Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia with a dash of opinion.
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I just finished reading a book called Stolen Focus trying to understand why it is so difficult to pay attention to things these days. It is both comforting and disturbing to know that it wasn’t all due to me. Besides having to battle teams of engineers who are trying their best to keep our eyeballs glued to screens as long as possible, we also have to take into account the food we consume, the air we breathe, and so on because they all contribute to why our focus seems to fragment very easily in today’s world. Where am I going with this? Well, the book suggests that our inability to pay attention takes us away from fighting for bigger issues that require our undivided attention to take action such as climate change. Therefore, in this week’s newsletter, we will look at all things environment.
- Darathtey
In this issue: all things environment and cultural events.
WATER
Is it too late to save Tonle Sap Lake? is a legit question that needs to be asked because I’m sure people share similar sentiments, that it might be too late. I just started reading Abby Seiff’s Trouble the Water and I hate to agree that she might be right in saying that the book possibly serves as one of the attempts to “memorialize a place and time before it vanishes”. For those of you who might not want to get into reading the whole book, Abby’s interview with The Third Pole will give you an idea on the many factors behind an inevitable expiry date for one of the world’s greatest lakes. Those factors include hydropower, development, climate change and mismanagement. This threat to the Tonle Sap lake will also impact communities of fishers and farmers whose lives had depended on the lake ecosystem for decades. As much as I enjoy doing foresighting exercises trying to visualise what I would like to see happening in Cambodia in the next 20 or 30 years, the absence of this lake which used to be an abundant source of many lives is not one of those I can imagine thinking about.
While Tonle Sap Lake is on the verge of vanishing, Kampot city creek has been releasing stench caused by wastewater being released into the creek. While the authorities said the wastewater treatment plant is to be completed by 2023, the liquid waste currently causes pollution, endangers fish and gives people itchy skin. While there’s nothing wrong with people wanting the issue to be dealt with in order to attract more tourists to this coastal town, I wish they also desire a cleaner environment for their own living standard. After all, tourists come and go, but it is the locals who remain to deal with the pollution and the stench.
AIR
This news report by Gerald Flynn, Vutha Srey, Thomas Cristofoletti, Andy Ball and Roun Ry looks at banana farms across Cambodia highlighting health issues caused by many chemicals used at the farms. The article spotlights working conditions and workers’ struggle in dealing with various health issues at three banana farms: Longmate in Kampot, Angkor Banana in Stung Treng, and Thagrico in Kratie. These farms demand workers to use many harmful chemicals without providing protective gear or health insurance. Union leaders who attempted to raise the issue were fired. Some workers became really sick that they could no longer work. These companies merely found their replacement and did nothing about it. Both the companies and the government do not dig deeper into the allegedly chemical-induced health issues. We have a long way to go in dealing with matters like this.
LAND
In my recent research, I had a chance to educate myself more about challenges faced by the indigenous communities in Cambodia. By being pushed to the fringe of society, claiming a basic right such as requesting titles for their traditional land is very difficult and doesn't always produce favourable results for the community. How Car Tires Displaced Thousands Of People is a short documentary shining a light on a battle between big rubber plantation owners vs. some indigenous communities in Ratanakiri.
Things you may have missed but I do not want to elaborate on:
Cambodia Drops Covid-19 Testing Requirements for New Arrivals
As gas price skyrockets, some stations announce they are out of stock
Visually Pleasing
Arts & Culture
🌟 Bonn Phum returns this year with a two-week celebration at two separate venues. The first leg of the festival is held at the Factory on April 1, 2, and 3. The second part of the festival will be on April 8, 9 and 10 at a pagoda yet to be announced. I admire the idea of bringing young people together to celebrate arts and culture. I, however, cannot endure the April heat and see myself as a more-distant supporter than a festival regular.
📽️ The White Building directed by Kavich Neang will finally be screened in Cambodia this month! The film’s Phnom Penh premier will be on April 5 followed by other screenings in three locations across the country – Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville – from April 7 onwards. Go to their Facebook page for more information.
Overheard on Twitter
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin from Word & Visual.
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