Cambodia Diaries - 18 July 2008

Cheers and go f..k yourselves!

Right well first things first, welcome to the weblog/site thing or whatever the techno folks among you call these things.  I have bowed to the call of many to do such a thing and we’ll see how it goes and just as it was not my idea, neither did I come within a country mile of making the site up, so thanks to my mate Keith.  Of course now I will need to be a lot stricter with what I say and it wouldn’t do any harm to take a few decent pictures either.

After the customary hospitalities were extended to me in Singapore, I arrived in Phnom Penh (‘PP’) a few days later and although it took a little time to put my finger on the change around in the place, it eventually became apparent that since I was last here in 2006, nearly every other car on the road is a 4x4.  The place is clogging up with them as we all vie for what little road space there is out there on the streets of PP.  But the good news, the roads remain as chaotic as ever and just because you might be walking does not mean that a motorbike or even a car won’t pass you on the pavement! Things have and are changing dramatically and whilst there are many suggestions as to where the money is coming from to pay for it all, not all of them revolve around the rewards from gainful employment.

When moving anywhere, let alone setting up in a new country, you have a 101 things to sort out and in this heat, that is a chore.  Slowly but surely I am getting there. First on the list was a haircut because by 3pm with the PP heat and humidity, the old locks get a bit bouffant shall we say.  Barber shops the world over are adorned with pictures of men’s hairstyles from the 1970’s, so imagine my surprise upon entering  a barber shop in PP to sit and stare up at Mikhail Gorborchov, Bill Gates and in case you wanted something for the weekend, Bill Clinton down the far end.  Fearing that this was the extent of the barber’s abilities, I discovered a place that is not much beyond a hole in the wall and instructed my new crimper to shave the lot off and despite a nervous moment when the clippers packed in just when I was looking a bit Hare Krishna, Mr. Preferred Barber #1, a man for whom teeth are a bygone memory, completed the job and then promptly sat about giving me a head massage.  Price all in, $1 and when I trebled that with his tip, his beaming toothless grin was such, that next time he’s only getting $2. Bless him.

There is no public transport as such and until you get the hang of the roads in this part of the world, you’re best sticking to the old tuk-tuks.  I have two lads that I use - Preferred Tuk-Tuk #1, Mr. Seenar and Preferred Tuk-Tuk #2, Mr. Yeah.  The former works out of my street and if he were one of the seven dwarfs, then he would be Mr. Sleepy.  In fact, I am not sure how he is keeping himself above water as I currently seem to be his main source of income during his waking hours.  The latter I use heading home from the gym and as I had not used him for a few weeks after I put my back out, he gave me a lecture on my seeming lethargy whilst he puffed on a Marlboro.

The latest Chez JH is off the wonderfully named Mao Tse Toung Boulevard and is locally known as Sweet Cucumber Street and if you can find anyone to tell you how or why, then fair play to you.  The street is actually a cul-de-sac and opposite me is another Londoner called John.  Having finally met him, it also brought to a swift conclusion the query I had about a chatty little Cambodian looking girl around 3 years old who seemed to have unbelievably good English with a little hint of cockney as she played with the hordes of kids down my end of the Sweet Cucumber.  Wondering where she learned “See ya later” the answer was soon resolved when John introduced her to me as his daughter.

The Cambodia Trust’s new facility in Phnom Penh 

The Cambodia Trust (TCT) has recently moved from our home of the last several years to a new place, just on the outskirts of the city.  It’s much better for our patients, which is the main thing of course, but its miles from anywhere.  The site is a marked improvement from the slightly ramshackle facility we had before.  However, our new home is temporary as we are hoping to have our own purpose built site in the next couple of years - funds, bureaucracy and the ever increasing value of land and materials permitting.   

Well I wasn’t long here before I offended half of my Cambodian colleagues on a work day out to a national park a few hours outside PP.  We took lunch and a few beers overlooking a river and of course as one is in training, I was swigging the Sprite gently when I was called upon to toast the group.  The Khmer word for ‘cheers’ bears a remarkable resemblance to ‘go f..k yourself’ and so I stood up and told everyone to go forth.  Half the group wet themselves, the other just sat there aghast.  Only seeing the comedic side of things and oblivious to the fact that the other half of the group were mortified, I promptly stood up a second time and told them all to ‘go f..k themselves’ but this time, only louder.  Thankfully my cultural faux pas has been forgiven but from now on, a simple clink of the glass is far safer.

My job is working with other NGOs to get the UN Convention on disability rights ratified and some other law related stuff as well as working on other initiatives designed to get people with disabilities into mainstream society.  The problem for many amongst those that we seek to help is that whilst we can provide prosthesis and such like, once they leave the clinic they often have no jobs or meaningful role in society.  Persons with disability are at the bottom of the pile out here and face the type of discrimination that is not your wishy-washy politically incorrect stuff.    

It is a huge challenge but the best thing I did before I got out here was not to have any preconceived notions of what ‘I’ might want to do/achieve or set any targets until I had had a good look round before starting to dip my toe into the NGO world.  Having thought about my presence here, it strikes me that on the one hand, the need to speak up and act on behalf of those being treated unfairly must be balanced by the need to encourage the local people to do all they can to help themselves and for Cambodians to take ownership of any such initiatives as soon as it is practicable.

The other factor which I have reassessed is that of timescale.  If the root of the problem is the deeply entrenched prejudicial views on disability, then those will not change overnight.  In fact, you are probably pushing your luck in hoping to change those in a generation. 

I was at a conference recently and one of the keynote speakers spoke well on his topic until I asked him when he thought his magic wand would change all the prejudices currently faced out here.  His answer or lack of an answer was worrying and so over lunch I highlighted a few examples of the things that I gave discovered since getting here.  The first was of a little boy we help go to school by providing him with a wheelchair and building ramps to allow him access into class.  As he wheels himself to/from school the adults in the village openly mock him.  The second example was of a mother who was so embarrassed by giving birth to a child with a disability, that she only ever threw scraps of food to him and so at age 7, he is so badly malnourished that when I saw this little emaciated body regrettably the only word that comes to mind was wretched. 

The reality of the situation is that my being here for 2 years will not make it all wonderful and I am sure there will be times when it will be just plain frustrating and I am not immune to the idea that when my contract comes to an end and I head home I might look back and question if anything was achieved.  The best I can do is to give it a good go and see how it goes and if I make a tangible difference in my time here then that will be great.  However, I suspect that the best one can hope for is to have given it your all and played your part in the challenge ahead and accept that the changes we might hope to see will come to fruition years down the line and long after I have left here.    

Anyway, after a very hectic first month spent out and about as much as possible before going into training mode on 29 May, things have calmed down a little.  Currently we have a volunteer from Scotland called Steve who is here until September and as he said, either I went into training mode quick or his liver would give out. We also have a couple of Canadians as well and as befits people from that part of the world, wonderfully polite. 

In fact I was celebrating Canada Day recently after a very disappointing invite to the Queen’s Birthday Party hosted by the British Ambassador.  I was beside myself with excitement as in previous years; the Brits have traditionally put on a damn fine spread and if for nothing else, then for one night only you could enjoy a taste of the old country in PP.  So excited was I, that I had taken myself off to get measured up for some suitable attire only to find that the evening ended with me back at Chez JH having to devour a big bowl of cereal, so disappointing was Her Majesty’s Foreign Office’s effort.

I trust all are well and there will be a ‘Berlin marathon’ update next week and I will try and keep the honneyontour emails flowing every month or so from now on. Not sure to what extent this time round will be slightly less adventurous then previous tours, but we’ll see.

Cheers/Go f..k yourself*

JHx

* delete as appropriate