America Helps Fight The War On Pig Butchers

Photo © John Brown All Rights Reserved

On July 10th 2007 Mr. Um Ero, deputy director of an American taxpayer funded NGO, Khmer Ghvith Thmei Organization (KGTO) met with pig traders in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia.

KGTO received funding (see related story) from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Pact Cambodia before it was shut down for corruption.

Pact is a networked global organization that builds the capacity of local leaders and organizations by providing grants to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organization (CBOs) so they can "meet pressing social needs" in dozens of countries around the world.

The pig traders had complained in a letter to provincial governor Hun Neng (Cambodian President Hun Sen's brother) that the price to slaughter a pig was too high. They felt the fee should be dropped from 13800 riels to 6000 riels per kill. (4000 riels = 1 USD)

Mr. Um Ero, a self proclaimed "corruption fighter", proposed some strategies of "advocacy law" in order to "deputize" the 10 pig traders he met with including:

1. Booking the price of a pig slaughter.

2. Obtaining tax laws regarding animals from the Tax Department office in Kampong Cham.

3. Making speeches and sending letters to the provincial governor according regarding "law of animals".

4. Proposing that each pig trader should speak to the provincial governor as to their needs and goals.

5. Selecting a target person to solve their problems and telephone that person.

6. Meeting with the with a Department of Agriculture officer and the district governor to request that the price of pig slaughter be lowered.

7. Collecting these documents and giving copies to the pig traders and Mr. Vuthy, a pig trader representative.

8. Having Mr. Vuthy meet with an assistant to the provincial governor to talk about problems with the assistant to the provincial governor and Mr Yen Buntet, general secretary of the province.

The Results of Mr. Um Ero's Two Hour Meeting:

Pig traders now know the law and can advocate by law working together.

The assistant to the provincial governor promised the pig traders the provincial governor and Mr. Yen Buntet, general secretary of the province, would work together to solve pig trader problems so traders will profit.

The pig traders themselves will broadcast their problems on radio stations such as VOA, VOD and RFA if the governor doesn’t solve their problems.

The pig traders would form a "pig trader network" to share information.

So this is it everyone. If you thought George Bush poured all your money into the war in Iraq or bailing out banks think again. Your hard earned dollars are working to tackle "pressing social needs" right here in Cambodia! Think of it as "The War on Pig Butchers".

Cambodia is a country without a smoothly functioning society. While it's complicated to explain, it's every man for himself here. In Laos the pig traders would probably have bonded among themselves and figured out what to do on their own. To the Cambodian pig traders credit though, they got as far as writing a letter.

Many Cambodian's look to their government to solve minor problems or seek out foreign funded NGO representatives to intercede concerning such issues on their behalf.

When one visits Cambodia's tourist areas, cosmetic improvements may be seen in the form of new hotels, casinos and office buildings, but these structural achievements aren't representative of the real Cambodia. Will Cambodia ever start succeeding for it's people? Will Cambodians ever start bonding with each other and start talking amongst themselves about their worries, fears and concerns?

As someone once said, it's a pig in a poke.

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage

Keep An Eye Out For Good Food Photography - It's Rare!

Keep An Eye Out For Good Food Photography - It's Rare!

Normally editors like photos of food to look appetizing, flavorful and delicious. What all this means is that good food photography is a real talent and I for one admire those who do it well. A lot of food preparation, lighting technique and set design goes into great food photography but that doesn't mean that you can't keep one eye out for opportunities to shoot food yourself.
The local fare in Cambodia may be a bit different than you are used to back home, but give the local cuisine a chance. Be more adventuresome than a couple I overheard the other day while I was in Phnom Penh……… they were playing it a bit too safe……..

"Oh look how thin the people are here remarked an overweight woman to her equally heavy husband as they peered at passers by through the window of the new Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. "I hadn't noticed," remarked the man as he lit into another drumstick.

In the average U.S. household, 15 % of the budget is spent on food. That percentage changes to over 50% for many people in Cambodia." While this percentage may seem high, contrasted to thirty years ago when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime nearly starved the country out of existence, today's hungry Cambodians are much better off. Although the World Food Program estimates that 39% of Cambodia's population is malnourished, more than half of the country's 15 million people now enjoy a fairly high measure of food security. About 59% of Cambodia's children are now growing up with enough to eat.

Since 80% of Cambodians have no electricity, hence no refrigeration, their edible food needs to be fresh. Some people carry food on top of their heads while others sit in baskets filled with fruit. Food is sold on streets and sidewalks, live or dead, raw or cooked. Everything from pigs, ducks, chickens, frogs, beef and insects is on the menu. The local variety of red-hot chili peppers can set one on fire for 20 minutes.

Moving In

While Burger World and Lucky Burger have existed for over 5 years as a local answer to fast food outlets, international food franchises are now setting their sights on Cambodia's tourist areas as witnessed by the opening of the new KFC. Not even Colonel Sanders himself would have been surprised to see that new Kentucky Fried Chicken store. Likewise, packaged food high in saturated fat is slowly emerging from the western world and cookies and potato chips now compete for shelf space with dried fish at small neighborhood stores.

Most mid-sized towns sport a convenience store or two and in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's largest city, full-blown western style supermarkets are slowly muscling in. Because no dairies exist in the country, imported items containing high cholesterol such as milk and cheese can only be found at these new grocery outlets. Although these "superstores" cater primarily to comparatively highly paid foreigners that comprise a "parallel economy" working in the country, locals, including Buddhist monks, can be seen cruising the aisles pushing shopping carts.

As an agrarian state, few Cambodians sit at desks all week or consume massive amounts of beer while watching sporting events on weekends. Their ecological footprint is small and their meals consist of fare low on the food chain, including insects and snails. As with most third world countries, Cambodians looking for a quick snack have yet to experience the joy of screaming into metal boxes, "extra fries please!", before rolling up to the takeout window in their cars. When they begin to, they may order fish burgers for fish provides Khmers with 75% of their daily dietary protein.

So when you get to Cambodia, keep an eye out for photography opportunities related to food, and eat some too! Just don't be a pig about it.

Oh, and one more thing:

"While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs." Robert Zoellick, President, The World Bank

John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage