#22 – Mekong Delta Blues
When will this be over?
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 has taken a lot more of my energy than I thought readjusting back to Cambodia. Many things have changed in the 17+ months that I was away. Everything feels familiar, yet foreign at the same time. I thought transitioning back home would be easy, but I was wrong. I’m still adjusting to being in a new space, setting up my work from home space from scratch again. I’m getting there but it is going to take some time. That’s why you receive this newsletter a week later than usual. I was just too tired. I still am. Hence, this issue is going to be slightly shorter than usual.
- Darathtey
In this issue: labour rights issue, community Delta variant, Cambodian identity and more...
This week, I want to draw your attention to the labour rights issue in Cambodia because it seems to be getting worse on multiple fronts. I honestly do not have much to reflect on this because I am aware that it sucks all around, and the pandemic brings the whole issue to the forefront. I will list down relevant articles and let you discover the depth of the problem by yourself.
Domestic workers call for social protections amid “slave-like” conditions, CamboJANews
Only 377 NagaWorld Workers Still Holding Out Against Layoffs: Union, VOD
Unions Sue Cambodia Airports over Unfair Dismissals and Union-Busting, Cambodianess
Fired Phnom Penh Garbage Workers Rail Against Broken Promises, VOD
Asia’s garment workers say virus used as cover to smash unions, Southeast Asia Globe
So, the Delta variant is now found in the community. What else can I say? I’m scared. Having been home for just three weeks, I can sense that the level of fear is as high as the level of complacency. I’m not blaming people, though. We’re all getting tired of fighting this battle and sometimes, we just need human face-to-face interactions. I just hope that the rapid speed of the vaccination campaign can prevent the tragedy this crazy variant can do to a nation.
Fear and the detection of the Delta variant in the community drove many border provinces to shift back into lockdown with Phnom Penh seeing two of its Sangkats (communes) in lockdown as well. The rest of the city is put under a 2100 to 0300 curfew and alcohol ban. Meanwhile, Cambodian Mine Action Center and the University of Health are working together to train Cambodian sniffer dogs to detect Covid-19. So far, the dogs have successfully detected the virus using the trial samples. Good boys!
On the vaccination front, Cambodia is still going strong with the launch of a youth vaccination campaign on August 2. The campaign focuses on adolescents aged 12 to 17. The nation also saw multiple batches of vaccines arriving through the COVAX Facility in the past two weeks consisting of over 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson donated by the US. Meanwhile, the government announced that Astrazeneca Vaccine will be used as a booster shot for those already fully jabbed with Sinopharm and Sinovac.
Lastly on pandemic news, a friend of mine had a first account of what it is like to have Covid-19 and staying at one of the treatment facilities in Cambodia. You can read her Facebook post here. Thanks Mélanie Mossard for allowing me to share your story.
Visually Pleasing
Arts & Culture
🎭 KampumEra is a new artsy initiative that just appeared on my Facebook radar. I honestly cannot tell you what it is exactly but maybe I am not their target audience. The platform calls themselves “home of the dreamers, the thinkers and the change-makers”. They seem to feature many creative individuals, and they are now running a campaign under a hashtag #MakeOurOwnLuck. Do you know what this is about?
🤳🏽 Speaking of cool, hip things, there is a new place in town that everybody seems to love going to in order to take selfies. The Commune is a mixed residential, retail and office space. The architecture looks unique and spacious, emphasising a communal outdoor area. I guess that explains the selfie phenomenon. I haven’t been there myself but if people think it’s cool, it must be, right? Obviously, #notsponsored.
🎙️ Worthy Listen
This week I will shamelessly promote myself because why not? ;)
I was invited by Southeast Asia Globe to be a guest speaker in their Anakut podcast, in an episode titled “Beyond Being Khmer in Cambodia”. I was joined by Cambodian Living Arts’ Executive Director Phloeun Prim. We explored the difference between being Khmer vs. being Cambodian, diversity, and modernity. We also exchanged thoughts about the process of becoming when it comes to the Cambodian identity. I really enjoyed the experience because Phloeun and I knew each other through work for over half a decade but that podcast was the first time we both had a long conversation about this topic.
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
I hear you, Tey. Hope you readjust to being home (again) in your own time.