This year, foreign donors will contribute about 900 million USD to the Kingdom of Cambodia. If voluntary charitable man/woman hours put in by numerous foreigners were added, that figure would climb to over one billion USD. What are the ideas behind such generosity?
Article 51 of the Kingdom of Cambodia's constitution states, "Cambodian people are masters of their own country. All powers belong to the people. The people exercise their power through the National Assembly, the Senate, the Royal Government, and the Courts". In other words, Cambodia is a DEMOCRACY!
Well if you are a working stiff in the western world and have been hit up by an institution or foundation whose name resembles a bowl of alphabet soup, you've probably been told your donation will go towards improving the "health, education and welfare" of people who are living in one of the poorest countries in the world and you're helping to build a democracy too. That would be a good thing you may tell yourself. However, as you're about to pull a few crumpled bills from your soon to be empty pockets, you may want to look deeper inside the issue of donor driven cultures.
It's a bit strange when some entities in Cambodia identify themselves NGO's because many of them receive money from governments. Take the case of a now defunct NGO, KTGO (Khmer Ghvith Thmei Organization), that was operating in Kampong Cham, Cambodia before being shut down for corruption. (Please see related story, Corruption Is Not A Crime In Cambodia). KTGO was operating with funds issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Pact. KTGO's motorcycles even wore the stickers to prove it. Where does USAID get their money? If you are living in America, it comes from that other pocket you're now reaching into (aka US tax dollars). Nothing "non-governmental" about that.
While you were reaching into one pocket and Uncle Sam had his hand in the other, what was KTGO supposed to be doing after they shouted, "show me the money"? According to their mission statement, "The organization is dedicated to poverty reduction and to the promotion of good governance and human rights. Its principal areas of program emphasis include training, support for the Volunteer Youths for Development and Peace Network (VYDAPN), and good-governance/anti-corruption.
Now I don't know what the term "good-governance" is supposed to mean but there were many brochures around their office that explained what democracy was all about, you know, the Jeffersonian brand. Apparently, these publications were to be distributed to groups of people who were learning about this form of government as outlined in Article 51 of Cambodia's constitution.
So who is in charge here? Did the USA grant your money to KTGO through Pact because they were supposed to promote the American flavor of democracy? What about the Cambodian government? Shouldn't they have a hand in explaining to their citizens what their concept of democracy is? After all, Cambodians are "masters of their own country."
Would the USA grant your money to a country that had other ideas about how people should be governed or is this just part of a big advertising campaign promoting American/Western ideals?
Let's take education and health care, two social services that according to Article 51 are in the hands of Cambodia's people. The education and health care areas in Cambodia are in shambles. The alphabet soup boys come to NGO Land with your money in their pockets to try to patch things up and now you're eating your own new brand of soup too. You've just become the newest member of The Order Of Empty Pockets (OOEP).
What has happened of course is that the alphabet soup boys have just let one of the most corrupt men in the world, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and his majority Cambodia People's Party (CPP) off the hook regarding the health and education of its citizens. Why should he allocate money from the nation's treasury to improve the quality of the country's education and health care systems when the NGO boys, funded by your government, are willing to do it for him? Hun Sen is a busy person and he needs time to spend with his family!
Where has 30 billion USD gone during the past 30 years in Cambodia? We know it wasn't flushed down the toilet since 10 million Khmer people (66% of the population) have no toilet facilities and are relegated to defecating in open fields. Let's eat some more soup and get someone in here to dig a few holes. How about Organized People's Potties, (OPP) where have they been? Well that's an easy one.
Large institutions and foundations have set up camp with the money your government has granted them in outposts such as Ghana, the former Yugoslavia, and current NGO Land hotspot Haiti. Batter up! Next stop Afghanistan!
If you live in Canada surf on over to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and see what projects their money is going towards and where they are getting it. That's what the Professional Money Chasers of Cambodia (PMCC) do. You want to know who's about to dig through your pockets next don't you?
Is the corrupt government ruling Cambodia being properly incentivized to promote democracy and provide basic services for the people of this land if NGO's have usurped government responsibility in the eyes of the people? If you are one of the lucky Khmers who receives honest to goodness help from an honest outfit I suppose you're happy and may not worry too much about how the money that is helping you got here, or why it was donated in the first place. After all, the man in the moon may have sent it along.
