar here and there. Its a controversial subject.... Having said all of the above you have to use common sense. I used to give a few riel every now and then or some food to an old, old woman who would sit on our road by my house. But I did not live in a tourist area, she was not trying to make a fast buck, she never asked anyone for money, she was always happy to get food instead, the moto men and other Cambodian neighbours gave her small amounts too....
Cambodia is a difficult country. I am under no illusion that when visiting on holiday or even for a longer period of time it is so easy to give a dollar here and there and you suddenly feel like you have made a real difference. This is where I plead with you to STOP! and think about the problem.
Yes, of course, it is true that Cambodia does not have a welfare system and some guidebooks may encourage you (irresponsibly) to think about this aspect of society and dig deep into your pockets. Yes, giving 1000 riel (about 25 US cents) might give you a warm fuzzy feeling that a Cambodian family are going to be eating well that night. Yes, you can afford to do it... so why is it so wrong or unhelpful?
Firstly, from an economic perspective, looking at the average daily national wage, which is around $1 (a factory worker might earn $60 a month, a waitress in an expensive western restaurant $70.... and these wages are the middle class salaries) giving even just a dollar to someone who is doing nothing at all is a bit of a punch in the face to anyone who is doing a job. By all means give a nice big tip to your tourist tuk tuk or waitress or the maid who made your hotel room bed instead.
Secondly, from a different perspective, people are put on the streets to beg by people engaged in human trafficking. Yes - really.
There is a baby who is passed from woman to woman on the riverside so that each woman can do their "shift" with the miserable looking baby to get more money from the gullible tourists. The baby is a hired helper! If you are going to give money to a woman because she has the miserable baby then that baby will become more desired by other women and so will suffer a childhood being carted around the riverside by various women to generate more funds. If the baby doesn't generate money (because you ignore it) the baby will be "out of a job" and this is no bad thing. Having a job when you can't yet walk or speak is a GOOD thing! Now there will be some of you still wondering - that if they do not give some cash the woman with the miserable baby - how will the baby ever get un-miserable and how will it eat? go to school? get a better life? etc. The answer is above, the baby is not getting the money. None of it. The money is going to the baby's mother/owner (do you think she ("Pimp") will be giving the baby a cut of the profits....nah) and the woman who hired the baby (she paid to use the baby so why is she going to care - The more awful it looks to her the better - The more terrible, the more $$$).
This is just an example because once the baby can walk it will be put out on the streets to do the begging by itself - Returning its profits to the person it belongs to, not keeping the money for itself. This person may be its mother or it may be someone who has purchased it to beg for it. A kind of slave trade. If you don't give cash then the mother won't have a need to put the child on the street (what would be the point?) and the "slave trade" will die out. It gets worse, some of the begging "slaves" are drugged by their Pimp to make them look even more pitiful. One particular drug makes people loose all sensations in their legs and so it looks as though they have a disability and can't walk at all....
Ahhh so a child with those big brown eyes you fell for finally gets a few riel from you. It is his or hers to keep because unusually they are not a slave beggar and they have run away from "home"... Yeah! What will they spend it on? You hope they will run off to go to school, buy a pen or two and eat a nice wholesome meal. Wrong! More than likely that money will go on glue. Street children in Cambodia have a huge problem with glue sniffing. Its such a big problem that adults have set up places where children can go and buy a small plastic bag with a bit of glue in it to get their fix. These adults have realised that the children are desperate and can't get enough money together to but a whole tube of glue so they "so kindly" have set up convenience stands with just enough glue to get a fix. Just like you were kind enough to give that riel.
Ok! Ok, the above is the worst case scenario - Some adults and children do need your help genuinely..... but a far better way to help is to: a) visit NGO craft shops (more expensive but better quality and you are helping those people, often disadvantaged in some way, who make the products earn a wage) b) visit Friends for a meal (just by the national museum - the food is fantastic tapas) The staff are all ex street kids who have been given a break c) use child safe tuk tuks and moto drivers (look for the child safe logo) d) visit the child safe drop in centre opposite Friends.
This is just a starter setting out why it is never the season of goodwill to give a dollar here and there. Its a controversial subject.... Having said all of the above you have to use common sense. I used to give a few riel every now and then or some food to an old, old woman who would sit on our road by my house. But I did not live in a tourist area, she was not trying to make a fast buck, she never asked anyone for money, she was always happy to get food instead, the moto men and other Cambodian neighbours gave her small amounts too....
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Post Office Phnom Penh vs Royal Mail
I've had lots of people sharing their experience of the Phnom Penh Post Office since my first blog about it. My experience of the "service" is not unusual.
Recently a Cambodian student, who stayed with us in the UK in the summer, asked us to bring back some books from Cambodia after our holiday and post them from the UK to Italy where he has started studying. Of course - happy to pop them in the post via Royal Mail for a whopping sum of money.... The idea being that it was far "safer" to post them from the UK.
Those books were posted several months ago now... still no sight of them at the Italian end. Its rather ironic that my $13 from the PP post office resulted in delivery (and probably fed a family for a couple of days due to the overcharge) and made it across the world whereas here, well, Royal Mail resulted in complete postal failure. Try explaining that to the poor guy waiting for his books!!!!
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