Cambodia
The Impact of the Past on the PresentCambodia, then, like so many other nations in the developing world, is an agricultural country, and, in terms of the cash incomes of its people, desperately poor. In the past, Cambodia was able to earn foreign exchange to pay for imported goods by selling agricultural surpluses-of rice and corn, for example-or plant crops, such as pepper, rubber, and cotton. Its normal patterns of trade were broken up in the wars of the 1970's. When the fighting died down, Cambodian trade became lively again, but more informal, which benefited many individual traders but deprived the government of money it needed to pay for essential services, like electricity, schools, water, and highways. There was some question at the end of the 1980's if Cambodia would ever be able to trade its way back into the kind of prosperity that it had enjoyed in earlier times. Of course, the word "prosperity" is a relative one. Even in the peaceful 1960's, Cambodia was one of the poorest countries in eastern Asia, at least in terms of individual income. It is hard for even a relatively poor Westerner to imagine just how poor-in terms of cash, choices about the future, and possessions-a Cambodian farmer or unskilled
Similarly, in the ruby and sapphire mining regions of the northwest, many individual miners have become wealthy by trading across the border with Thailand. After the "killing fields" of the early 1970's, sweeping social change was no longer a real possibility, but if widespread corruption continues, it could easily erode the confidence that has been built up in the 1980's between the government and the people. As these changes are going on, many Cambodian immigrants have watched their children become American or French, Canadian or Australian, losing track of the past, and often losing respect for the ways that held Cambodian society together. For the next ten years Vietnamese troops attempted to defeat anti-government guerrilla forces. With the relaxation of Vietnamese influence, many Cambodian government officials have become wealthy, as have individual traders, themselves often Vietnamese, Chinese, or Chinese-Cambodians. Further changes in the structure of government are expected as part of the process of political transition and in order to resolve the conflict with the Khmer Rouge. Some have tried hard to do so, however, by becoming Christians, for example, or by working hard in high school and college. The Fear of Pol PotOne is the fear that Pol Pot will reemerge and reenact the horrors of 1975-1979. People who traveled for twenty years on foot, in ox-carts, or in an occasional rickety bus now live alongside freeways where tens of thousands of cars, trucks, and buses roar past them everyday. "I don't think they could survive another one, physically or mentally. As Vietnamese troops departed, and the government relaxed its dependence on Vietnam, it became unclear to what extent any Cambodian government could influence events outside the capital, or control the economic boom that seemed to have overtaken Phnom Penh. Violence between the government, Sihanouk's supporters, and the Khmer Rouge frequently threatened to halt the peace process. There are no negative conflicts now, as Cambodians enjoy a sunny day of swimming and surfing.
Common topics in this essay:
Phnom Penh,
Past Cambodia,
Democratic Kampuchea,
Pol Pot,
Kampong Chhnang,
Khmer Rouge,
Cambodia West,
Cambodia Thai,
China United,
Asia Pop,
phnom penh,
pol pot,
khmer rouge,
democratic kampuchea,
civil war,
thai border,
hun sen,
hundreds thousands,
prime minister,
proper medical,
phnom penh government,
ongoing civil war,
proper medical care,
people desperately poor,
fear pol pot,
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