A tourist from England displays wounds he received on December 29th, 2007 near Kampong Cham, Cambodia. After crossing the Mekong River on the Japanese-Cambodian Friendship Bridge with his rented bicycle, he was beaten, robbed and smashed in the face with a large rock by his unprovoked assailant. After a violent struggle with his attacker, he was thrown down an embankment and lost consciousness for about 2 hours. The blood soaked visitor, Martin Hicks, struggled back to his hotel and was interviewed by local police the following day before traveling to Phnom Penh to seek medical treatment for multiple broken bones and undetermined internal injuries.In America, the scenario above would result in charges of attempted murder. As many photographers from around the world head to Siem Reap to attend the Angkor Photography Festival in November, a word of caution to everyone. Cambodia can be a very violent place and as one former Buddhist monk put it to me, "no place is safe". Four days ago a friend of mine, a mild mannered young man from Cameroon, had a machete pulled on him at a modern looking internet shop. Who would try such a stunt you ask? (The guy looks like boxer Mike Tyson) None other than the internet shop's proprietor after a minor misunderstanding. In most countries, I would presume the inet shop owner would have walked the half block it takes to reach the police station, summoned an officer, and brought him back to the shop to get the misunderstanding ironed out. Not this guy. He walked into the back of his shop house and grabbed his weapon of choice.
Here are a few survival tips:
Don't go ANYWHERE ALONE, not even in broad daylight
TRUST NO ONE (not even harmless looking little kids)
If you must be alone, don't isolate yourself from large groups of people
Especially dangerous activities include any train travel, strolling along the beach in Sihanoukville and riding bicycles in rural areas. If you are attacked, don't resist. Most criminals in Cambodia carry ugly looking shanks and knives while others prefer small pistols or acid. Thankfully, I have only encountered shanks and knives the two times I have been attacked.
Don't wear jewelry etc. Just last week a 12 year old girl riding her bike was robbed of her gold necklace then killed in Svay Rieng.
In Phnom Penh, avoid hiring motorcycle taxis and keep your head on a swivel when walking. I have witnessed numerous people flattened by motorcycles or rolled up onto the hoods of automobiles. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in Cambodia.
There has also been an increase in gunplay in Phnom Penh. Last week a woman was shot 3 times and killed in the heart of Phnom Penh at Streets 19 & 118. In another incident a man was allegedly robbed of $50,000 while walking in a bank parking lot in broad daylight. In a third occurance, a young woman was murdered while eating with two friends (who were wounded) near the riverfront after work. Allegedly, a 21 year old RCAF (Royal Cambodian Armed Forces) officer became enraged after thugs smashed the windows of his Lexus SUV (how does a 21 year old kid become an Army officer at age 21 and cruise around one of the poorest countries in the world in a Lexus.....well that's another story) and decided to shoot 3 innocent people to get rid of a litlle anger. Avoid becoming an innocent bystander by avoiding walks through the streets. Take a taxi to your next destination as shootings and armed robbery have become a daily occurrence in tourist areas around Phnom Penh.
What do the thieves look like on the streets? Well, for the most part they look "clean". Crime pays well in Cambodia and as a Phnom Penh cop once told me. "It's their job." Many gang members are actually the offspring of wealthy politicians, members of the Army, or wealthy connected business people. They have money to maintain a neat appearance, look quite unsuspecting, and punishment is quite frankly a joke. Instead of justice, think impunity. For the 3rd consecutive year Cambodia's corruption ranking has gone south. Cambodia'now ranks number 166 out of 180 countries, tying the Robert Mugabe led country of Zimbabwe (where the annual rate of inflation as of July, 2008, was 23 million percent and the financial system has completely collapsed). Cool huh?
Last week, Cambodia Daily newspaper quoted Phnom Penh's police chief, Touch Naruth: "Nowadays there are many rich kids using illegal weapons." He added, " We are sorry with the shootings in the city and that many causalities have happened to victims where police can't find the suspects."
The Cambodian Tourist Authority has a new ad campaign proclaiming "Angkor and so much more." Let's hope they start putting a bit more emphasis on violent crime prevention and investigation so we can all be a bit safer here. Be careful and enjoy your stay. Remember, you can look as mean as Mike Tyson but that won't stop Cambodia's armed thugs.
Keywords: Crime, Robbery, Assault, Tourism, Safety, Security, Victim, Beating, Cambodia, Phnom, Penh, Man, Injury, Tourist, Visitor, Criminals, Danger, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap, Violence, Murder, Corruption,
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