International development? You can bank on it.

One of my less appealing characteristics is my ability to appear smug. One such time was during the banking crisis in 2008 when my mortgage with the Cooperative Bank, chosen because of their social contributions, fell along with interest rates to be the cheapest on the market.

Smugness was soon replaced by disappointment as despite everybody hating banks, they continued to give them all of their money. I couldn't understand this when there were banks like the Co-op or Triodos (invest in social, environmental and cultural organisations) offering a different banking model. My smugness fell even further when in Cambodia, I found myself promoting greater use of banks.

Perhaps unsurprisingly in a country without money, banks aren't that common in Cambodia. This means that Government sends budgets to schools and wages to civil servants by cash in cars, and school directors keep cash in their home. As money passes through the hands of the provincial office of education, to the district office of education, to school directors and then to teachers, the money gets lighter every time.

Before the election, a primary teacher had a starting salary of $75.50 p/m. Less than a garment factory worker. If some of that goes missing, then teachers are even more likely to need a second job meaning they miss classes. After the election, the government announced a rise to $102 but the details are unclear.

Looking into using the banking system, I found that one bank, ACLEDA, has greatly expanded in recent years and now has branches in approximately 80% of districts, covering the vast majority of schools and teachers. Understandably, ACLEDA were enthusiastic about the prospect of Government increasing its use of the banking system, and transaction costs would certainly be much lower than delivering by car.

International development agencies (EU, World Bank, UNICEF etc) are enthusiastic about this but the Government less so. In fairness, it would be a mammoth task to set up bank accounts and systems, but restricting the pilot to 1500 senior civil servants in Phnom Penh doesn't show a huge desire to change. However, they have just agreed with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) that all schools will have a bank account within three years (the cynic questions whether they will be used...).

Children are meant to start grade 1 aged 6, but about one-third start later than that. Despite this, the malnourishment causes the children to be tiny and look really young.

 When meeting with ACLEDA, they began to talk about their ethos. It started as a not-for-profit and is still largely owned by its employees and then my smugness returned as I began reading that one of their largest investors who also provide advice was...ME! Well not exactly me, but Triodos, where my savings reside. I even felt proud to bank with Triodos - not a feeling many people have about their bank.

Understand this; your money is making a difference with whichever bank it is in. It can be used to invest in oil, defence or low-wage garment factories or it can be used to help some of the poorest communities wherever they are. You don't have to come to Cambodia to make a difference, in fact the biggest difference that we could make can be done by anyone, anywhere.

Giving it some high 5s in a school in Pursat, where our tuk tuk driver friend (Mr. Seng) is from.

 It's time to put your money where your mouth is.
Gordon

Cambodian hopes and Western shame

The guy I go to get my haircut beside my work once asked me if Australia was close to England. He thought France, America, England and Australia were all beside each other. In fact, he said that for him, they were all the same country. When you think about it, this isn't as strange as you first think. The people he would have met from these countries would mostly have been white, dressed similarly and spoke with him in English.

Other people, such as those that I work with, have more international knowledge and indeed aspire to be like other countries. In a previous blog I wrote about the allure of Obama and America that exists  in Cambodia, but the more I speak to people, the more I realise that it is only an idealised knowledge of America and other countries that many have.

Before the Cambodian election, Cambodians would discuss how the playing field for the election might not be level, because the ruling party controlled the media, had garnered huge finances and generally had the apparatus of the state at their disposal. I would be asked how fair campaign finance, an objective, independent media or judicial independence was organised in other countries, with the clear belief that they existed in America or the UK. I felt slightly ashamed.

Currently, the election disputes continue. The ruling party released their results on the day of the election on state TV saying they won 68 seats and the opposition 55. The opposition has rejected these saying there has been widespread manipulation. The National Election Committee (NEC) has, as expected, rejected these claims after a quick investigation. The NEC has not announced official results for each seat yet but have released total votes by province which supports the Government's version of results. The denouement is approaching.

The opposition is now lobbying the UN to get involved, and friends are asking me about whether the UN would get involved if potential protests were met with armed police and soldiers. When we talk about this, you can see people staring into the distance, or more accurately the future, as they contemplate what may happen. The Government has made sure they don't have to look too far to notice the extra soldiers around Phnom Penh.

