Mar
15
Posted by Bojebuck at Sun, 15.March 2009 - 09:54
This week eMEe our man in Phnom Penh- tells us about his Cambodia expiriences but also describes his socio-cultural observations he had made during the last years. Before you read this exciting interview, read also his article, published in the SE GLOBE magazine about the shooting in Cambodia. Follow the link:
Article
What is SAME SAME?
The police are pigs
What is DIFFERENT?
Here you can pay them.
Shooting in Cambodia is comparable to…
A giant undertaking the positive outcome of which you don’t even dare to dream about. But in the end all the seemingly impassable obstacles always become smooth as silk and make way with a smile.
What was the most bizarre thing that happened to you?
Ended up on the wrong side of the fence walking straight through a mine field leading my crew. After some time I suddenly realised and froze. What to do? Continue? Go back? The next step can be the last one! Ain’t no holidays in Cambodia.
What influence did the time in Cambodia have on you?
Cannot go back to the west.
This must be mentioned about Cambodia:
The socio-political situation of Cambodia’s recent past is a case study of the human condition. A problem from hell that was driven by greed for power and money by all sides at all times. Now after only 60 years of independence the west and China are back and giant plantation companies buy up huge parts of land that was stolen from the people by the military/government. All the jungle has been cut down. Now the little girl at the end of the world can watch Animal Planet on the TV set that civilization has brought her when it took the animals and the jungle. So now she can watch how her environment looked just a year ago. That’s progress. The endgame scenario of this is that the Cambodians will become the onlookers outside of the fence watching how robots on giant plantations grow bio-diesel for foreign countries on their land. Food prices will have become so expensive that some are starving watching our fuel grow.
These are the places one must visit:
Snow’s Bar across the Japanese bridge (Maxim’s)
These are the things one must eat or drink:
Happy Pizza.
These are the things one must do:
Grow up.
Yo Val,
as I wrote, people from across all sides of the fence, west, east, Cambodian, non-Cambodian, have been exploiting the turbulent situation here, which they have helped to create in the first place– this I refer to as the human condition. Whether it is due to western influence or not, the "free" market economy here is corrupted out of proportions by the local ruling family dynasty and its cronies.
And the wart on that mutant are some NGOs and INGOs that operate here. They still are the Lords of Poverty. Unfortunately that book is outdated and nobody has had the guts to come up and update it.
the human condition in vietnam is a little bit bold to say considering the fact that the switch to market economy and the country's openness to foreign trade is largely due to imperialism by the western culture. apart from the fact that the Cambodians are "onlookers outside of the fence watching how robots on giant plantations grow bio-diesel for foreign countries on their land" from an outsourcing manufacturing country like china, the way that the economy runs is also largely caused by things like oriental-esque mentality from the west. thus things like prostitution, drugs, etc become prominent in the way that the economy operates, as well as tremendous changes in the cultural and social aspects of the country.. yes the governmental system is fucked up in the way that it provides little or no consideration towards the people's benefits, but its not like anyone else is making the effort to help. at least without strings attached.
on another note, i will keep myself updated with the blog and hopefully the movie will have the opportunity to have a premiere in new york, i would gladly be one of the first in the line :)
best,
val
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