Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia with a dash of opinion.
To new subscribers, welcome! I’m Darathtey, a communication consultant, writer, and researcher. Learn more about my work here.
For once, I’m a bit lost for words for the opening. My brain has turned into itself trying to process all the news that affects me and people that I’ve worked with. Yes, I am also affected by the USAID funding freeze, or should I say USAID’s dismantling? To be honest, I looked for a silver-lining at first. As an independent consultant, I’m used to jumping from one contract to another. So, it was not like I lost my sole life line or anything. That was what I told myself at the beginning, and for a week, I tried very hard to believe it. However, as I continued to see the news unfold, it dawned on me that the instability caused by the absence of such a big organisation as USAID will cause a big ripple effect across the international development landscape, a space in which I mostly operate. Then, at home, I learnt that a media friend is being barred from ever re-entering Cambodia simply because he was doing his job – being a journalist. More on these two topics below. In a nutshell, I’m just a bit stunned by the speed at which the world is going in the wrong direction.
- Darathtey
PS. Fuck Elon. I finally migrated from X and set myself up on Bluesky. You can follow me at @darathtey.bsky.social (if you want to).
As mentioned in the intro, the news of USAID’s funding freeze came as a shock to everyone. I was no exception. The day the news broke, I had to follow hour by hour trying to piece bits of information together of what to do next. By the time you’re reading this, I’m sure my full-time colleagues at my organisation are still learning about their uncertain faith of whether they are being let go. As for me, my contract was terminated around one week after the announcement came out. Now, what does this mean for Cambodia?
USAID Cambodia funded a wide range of projects from health to agriculture, from social inclusion to demining. With all project work grinded to a halt very suddenly, local staff and NGOs have faced immense challenges in rushing to fill the potential funding gap and even new jobs. Deminers were told to pause demining, and civil society organisations working to assist victims rescued from human trafficking halted their activities. These are just two of many other examples. For more regional impacts caused by the USAID’s immediate dismantling, read this piece by Al Jazeera.
Look, similar to many ginormous aid agencies around the world, USAID has its flaws, oh so many flaws. There are many areas that international development could have tweaked and done differently. Having said that, this act of suddenly pulling a rug beneath people’s feet is just cruel. While I believe that each country should work towards the ultimate goal of being self-sustained, I also believe that there are ways to ease out foreign aid with minimal disruption to people who spent their lives hoping to make positive changes in their countries, and people whose lives literally depend on such aid.
Let’s move on to my mate, Gerry. Long-term readers should be familiar with his name by now because his works were often mentioned in this newsletter. He was one of the few remaining independent journalists reporting on environmental issues in Cambodia. Well, not anymore.
My government denied Gerald Flynn re-entry to the country on January 5 accusing him of acquiring a “fake visa” which led Gerry to be permanently banned from returning to Cambodia. Immigration officers said Gerry lied on his work visa application which said he came here to work as an electrician. LOL. When the news broke, an official from the General Department of Immigration explained to local news outlet Cambodianess that Gerry applied for a work visa to be employed as a teacher, not a journalist. LMFAO. Listen to Gerry’s retelling the story to the Diplomat Southeast Asia correspondent Luke Hunt on what exactly happened here.
The bottom line is the absence of another brilliant journalist whose job was to keep shedding light on the hard and ugly truth left a big gap to fill. Of course, I’m sad but Gerry’s story is far from unique when it comes to other journalists doing this line of work in Cambodia. There are local journalists who are dealing with more severe cases that don’t guarantee them the spotlight in international news.
USAID funding wasn’t the only thing that collapsed these past few weeks. Our riverbank along the Mekong also followed suit. At the beginning of February, three residential houses in Khtor village, Prek Leap commune, collapsed into the Mekong river along with the riverbank. Government blamed it on nature. I guess that was an easy thing to do because nature cannot talk back. Except mother nature does talk back…not with words but with more actions, or shall I say consequences?
Speaking of actions, the Funan Techo Canal finally commenced some work six months after its groundbreaking. Now, in February 2025, officials are finally starting to talk about compensating the 2,300+ families who'll be affected by the construction, but residents are getting antsy because they haven't heard any specifics about when they'll get paid or when construction will actually start. The first 21km of the planned 180km canal has been marked out, and authorities say they're working on it, but locals are stuck in limbo - they can't even plant crops because they don't know when they'll have to move.
It’s that time of the year again when we get our annual Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Released on February 11, the 2024 TI report revealed that Cambodia's score has fallen to 21 out of 100, marking a one-point decrease from 2023. This ranks Cambodia 158th out of 180 countries. The government acknowledged the existence of corruption but questioned TI on their transparency and accuracy. The usual 😅
Visually Pleasing
Arts & Culture
🎭 There is a new contemporary performing arts centre in town and I’m here for it. Launched by the Acting Art Academy, the Last Stage offers regular seasonal performances by local talents. From February to June, there will be four unique performances for each month. I had the opportunity to watch their February performance A Part of Us last week. It was definitely a unique experience in all the good ways. The cast, the intensity, the flow, the camera work, the adaptation from original texts to Khmer language were very spot on. If you’re in Phnom Penh, I recommend you check them out. I cannot wait to see the next one in March.
🎨 With the world’s news presenting such a grim outlook for our future, article such as this brings nourishment to my soul. The Hyperallegic article tells a story of two artists, Svay Sareth and Yim Maline, whose combined visions and artistic journeys result in the inception of the Blue Art Center in Siem Reap. Add that to your to-visit places the next time you’re in Siem Reap. I can’t wait to go see the space myself.
Worth Watching
The cyber scam crisis plaguing Cambodia and Southeast Asia has gained widespread attention. The documentary t highlights the devastating impact on Indian victims. Many Indians were tricked, trafficked, and forced into cyber scams under brutal conditions.
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin.
I’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback or content ideas, please write to me at hello@darathteydin.com
Unlike the guy here, I want to thank you for your work! Keep going on :) Fuck Elon, Donald and all those fucking billionairs who want to make the world a mess again, so they can prosper and build their fucking personal empires.
Idiot!