Blog about Cambodia

If you go to Cambodia and you ask, “Do you have a boyfriend or girl friend?” to a Cambodian that you know for just a few days, you will appear to be odd. Besides, you have to wait for some seconds before you can get the answer. Unlike in Germany, I have responded quite many times to the question since I have been here for just a few weeks. I experience a so-called culture shock ranging from seeing people kissing along the street to the shouting voice of some teenagers in a tram on my way back home from Cologne to Bonn. In Cambodia, even when you walk hand in hand with your partner; many pairs of eyes keep following you.

You might have learnt from my first blog that Cambodia has a hierarchical society. Cultural norms shape Cambodians especially women to be modest, polite and indirect. They are supposed to behave in good manners. From what I observe and experience myself, sex, reproductive health and AIDS are not common topics that Cambodian people openly talk to their friends or even their families. However, it is not a taboo.

My experience as reproductive health educator

Working as a radio producer for nearly one year for BBC World Service Trust  in partnership with a local radio station, I now understand more about the attitude of Cambodian girls towards reproductive health and AIDS. In my position, I was supposed to produce a short clip which contains various views in a particular topic. The program called “Hip Hop Girls”  aims to educate girls aged 15 to 19 about their issues including reproductive health and AIDS.

When I interviewed people, I sometimes was disappointed coming back with hesitated responses or even without getting any response. It is not solely because those girls are not knowledgeable, but they are shy in voicing their ideas. As I remember when I approached a girl aged about 17 asking her why irregular vaginal discharge occurred, she looked at me narrowing her eyebrows said, “What?” Then she shrank and walked away.

In order to get them cooperative, sometimes, it takes me very long time explaining how useful it is for them to understand those issues.

My friends’ reaction to me

I have changed since I involve myself in health issues. I used to be shy when people talked about sex. But now, I have become an active one among my friends who initially starts mentioning. My changing attitude towards reproductive health and AIDS sometimes makes my friends speechless with their eyes staring at me. They do not blame me, and they know it is crucial to be open to the issues. The problem is that they are not ready to adjust themselves yet.   

Education and health issues

According to United Nations, reproductive health is a state of physical, mental and well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system. That includes all stages of life such as childhood and a crucial adolescence and adulthood period.

Though reproductive health is so beneficial to people, due to what I have been taught during high school, in Cambodian school curriculum, reproductive health and AIDS were inadequately introduced to Cambodian pupils. It is quite different from German schools according to my colleague Sabine: “Pupils in Germany are taught about how to use condom, and how to have a safe sex when they are in grade 6.” In Cambodia, detailed reproductive health and AIDS education is usually provided by local and international organizations. CARE is one among those organizations that face a challenge to change Cambodian behavioral norms.

Positive trends

According to U.N  Programme on HIV and AIDS report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, 2006 , Cambodia HIV prevalence rate among Cambodian adults ages 15 to 49 declined from 2.0 percent in 2003 to 1.6 percent in 2005.To educate Cambodian young people about reproductive health, CARE adopts a peer education strategy aiming to empower and equip young women with the skills to be able to make a safe and informed health choice. Along with this, CARE addresses cultural stereotypes, sexual coercion, and gender awareness among young men.To increase community dialogue around HIV and AIDS and combat the spreading of HIV and AIDS, CARE is working with direct and indirect sex workers, gays, as well as youth and other people who are vulnerable to AIDS.In addition, CARE is currently partnering with Buddhist monks and religious leaders in reducing stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and AIDS.Being a Cambodian young woman, I am glad to see the falling rate of HIV prevalence rate. At the same time, I believe that it is wise to adjust the tradition not only in Cambodia and also in other countries, to the current world in order to keep people stay in healthy lives.

Yours sincerely,
Kunthy

You might think I might be crazy when you hear me saying, “I want to experience earthquake.” It was three weeks ago that a slight earthquake occurred in Bonn, where I live at the moment. However, I was asleep and I did not realize. Later, I was astonished to learn it from my colleagues the next morning. As I have only seen on television, I want to feel how the earth shakes when a small earthquake occurs. But not a big one!

Working at a desk in the middle of the press room as usual, this week, I am surrounded by my colleagues rushing and handing information paper or reports to one another, and some deal with busy telephone lines. Many urgent meetings are also hold. They are working to respond to recent natural disasters in some countries such as earthquake in Peru which kills hundreds of people, flood in South Asia took away thousands of lives.

As my task is to update myself with news mostly about disasters happening around the world on internet, I rarely see Cambodia appears to be a spotlight in the media. I am happy with that but I also feel sorry to see the tragedies in other countries.

Cambodia is bordered to the North of Thailand and Laos and to the East and South of Vietnam. With its fortunate setting, Cambodia is free from some hazardous disasters such as volcano, earthquake. The typical natural disasters Cambodians suffer are flood and drought. Flood is usually caused by seasonal rain which lasts from May to November.  The rest of the months are marked as dry season.

Living in Phnom Penh, the capital city, I and some other dwellers keep complaining about the rain. While many farmers in the provinces yearn for rain water for their agricultural production, there is rain falling in Phnom Penh making us uneasy to go to study and work. However, the seasonal rain usually falls heavily and stops within a certain period of time. Unlike in Germany, for this summer, I often carry an umbrella with me all time to protect myself from unexpected rain.

Besides, I used to enjoy walking in the heavy rain as it is not as cold as the rain in Germany. I have never experienced the temperature below 26 degree in my country. It is funny that I do not have a chance to wear my sweaters and jackets, but I can do it now.

Starting from zero pointAlthough Cambodia does not burden the damages from natural disasters as heavily as some countries, it is still in a list of the least developed countries. The main cause of the poverty results from the aftermath of its more than two decades of civil wars.  Everything has been reinstalling from zero point including infrastructure, schools and many more. Most importantly, human resources are needed to develop this territory of 181,035 square kilometers because thousands of well-educated people such as doctors, teachers and lawyers were killed during the Khmer Rouge time.Since Cambodia closed its page of war and opened its gate for international assistance along with its own struggling, Cambodia is moving forwards in improving various factors. For example, many schools are serving millions of Cambodian students. Most roads have been built and rehabilitated.  CARE helps to save many Cambodian lives affected by millions of mine left from the war with Khmer Rouge. CARE also provides emergency response to reduce vulnerability of affected communities to floods and other disasters.It is lucky for me that I do not need to care much about natural disasters that might affect my life. Therefore, being a new generation with some education, I can concentrate on what I am doing now as to take part in developing my beloved country.

Yours sincerely,
Kunthy

When people talk about public transportation in the cities of Europe, the word “subway” normally appears. The same thing, the word “motor taxi” is always mentioned in Cambodia in this context. (In Cambodian language motor taxi is called motor dup).

Last weekend, I was out of breath to catch the train back from Belgium to Germany. I nearly missed it. I did not see the subway that was supposed to bring me to the train station in Brussels. I slightly panicked while I was waiting. Some minutes later, it finally came and brought me to the train station after passing nearly ten stops.

In Phnom Penh, where I live, you won’t have this kind of problem. There are many motor-taxi drivers available for you on the streets. The question is how you identify motor-taxi drivers when there are so many motor driving around Phnom Penh?It is easy. They usually wait for their customers in group or sometimes separately. With long sleeves shirts and caps or helmets on fairly old motors, motor-taxis drivers normally raise their hands to offer a drive for a reasonable price. If you are foreigner, it is effortless for you to find them. They will approach you.One thing you need to remember is that you might not get a motor taxi at night as the subway in Europe. Most motor-taxi drivers disappear from the streets at around 8 or 9pm. Then you might have to walk home!  Just to make ends meetWith its two million people, Phnom Penh is not as crowded and big as Bangkok. Moreover, most of the city dwellers already own motorbikes, including me. Although I cannot provide the exact number of motor taxis drivers, the figure is not small because they visual themselves in most of the city blocks.They are normally men. I have heard there are few female drivers as well, but I have never seen one. From what I have talked to some motor-taxi drivers so far, some drivers can save 5000 to 6000 riels (1 to 1.1 euros cents) a day after spending on gasoline (1 liter = around 0.8 euros cent) and three meals. Most of them come from provinces where they find it hard to live on farming. Weather is one problem and low price offering for their farming product is the other.Some of them live in slum areas or in rented house. According to my sister cousin who is an owner of some rented rooms, a room measuring approximately 3 square meters costs 15USD per month.There is a concernFor the first glance at an article published on a Chinese website,  I was surprised and happy to learn that Cambodia is going to have sky trains soon. Cambodia is moving forward! For some minutes later, something struck me. How about those many motor-taxi drivers? How will they cope with their living when people turn to take the sky trains? I think that it is not a good idea to have one.It is more convenient for people to take motor taxis because they do not have to put themselves in patience when the sky train is late. Taking a motor taxi, you do not have to bother to buy a ticket. You do not have to worry about getting a wrong ticket or get off at a wrong stop which I already experienced here using the subway. On motor-taxi, people can enjoy the close sight seeing to the city view that sky train or subway cannot provide.While the existence of a great deal of motor taxis pollutes the environment, I endorse the idea to have a subway in my country- but not the sky train as it can block the nice views of Phnom Penh. Though the subway or sky train can reduce the traffic jam in the city, I still say that it is not the right time to have one yet. There are other areas currently needed to be improved in order to crack down a so-called evil creature-poverty.Building more schools especially for those who are living in rural areas is a major step. People can have better jobs when they are educated. It can prevent the flow of people into the city. Furthermore, in order to develop one country faster, good infrastructure cannot be overlooked. There are many bumpy roads both in Phnom Penh and the provinces that make people uncomfortable to move. Last but not least, the government should guarantee its people with enough hospitals in the country to help to decrease the loss of people’s lives.When those tasks are done, Cambodians are happy to enjoy their modern country!Yours,Kunthy

Wearing jacket to warm myself up, I am writing from a room in a house with many apple trees at the back yards. The room belongs to Ben, a 15 years old boy who is away for schooling in England. He is the son of my former journalistic lecturer in Cambodia. This week, three friends of mine and I are invited to visit her work place, Die Zeit newspaper, and some other media institutions in Hamburg.

In the room of the boy, what catches my eyes is a pile of book put one on another on a table next to the bed. Among those books, the latest version of Harry Potter also can be found. Sadly, referring to Cambodia, there are many children who are at the same age as Ben but not able to attend school. What is even sadder, a big amount of children have to work to support their families in hazardous condition.

In Cambodia especially in Phnom Penh, though the place is not a tourist attraction, it is common to see many small children appear on the streets carrying goods and running to their customers. Some of them go to school in the morning, and they help to net income for their families in their free time. Some do not go to school at all.

Why is like that?Some families especially in the rural areas, they decide not to send their children to school because they may lack labour in the farming. Moreover, when parents cannot see the importance of education, they prefer their children to work to net family income. However, it is not always the case. Some parents also value the necessity of having education for their children.The problem is that they cannot afford their children to go to school although it is free for school registration. Pupils need to pay daily money to their teachers along with some expense on studying materials such as handouts that teachers make. This is because most teachers in public schools cannot live on their meager salary-about 20 euros that they get from the government. Besides, insufficient school in the country also puts children out of education and pushes them to work. Their presence among their customers can be problematic. For example, child sex trafficking is a big issue in Cambodia that the government is fighting.Furthermore, mostly in rural areas, not all couples know how to practice contraception and afford the method. As a result, more and more children are born to already poor families. Parents are not able to feed all children until they grow up. Children learn how to make a living since they are at young age.It is hard to ignoreA question always comes to my mind whenever I encounter a child offering things to me: “Should I buy stuff from him or her?” If I buy, the child can save some money. But it also means I support what they are doing. Eventually, I choose to buy when they come to me.I think what I do is right. I help them. If every one stops buying things from those children, they will be helpless. Their families need money for survival. Unlike in Germany, Cambodian mothers do not get money from the government for feeding the baby.In a Cambodian saying, we believe that youngsters are the future of the country. What should be stressed is that the leader should make its “education for all” possible in order to achieve the first goal of Millennium Development Goals.Yours,Kunthy