There has been quite a lot of press on the very first verdict decision of the Khmer Rouge trials. Especially working a newsroom within Cambodia, this past week has been crazy! Duch, the prison chief of one of the top torture prisons during the Khmer Rouge era, was sentences to 35 years in jail. Because he has already spent time in jail for pre-trial detention, this sentence whittles down to 19 years left to serve. The guy is 67 years old, so there is a slight possibility that he could walk after finishing this sentence. But he's spending the time in Cambodian prison, not the Hague, so it's possible that prison conditions will wear on his health and he'll die in jail. From what I gather, that's what everyone is hoping for.
Opinions are all across the board as to whether or not this sentence was too light. The argument is that Duch was only following orders that were coming from above. So therefore he is not 'as' responsible as others... On the way other hand is "screw this guy". He ordered the deaths and torture of almost 13,000 people (that's the figure he admitted to during court proceedings), let him rot in jail and burn in hell.
As an outsider, it's hard to say. I think the most important thing here is that it happened at all. They have been waiting for over 30 years to have an official statement that what the Khmer Rouge did was wrong. Those reverberations will perhaps be felt in Cambodian culture more that the number of years he will serve.
This soundbite is a case in point. This man is one of the press coordinators for the court that handled this case. I got this bit while shooting at the verdict announcement for a local english-language paper.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
fyi cambodia: street hawkers work the buses in every country
...except for in the States - p.sha! one thing that is great about this country is that you can eat the street food! of course, as in any developing country, you have to be careful. but by and large it is normal for foreigners to trust street food. amongst some of the goods you can get from a street hawker through the bus window are: crickets in a sweet BBQ sauce, hard boiled eggs marinated in a soy sauce, bootleg red bull, fresh baked buns and juice in bags! some yum, some not.
picky foreigner
I’ve become too used to the ease of living in Phnom Penh. I am pretty spoiled, I must say. I have air conditioning and Indian delivery. Such a city princess I am that I’m out here in the Prey Veng province for a shoot and I’m whining about flying cockroaches. Psha!
My hotel in Prey Veng, a provincial town 2 hours outside of Phnom Penh, cost $5. I have changed rooms 3 times. Room number one – broken door. After communicating with 5 different people, all with progressively better English, I changed rooms. After a few hours and one Twilight saga later (don’t judge) I notice that the bed I’m sleeping in is totally infested with bed bugs/fleas/something nasty. And flying cockroaches are circling my room in a way that my loaded flip flops couldn’t keep up with. I whimpered a bit and went downstairs to ask for yet another room. At this point I really felt like a whimp tourist. Like suck it up and sleep with those damn bed bugs. Nobody cares – but me!
Many sohm –to’s (sorrys) and auh-kun’s (thank you’s) later, they bring me to another room. Another room with a broken door and cockroach living on the drapes. They sweetly hand me a beer and an extra sheet with a bloodstain. Good night.
The moment when you break down and realize that there is no way you’re going to get what you want by ‘foreign standards’ is comical beyond explanation. These expectation for our standard of living are so arbitrary and apply to such a small percent of the world actually live like that! I had to laugh at myself jumping around the room with goosebumps and a girly shriek. Alas, I'll going to enjoy that Ankor beer and snuggle up with a strangers bloodstain. Awesome.
My hotel in Prey Veng, a provincial town 2 hours outside of Phnom Penh, cost $5. I have changed rooms 3 times. Room number one – broken door. After communicating with 5 different people, all with progressively better English, I changed rooms. After a few hours and one Twilight saga later (don’t judge) I notice that the bed I’m sleeping in is totally infested with bed bugs/fleas/something nasty. And flying cockroaches are circling my room in a way that my loaded flip flops couldn’t keep up with. I whimpered a bit and went downstairs to ask for yet another room. At this point I really felt like a whimp tourist. Like suck it up and sleep with those damn bed bugs. Nobody cares – but me!
Many sohm –to’s (sorrys) and auh-kun’s (thank you’s) later, they bring me to another room. Another room with a broken door and cockroach living on the drapes. They sweetly hand me a beer and an extra sheet with a bloodstain. Good night.
