The Unordinary Khmers
The draconic cycle of life of ordinary Khmers will continue to spin while the life style of the “unordinary” elites continues to flourish as if the world of the poor and the desolate many does not exist.
It is indeed a sad affair to have witnessed and to have heard of cases of Khmers who have but a few square meters of land upon which they could build what they call home. It is even more sorrowful to have known the very few who own not just one hundred, but hundreds or even thousands of hectares of land. It does not take a genius to figure out that there is something fundamentally wrong with this picture.
I am a firm believer in a capitalist system. I am convinced that free competitive spirit propels the economy to move forward, enriching those who have the resources while at the same time helping the rest to inch forward toward a better life. However, Kampuchea is another story.
Having said that, what I, and I am sure the rest of us, am seeing today in Kampuchea is similar to the episode which I read of primitive culture of Europe back in the Dark Age. In short, though we are living the twenty-first century, we are still in the modus operandi of the past.
And speaking of the past, I am reminded of a book that I read called “How the Irish Saved Civilization” in which feudal lords and the like of them positioned and repositioned themselves in the realm of politics so that they could garner a bigger piece of the lion share. I am witnessing the same scenario today in srok Khmer where the knights and lords (Okña and Ek Oudam) are vying for a better spot upon which a lion share could be had.
What becomes of the “ordinary” (more than 80% of the population) Khmers then are but serfs whose lives depend on the mercy of their lords; whose livelihood depends upon the leftover (if any) or any spillage that may have occurred after the “lions” had their fill. The have-nots are transforming, unwillingly, daily to become beasts of burden while the Okña and their peers are themselves The Beasts...predators who will prey on their own if needed be.
If the description of Kampuchea thus far seems bleak it because it is bleak. And the future is not that promising either, if the current trend continues. Will the trend continue? No one really knows, but as an old adage goes “the future lays in the hands of younger generation.” True, the future will definitely rest upon the shoulders of young bloods. The question is “which shoulder”? Will it be the shoulder that further sink Kampuchea to the abyss of regressiveness or will it be the one that elevate her from her current state of being?
The shaking off of the yoke of poverty and the shifting from a good to a bad shoulder all depend on our ability to distinguish between what is moral and what is immoral. It must be understood that it is oxymoronic to take the money that would otherwise belong to the poor to help build a grand temple; it must be understood that it is rather odd to wish for democracy while ignoring the plight of humanity.
It is never too late to change, but before any changes can take place, Khmers must come to a realization that mistakes have been made and that the same mistakes must not be repeated.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kimmie "Yada" on -
Thank you for sharing your thought Bong.
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Permalink Reply by iDream on -
Nicely done in articulation, Pu Hang.
It reminds me of a book " A Tale of Two Cities," by Charles Dickens.
A book started off, " It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
The wealthy men have the duty to save the poor and care for them cuz they live off the back of these poor people.
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Permalink Reply by Hang, Chumnith on -
IDream:
I wish those who do have money (by whatever mean that accumulated it) realize that enough is enough and put some back in the community.
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Permalink Reply by Alex Krin on -
Bong they need to know that by putting the money back into the community, and build back the country will enable to have theirs names in the history books as khmer heroes for generations to use as the model, and also can make them even wealthier, otherwise, there is no way that they put the money to use. These people never going to learn what you reap is what you sowed.
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Permalink Reply by Hang, Chumnith on
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Alex:
You are right. In order for them to be able to "put the money back" they have to have a sense of pride and integrity -- these are just a few components that constitute good moral conducts.
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Permalink Reply by Mirabelle on -
Most of those money is not in bank of kampuchea ....else where like...france.... Swisse. ... Singarpore....etc ..
If the change going to take place like 1974 then those money will not come back to Kdmpuchea, right?????
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Permalink Reply by Sokdy Mann on -
Thank you bong Chumnith for your well written articles. Living the life of the 20% Elite Unordinary Khmer are documented every day of their life. From the past 50 years we see the power shift high and low, some are gaining or from this and for some lost every thing from the power that changing hand. I am 40 years old and have learn a great deal about this from seeing the change that taking place in Cambodia. The mother land have her own strength to keep or to make make life perish like a wind. We have so many opportunity to take what we have in the past to give to we can to our fellow country men in order to ease the pain and suffering of the poor. The gap of rich and poor in our land is breeding another kind of group that can not stand to see the great suffering that our people have to endue. I see thing change because the people have been denied from their basic need, robbery is only the start, eventually it getting bigger that no one can control.
Right now is only education is the key to change and hope our future leader would build a better system to protect life and close this gap that may cause a greater eruption in the future. To have a peaceful, economic stability country is come from a well manage resource from our great elite person. We all hope that we can make a change before it is too late.
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Permalink Reply by Hang, Chumnith on
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Sokdy Mann:
I am hoping for the change in people attitude.
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Permalink Reply by mardizone on -
yello big brro
change will come n da future of kampuchea like ya said is within hands of 'young bloods'...
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Permalink Reply by Alex Krin on
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Honestly, we won't live up to that old to see the changes are happening in srok khmer, or at lease another 20years.
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