#50 - Khmer Blood
#50 - Khmer Blood
What would become of us when our trees, rivers, and other natural resources disappear?
Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia with a dash of opinion. To new subscribers, welcome!
Twitter used to be one of the major sources of my news curation for this newsletter until it became a strange odd place since the Elon kerfuffle. I find myself spending less time there because it felt off for many obvious reasons. Many of my friends in media seem to have set up their alternative at Mastodon. I’m not going to lie, changes are never comfortable and this journey to re-familiarise myself with a new platform is the last thing I want to do. However, I want to be ready when one day Twitter is no more. So, yes, you can now find me on Mastodon, mostly as a silent observing user, for now. On that note, I will remove the Overheard on Twitter section from this issue onward. I’m working to create better content for its replacement. Stay tuned!
This week’s issue has been particularly taxing on me because I have to confront my discomfort and read all the devastating news about the destruction of my home’s natural resources and environment. I had procrastinated in reading some for months because I knew it wouldn’t sit well in both my head and my heart. However, I believe in the power of information no matter how hard it is to digest. Therefore, this week’s news will be mostly about what is happening to and in Cambodia’s natural environment and biodiversity.
-Darathtey
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Let’s start with Koh Kong Krao, Cambodia’s biggest island located in Koh Kong province. Until two weeks ago, I did not know much about the island, to be honest. I have not been to Koh Kong or the island (but I’d love to!). A friend brought up the topic as we met for a coffee one morning asking if I knew why a university student’s stall selling coconuts at the university’s charity event got shut down for simply giving out some stickers. It was not just any sticker, it was Koh Kong Krao’s sticker. This drove me to do some digging to educate myself. It turned out that the government gave development rights on the island to one of Cambodia’s biggest tycoons in 2019. This prompted environmental youth activists to advocate for the natural beauty and biodiversity of the island and to call for public support in protecting the island ever since. See:
Island purchasing and development is not a new topic in Cambodia but it is certainly one of those that fly under the public radar. Quietly, powerful and well-connected individuals are buying up Cambodia’s islands under the label of development threatening the livelihood of local fishermen. This long-form investigative piece by Gerry Flynn will get you up to speed with what is going on with Cambodia’s islands buying spree along the Cardamoms’ coast. Read up!
Finally, on the topic of Koh Kong island, I want readers to know what normal people like us will be missing out on if development does not slow down to consider preserving this beautiful island and its surrounding. See the video below (obviously not sponsored!):
This next story is about disappearing flooded forests in Ramsar thanks to all the upstream dams along the Mekong. Ramsar is a 40-kilometer stretch of the Mekong River in the north of Cambodia marked by strong flow and many channels between rocky and sandy islands that completely submerge during high water. The area’s iconic landscape is home to strangler figs and freshwater dolphins. The impact of upstream dams caused the forest's unique characteristics to disappear affecting those whose livelihood depends on them along the way. The future is grim for Ramsar and its surrounding community.
Lastly, we have a Tonle Sap story with its changing fishing policies, disappearing fish populations, and fishers’ struggles. In this piece, Anton L. Delgado dove into the lives of communities surrounding the Tonle Sap lake as they are forced to adapt to constantly changing fishing policies, adverse effects from hydropower dams, and climate change. As you may have guessed, fishers are confronted with the reality that in a not-very-distant future, they might not be able to fish anymore to make a living. What would become of fishing communities without fish? When that day comes, I wonder what visitors would see when they book that Kampung Phluk floating village tour.
Visually pleasing
Arts & Culture
🥊 Let’s talk about martial art. It has come to my attention that Cambodia and Thailand had a go at “who owns what” social war again as Cambodia is preparing to host SEA Games 2023. Being a host and all, Cambodia decided to change the name of the boxing event from the more commonly known “Muay Thai” to “Kun Khmer” stating the matter of national pride and identity. For those of you who are not familiar with the art form, they are essentially similar things branded differently. Thailand retaliated by announcing that they will not send their athletes. Cambodia then clapped back saying they won’t send their athletes to compete in this category either when Thailand hosts the games in 2025. So, what are my two cents on all this? I think it is unnecessary and useless bickering. Do I wish the world knew more about Kun Khmer? Yes. Do I think the name should be changed to nurse some of my Cambodian countrymen and women’s sense of cultural fragility? No. Ideally, I don’t think it matters what the martial art is called. Why can’t we call it whatever we are more comfortable and identify with? I call it Kun Khmer and I train Kun Khmer because I live here and that is how I come to identify it. I also recognise that Thailand has put a lot of work and resources into Muay Thai to expose it to the international stage. If Cambodia wants the same recognition for Kun Khmer, I think more planning and work should be done way beyond changing its name at the SEA Games (once). Simply put, I think the art form is a shared regional heritage that should bring all the practicing countries together instead of pulling them apart.
🎨 Cambodian Contemporary Visual Artists (CCVA) is a recently launched online platform aiming to increase the visibility and discovery of Cambodian visual artists. Behind the project is a Cambodia-based community of artists, arts managers, and creatives. I love that finally, such a platform exists, and I can scroll through, discover artworks, and read about my favorite artists in one place. Some of my favourites are Asymmetry Series 1 by Mao Sovanchandy and Old Church by Sao Sreymao. The website is available in both Khmer and English.
📽️ Worth Watching
I know about the sand mining problem. I think many people in Cambodia know about the problem, and the impact of sand mining is becoming more apparent as time goes on. The story usually goes along the line of an egg vs. rock analogy. Despite all this awareness, it is heartwrenching to hear the story of those whose lives are the most impacted by the act. In the whole scheme of things I feel like educating myself is the least I can do on the matter. Other than that, I feel somewhat helpless.
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin.
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