The moment when you break down and realize that there is no way you’re going to get what you want by ‘foreign standards’ is comical beyond explanation. These expectation for our standard of living are so arbitrary and apply to such a small percent of the world actually live like that! I had to laugh at myself jumping around the room with goosebumps and a girly shriek. Alas, I'll going to enjoy that Ankor beer and snuggle up with a strangers bloodstain. Awesome.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Bat Kloun
Bat Kloun, or disappearing body in Khmer, Cambodia’s native language, was a term used to refer to victims of the Khmer Rouge. Rather than explicitly acknowledging that these victims were dead, they were described more mysteriously as disappearing. This says something interesting about Khmer culture and the residual impact of the horrendous history of violence this country has endured.
Particularly because I’m documenting challenges facing the justice system, I’ve encountered many people who are fearful of ‘criticizing’ the government. In Cambodia, ‘criticism’ can boil down to simply acknowledging challenges facing the Ministry of Justice. To admit that there are problems can be put one at risk of punishment by the government, especially if it is done on the record to a foreigner with a camera. It’s definitely challenging because I recognize that their fear is real and I would never want to do anything to put them in harms way. But at the same time, it’s hard to ‘document’ when you can’t get real answers on camera.
As an American who has been Bush-bashing since my early teens, I have a hard time reckoning this fear of the government. But the fear is in context of a recent history, in which bodies really did disappear for even the slightest offences. During the Khmer Rouge era, comrades would frequently be considered allies one day and traitors the next. The uncertainty of what actions could put you at risk for elimination forced people into a deaf/mute lifestyle as a mode of survival against this mysterious killing machine.
Although to a much lesser extent, this still happens today. Recently a representative of a legal NGO spoke out in the national news about a legal conflict with the government. Shortly thereafter, the NGO lost it’s funding and was forced to shut down. By opening criticizing the government, this NGO sacrificed its working relationship with them. In order for many NGOs to maintain public access in Cambodia, they must maintain a positive relationship with the government. Therefore, blatant NGO opposition to the government’s policies can be limited.
The government maintains this relationship of fear by frequently prosecuting its critics. In Cambodia, defamation, slander or misinformation is considered a criminal offence. Whereas in the States you would be sued for such an offense, in Cambodia you are looking at fines and jail time. This limits political opposition in the sense that the ruling party, the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), can legally force it’s opponents out of power by bringing them to court. One of the most high profile instances of this prosecution is in the case of Mu Sochua , one of the more prominent leaders of Cambodia's leading political opposition, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). Sochua is currently facing jail time in a legal battle with the Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, for critical comments made in the press.
At the civilian level, these kind of erratic legal consequences are also carried out. It is not uncommon for someone to be arrested on hearsay with little or no evidence to substantiate the charges. I recently did a video interview with a 65-year old man who spent 9 months in pre-trial detention on attempted murder charges filed by his neighbor. The neighbors had recently had a petty argument….
As a newcomer to this country, I’m not sure what exactly this all means. I’ll refrain from making blanket statements about this culture. But I think it’s fair to say that a weak system of objective and reasonable punishment seems to appear throughout Cambodia’s history in the 20th and 21st centuries. The result is a society whose free speech may be hushed for fear of retribution.
Particularly because I’m documenting challenges facing the justice system, I’ve encountered many people who are fearful of ‘criticizing’ the government. In Cambodia, ‘criticism’ can boil down to simply acknowledging challenges facing the Ministry of Justice. To admit that there are problems can be put one at risk of punishment by the government, especially if it is done on the record to a foreigner with a camera. It’s definitely challenging because I recognize that their fear is real and I would never want to do anything to put them in harms way. But at the same time, it’s hard to ‘document’ when you can’t get real answers on camera. As an American who has been Bush-bashing since my early teens, I have a hard time reckoning this fear of the government. But the fear is in context of a recent history, in which bodies really did disappear for even the slightest offences. During the Khmer Rouge era, comrades would frequently be considered allies one day and traitors the next. The uncertainty of what actions could put you at risk for elimination forced people into a deaf/mute lifestyle as a mode of survival against this mysterious killing machine.
Although to a much lesser extent, this still happens today. Recently a representative of a legal NGO spoke out in the national news about a legal conflict with the government. Shortly thereafter, the NGO lost it’s funding and was forced to shut down. By opening criticizing the government, this NGO sacrificed its working relationship with them. In order for many NGOs to maintain public access in Cambodia, they must maintain a positive relationship with the government. Therefore, blatant NGO opposition to the government’s policies can be limited.
