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
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
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