What future does Cambodia have if the present day Hun Sen led government fails to inform them? Do Khmers realize that in its failure to educate them (and eliminate bribery in the education sector) and keep them healthy, Hun Sen will be able to plunder Cambodia's human and physical resources all the more?
Hun Sen realizes that it's a bit easier to rule a nation whose citizenry is uneducated, impoverished, weak and tired. Sound familiar? Further, he recognizes that after 30 years, NGO's have failed to take up the slack no matter how well meaning some of their intentions have been.
The private sector may do a better job of educating people in the future as their demand for cheaper labor to manufacture more sophisticated products grows.
Currently, firms such as Australia's British American Tobacco Company (BATC) do a good job producing large quantities of glossy work safety manuals (in Khmer with good illustration and color) and planting trees, but they have a poor record when it comes to sending tobacco picker's children to school and printing school books. After all, who would be left to harvest tobacco tomorrow if suddenly every Khmer school aged kid eventually received a 12th grade education and knew how to read?
Hun Sen could have said to John Nelson of BATC, "Want some tobacco? Build me some new schools and print school books." Nevertheless, Cambodians need to push these types of agendas themselves. The citizenry shouldn't look for NGO's to help because they have their own fish to fry.
Cambodian's fear their "democratic" government because many can see the mask of communism their leaders are wearing. They also glimpse a puppeteer in the background pulling strings and he's wearing an olive green uniform offset by a big red star (as one would see on a Vietnamese flag).
The masked people fear the Khmer citizens more than Cambodian's fear them however as the people adored with the masks grasp that the gap between the haves and the have nots is growing wider each day. In ten or fifteen years, there may be "trouble in river city" say some observers.
So what time is it? It's time for Cambodian's to realize that they are among the most ill treated people in the world. It's time for Cambodian's to understand that THEY are in charge here, not some foreign power pushing an ideology through varied concoctions of alphabet soup. It's time for Cambodian's to hold their government and business titans from within and without accountable for their actions and inaction.
After all, isn't that what democracy and Article 51 is all about?
Elitus Kleptocraticus / n: Only responds to asset freeze. Normal habitat includes lavish property developments, but often also found in spas, banks and casinos in prominent luxury locations such as Zurich, London, Paris, Geneva, Monaco, New York, Singapore, and increasingly, Beijing. Unfortunately, behavioral problems usually ignored by species Donorus pedestriensis - Global Witness
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photographs
My Photoshelter Archive Homepage
Article 51 of the Kingdom of Cambodia's constitution states, "Cambodian people are masters of their own country. All powers belong to the people. The people exercise their power through the National Assembly, the Senate, the Royal Government, and the Courts". In other words, Cambodia is a DEMOCRACY!
Well if you are a working stiff in the western world and have been hit up by an institution or foundation whose name resembles a bowl of alphabet soup, you've probably been told your donation will go towards improving the "health, education and welfare" of people who are living in one of the poorest countries in the world and you're helping to build a democracy too. That would be a good thing you may tell yourself. However, as you're about to pull a few crumpled bills from your soon to be empty pockets, you may want to look deeper inside the issue of donor driven cultures.
It's a bit strange when some entities in Cambodia identify themselves NGO's because many of them receive money from governments. Take the case of a now defunct NGO, KTGO (Khmer Ghvith Thmei Organization), that was operating in Kampong Cham, Cambodia before being shut down for corruption. (Please see related story, Corruption Is Not A Crime In Cambodia). KTGO was operating with funds issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Pact. KTGO's motorcycles even wore the stickers to prove it. Where does USAID get their money? If you are living in America, it comes from that other pocket you're now reaching into (aka US tax dollars). Nothing "non-governmental" about that.
While you were reaching into one pocket and Uncle Sam had his hand in the other, what was KTGO supposed to be doing after they shouted, "show me the money"? According to their mission statement, "The organization is dedicated to poverty reduction and to the promotion of good governance and human rights. Its principal areas of program emphasis include training, support for the Volunteer Youths for Development and Peace Network (VYDAPN), and good-governance/anti-corruption.
Now I don't know what the term "good-governance" is supposed to mean but there were many brochures around their office that explained what democracy was all about, you know, the Jeffersonian brand. Apparently, these publications were to be distributed to groups of people who were learning about this form of government as outlined in Article 51 of Cambodia's constitution.
So who is in charge here? Did the USA grant your money to KTGO through Pact because they were supposed to promote the American flavor of democracy? What about the Cambodian government? Shouldn't they have a hand in explaining to their citizens what their concept of democracy is? After all, Cambodians are "masters of their own country."
Would the USA grant your money to a country that had other ideas about how people should be governed or is this just part of a big advertising campaign promoting American/Western ideals?
Let's take education and health care, two social services that according to Article 51 are in the hands of Cambodia's people. The education and health care areas in Cambodia are in shambles. The alphabet soup boys come to NGO Land with your money in their pockets to try to patch things up and now you're eating your own new brand of soup too. You've just become the newest member of The Order Of Empty Pockets (OOEP).
What has happened of course is that the alphabet soup boys have just let one of the most corrupt men in the world, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and his majority Cambodia People's Party (CPP) off the hook regarding the health and education of its citizens. Why should he allocate money from the nation's treasury to improve the quality of the country's education and health care systems when the NGO boys, funded by your government, are willing to do it for him? Hun Sen is a busy person and he needs time to spend with his family!
Where has 30 billion USD gone during the past 30 years in Cambodia? We know it wasn't flushed down the toilet since 10 million Khmer people (66% of the population) have no toilet facilities and are relegated to defecating in open fields. Let's eat some more soup and get someone in here to dig a few holes. How about Organized People's Potties, (OPP) where have they been? Well that's an easy one.
Large institutions and foundations have set up camp with the money your government has granted them in outposts such as Ghana, the former Yugoslavia, and current NGO Land hotspot Haiti. Batter up! Next stop Afghanistan!
If you live in Canada surf on over to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and see what projects their money is going towards and where they are getting it. That's what the Professional Money Chasers of Cambodia (PMCC) do. You want to know who's about to dig through your pockets next don't you?
Is the corrupt government ruling Cambodia being properly incentivized to promote democracy and provide basic services for the people of this land if NGO's have usurped government responsibility in the eyes of the people? If you are one of the lucky Khmers who receives honest to goodness help from an honest outfit I suppose you're happy and may not worry too much about how the money that is helping you got here, or why it was donated in the first place. After all, the man in the moon may have sent it along.
What future does Cambodia have if the present day Hun Sen led government fails to inform them? Do Khmers realize that in its failure to educate them (and eliminate bribery in the education sector) and keep them healthy, Hun Sen will be able to plunder Cambodia's human and physical resources all the more?
Hun Sen realizes that it's a bit easier to rule a nation whose citizenry is uneducated, impoverished, weak and tired. Sound familiar? Further, he recognizes that after 30 years, NGO's have failed to take up the slack no matter how well meaning some of their intentions have been.
The private sector may do a better job of educating people in the future as their demand for cheaper labor to manufacture more sophisticated products grows.
Currently, firms such as Australia's British American Tobacco Company (BATC) do a good job producing large quantities of glossy work safety manuals (in Khmer with good illustration and color) and planting trees, but they have a poor record when it comes to sending tobacco picker's children to school and printing school books. After all, who would be left to harvest tobacco tomorrow if suddenly every Khmer school aged kid eventually received a 12th grade education and knew how to read?
Hun Sen could have said to John Nelson of BATC, "Want some tobacco? Build me some new schools and print school books." Nevertheless, Cambodians need to push these types of agendas themselves. The citizenry shouldn't look for NGO's to help because they have their own fish to fry.
Cambodian's fear their "democratic" government because many can see the mask of communism their leaders are wearing. They also glimpse a puppeteer in the background pulling strings and he's wearing an olive green uniform offset by a big red star (as one would see on a Vietnamese flag).
The masked people fear the Khmer citizens more than Cambodian's fear them however as the people adored with the masks grasp that the gap between the haves and the have nots is growing wider each day. In ten or fifteen years, there may be "trouble in river city" say some observers.
So what time is it? It's time for Cambodian's to realize that they are among the most ill treated people in the world. It's time for Cambodian's to understand that THEY are in charge here, not some foreign power pushing an ideology through varied concoctions of alphabet soup. It's time for Cambodian's to hold their government and business titans from within and without accountable for their actions and inaction.
After all, isn't that what democracy and Article 51 is all about?
Elitus Kleptocraticus / n: Only responds to asset freeze. Normal habitat includes lavish property developments, but often also found in spas, banks and casinos in prominent luxury locations such as Zurich, London, Paris, Geneva, Monaco, New York, Singapore, and increasingly, Beijing. Unfortunately, behavioral problems usually ignored by species Donorus pedestriensis - Global Witness
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photographs
My Photoshelter Archive Homepage
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