The government maintains this relationship of fear by frequently prosecuting its critics. In Cambodia, defamation, slander or misinformation is considered a criminal offence. Whereas in the States you would be sued for such an offense, in Cambodia you are looking at fines and jail time. This limits political opposition in the sense that the ruling party, the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), can legally force it’s opponents out of power by bringing them to court. One of the most high profile instances of this prosecution is in the case of Mu Sochua , one of the more prominent leaders of Cambodia's leading political opposition, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). Sochua is currently facing jail time in a legal battle with the Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, for critical comments made in the press.
At the civilian level, these kind of erratic legal consequences are also carried out. It is not uncommon for someone to be arrested on hearsay with little or no evidence to substantiate the charges. I recently did a video interview with a 65-year old man who spent 9 months in pre-trial detention on attempted murder charges filed by his neighbor. The neighbors had recently had a petty argument….
As a newcomer to this country, I’m not sure what exactly this all means. I’ll refrain from making blanket statements about this culture. But I think it’s fair to say that a weak system of objective and reasonable punishment seems to appear throughout Cambodia’s history in the 20th and 21st centuries. The result is a society whose free speech may be hushed for fear of retribution.
Friday, July 2, 2010
first impressions never last
I arrived in Phnom Penh last week and was SHOCKED. No pestering drivers, no chaotic traffic, no immediately pursuant beggars. As far as first impressions go, this city is incredibly manageable. While I spent the first day or two wary to eat or venture out on my own, within 5 days I was able to set myself up with a pretty sick apartment and a sense of direction.
Phnom Penh Basics
-Main modes of transportation are tuk tuks (moto with a carriage attached to the back) or a motorcycle. The motos are tough in the sense that they don't wear uniforms or anything. So anybody could theoretically pick you up as a 'moto driver'
-Generally speaking, you can DRINK THE ICE and WATER served at restaurants. This is totally alien to me, but it certainly eases water contamination paranoia.
I think one of the reasons that it is fairly easy for foreigners to get set up is that there just a ton of them here. Last weekend, I went to a concert that one of my friends put on at the Romdeng Friends House. I was so surprised to see the place totally packed with foreigners, mostly French and American. While there seem to be many foreigners here, boy is it a small world. It’s a small pool of professionals and NGO workers alike and EVRYONE knows EVERYONE.
Did I mention it’s rainy season?
Which means that when it rains, man does it ever! One of my first few days I was sitting on the patio of a restaurant and a gusty storm came up and blew all the tables and umbrellas up against the restaurant! I feared for my life for a hot second. But after observing that the locals were not freaking out as hard as I, I realized this was going to be normal.
The weather is actually ok here. It gets up to high 30’s (Celsius!) and as low as mid 20’s. Which is pretty nice. But it’s not that nice to be riding a moto through dirty sewage water up to your knees…..
Phnom Penh Basics
-Main modes of transportation are tuk tuks (moto with a carriage attached to the back) or a motorcycle. The motos are tough in the sense that they don't wear uniforms or anything. So anybody could theoretically pick you up as a 'moto driver'
-Generally speaking, you can DRINK THE ICE and WATER served at restaurants. This is totally alien to me, but it certainly eases water contamination paranoia.
I think one of the reasons that it is fairly easy for foreigners to get set up is that there just a ton of them here. Last weekend, I went to a concert that one of my friends put on at the Romdeng Friends House. I was so surprised to see the place totally packed with foreigners, mostly French and American. While there seem to be many foreigners here, boy is it a small world. It’s a small pool of professionals and NGO workers alike and EVRYONE knows EVERYONE.
Did I mention it’s rainy season?
Which means that when it rains, man does it ever! One of my first few days I was sitting on the patio of a restaurant and a gusty storm came up and blew all the tables and umbrellas up against the restaurant! I feared for my life for a hot second. But after observing that the locals were not freaking out as hard as I, I realized this was going to be normal.
The weather is actually ok here. It gets up to high 30’s (Celsius!) and as low as mid 20’s. Which is pretty nice. But it’s not that nice to be riding a moto through dirty sewage water up to your knees…..
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