Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia with a dash of opinion.
A warm welcome to new subscribers, thank you for allowing me into your inbox. It’s nice to have you here.
It turns out to be harder than I thought to work full time while running a newsletter, attempting to write a book as well as taking an online class on the side, and doing all that from my living room. Sometimes, I find myself mixing thoughts and days. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is the reason I keep going despite the struggle, such as putting this week’s newsletter together, is an acknowledgment that I am more than my day job and I love that.
- Darathtey
In this issue: we’re still in the pandemic, land conflicts are still happening, and Phnom Penh is changing – but I don’t know if for better or for worse.
The lockdown in Phnom Penh and Takhmao is over, following an announcement from the Phnom Penh municipal administration last week. This allowed public markets and restaurants to reopen. The decision came despite many reported Covid-19 cases daily. Of course, there are mixed reactions to the decision. Phnom Penh government authorities seem to hint that we should all try to live with the virus while some civil society actors point out the possible rationale behind the decision: the government’s struggle to get food to the right people during the lockdown. I guess time will tell the consequences of this action. The easing of the lockdown restrictions doesn’t mean all is well in the Covid-19 department. A large-scale inmate vaccination campaign has been carried out after 18 prisoners were found to be Covid-19 positive last week in Prey Sar, Cambodia’s largest prison.
It’s no secret that most of Cambodia’s Covid-19 treatment facilities are make-shift ones in various venues such as convention halls, converted high schools, etc. They are not the best, to say the least. Those facilities scare a privileged urban dweller like me. However, if you’re a person with disabilities, these facilities will make you feel like you’re not even there. At many treatment centres across the country, many visually impaired patients reported a lack of support and understanding. They faced all sorts of issues, from inaccessibility of the facility to supplies shortage and a lack of understanding of their underlying health issues. To make matters worse, they reported that their voiced concerns are not taken seriously since no actions have been taken.
Speaking of being unseen, medical waste collectors are one among those unseen groups. They are the front-line workers who are more at risk than medical doctors, but they are not usually talked about or make news headlines. This comprehensive article by New Naratif and VOD gives them a space in the reporting landscape and the recognition they deserve. Please take some time to read it.
Also, as the city starts to reopen alongside many factories, workers are caught between staying off work and struggle to get food or going to work and risk getting infected. You’ll see the fear in the tweet below. Some said that their action in the video is caused by being uneducated. However, let’s pause and think for a moment. If you were a hand-to-mouth worker, would you like to be starved in quarantine with family debt unpaid or risk getting infected but get to go to work? I’m not trying to justify this mass hysteria but merely want to point out that it’s more than just a matter of black and white.
It’s been a while since I talk about land conflicts. I would like to report that they are still happening everywhere. This week, I would like to highlight the tension between rice farmers in Kandal province and Phnom Penh’s new airport developer. The villagers refused to take below-market price compensation for the rice fields and chose to build a tent to guard the fields instead when bulldozers arrived. Kandal province administration said they would work with the Ministry of Land Management to get the price raised. If the price is still under negotiation, why did they send bulldozers to the site? But hey, I’m just a silly citizen asking silly questions.
Visually Pleasing
Arts & Culture
🎬 “Cambodian culture bleeds creativity,” said Sina San, the first Cambodian American Hollywood visual effect artist to win an Emmy award for outstanding visual effects. She also added that Cambodia hasn’t made big strides in the creative sector since the Khmer Rouge; hence, she feels like she has to do something. I agree with her in taking matters into one’s own hands to make changes instead of just yelling out empty Cambodia pride. Sina stays true to her words by quitting her job to start her own company hoping to inspire creativity among Cambodians and create a sustainable platform on which Cambodian artists can collaborate and create. Watch a full interview with Sina by VOA here.
🗺️ I decided to put this next story in the arts section because I personally see maps as an art form that tells a story. The Evolution of Phnom Penh article in Southeast Asia Globe proves this point of view. Andrew Haffner did a great job in collecting and curating maps of Phnom Penh dating back to 1864 to illustrate how much the city has changed. Also, while you’re here, I would like to quickly shout out to everyone at SEA Globe and wish them the best of luck in their fundraising campaign. I rely on quality news to make this newsletter happens and the Globe is one of the very few independent news outlets in Cambodia that can provide that. If you would like to help, please consider donating 😊
📚 Worthy Read
Creative Expression and Contemporary Arts Making Among Young Cambodians is a recently published research finding report by Amanda Rogers and the team at Cambodian Living Arts. It is a great report with many interesting new insights on how young Cambodian artists perceive their work and their roles in preserving the country’s artistic heritage while expressing themselves through new ones. The project also examines how young Cambodian audiences perceive arts. I totally recommend this report if you’re curious about what Cambodia is about these days beyond the old narrative of temple and trauma.
Overheard on Twitter
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin from Word & Visual.
I’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback or content ideas, please reach out via tey@wordandvisualmedia.com