Cambodians have a good experience of the UN, having been governed by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia in 1992-93 which ended with the King returning, an elected government and much greater peace. This feeds the belief amongst some that the UN must intervene, because the UN is on the side of justice and right and opposing electoral fraud and corruption are surely these.

Unfortunately, their lack of international knowledge means that there is little realisation that the UN cannot act without the consent of the Security Council, which takes us back to individual countries like America, the UK and China. They ask me about Egypt, the 650 deaths and why the UN has not intervened. The implication is a fear that if 650 Cambodians die, nobody will come to help.

I am about to leave to go back to the UK for a week, with a greater understanding that what we do over there serves as an example to people who believe that their country should enjoy honest politicians, a free and objective media, independent courts and freedom of speech. We weaken their cause when we set a different example.

Gordon
PS, by different example, I mean arresting a man because his partner wrote articles about a man who exposed the truth that democratic Governments were spying on their own citizens to a huge extent.

trains, tuk tuks and folding-up bikes

When I lived in London, I considered getting a fold up bike so that I could cycle to the underground train, fold it up, carry it on before unfolding it at the other end and cycling to work. For many commuters, being able to cut down those precious minutes of walking to the station, or even better, being able to cycle to work after getting a train into London, the fold-up bike was a piece of magic. However, the magic does not come cheap and good ones were £400-£600.

In Cambodia, there is a famous bamboo train in Battambang. Its fame comes from being the only passenger train service in the country and how the trains manage to navigate past each other on a single track line. As two trains approach the other, the one with the lightest load stops and everybody get's off and stands at the side as the driver literally picks up the train and moves it off the tracks.

There really isn't a problem with having to give your seat to disabled and elderly passengers.

Life up the bamboo and steel carriage and your left with some axes and wheels. Add a petrol motor and that's all you need for a train. 

As you can imagine the train really isn't used by a lot of commuters. In fact, the train will carry you 15 minutes in one direction and then after a drink and a purchase of some touristy stuff at a stall, it will turn around and take you back to where you started. The only people it could be useful for is my colleague's  family whose house is right beside the tracks, and even then, only if they want to buy touristy stuff at a stall 15 minutes away.

As well as not having a passenger train service, no city or town has a public bus system. It was tried in Phnom Penh but the narrowness of many roads, the absence of traffic control and the love of motos meant that it didn't last very long.

Now, most people in Cambodia are also very poor, so considering this and the absence of mass public transport, there is no reason to think that Cambodia is an untapped market waiting to grab as many folding-up bikes as they can. Plus, in a country where the bike is the mode of transport for many, many people, you would think the shortcomings of the little-wheeled bike would be very apparent. However, regardless of all of these things, the folding-up bike is here, there and everywhere.

A lonely fold-up bike in Siem Reap

Phnom Penh is pretty wealthy and there are even some trendy sorts, so you could nearly see why come people might have them here but we didn't expect to see a girl cycling on one in an extremely remote village right on the border with Laos. I just stood there scratching my head thinking, how can she afford one of those and how the heck did it get here? It certainly didn't arrive on a train.

A girl on a fold-up bike in a tiny village in remote Preah Vihear province

I have a feeling that the global sale of fold-up bikes did not meet expectations, and that a market for cheaper fold-up bikes was never established. This could have meant that mass produced fold-up bikes, probably from nearby China, remained unsold and were shipped to anywhere that would take them. It seems that many people in Cambodia put their hands up. 

It could actually be that in Cambodia, there is a use for them. Some witty tuk tuk drivers will see you on your bike and tell you it would be much easier to put the bike in the tuk tuk, sit back and relax. And when there is torrential rain, they may have a point. The problem is that the bike sticks out from either side of the tuk tuk and you have to pray that your driver remembers his vehicle is now a little bit wider. But if you could fold up your bike when putting it in a tuk tuk...

The tuk tuk and the fold-up bike. Facing away from each other, this couple don't seem to have realised their future together.

Gordon

Angkor Wat explains a lost love in election

Since 2003, the Cambodian GDP has grown at an average of 7% per year. Life expectancy has risen from 59 to 63 over the same period and more people have access to clean water. But when the official results are announced in a couple of weeks, you will find that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has lost 22 or 23 of its 90 seats. It has enough to retain a majority, but the opposition party will have won about 56 seats, whilst believing that it actually won more if not most.

For a few days over the election, I was in Siem Reap, and parts of it encapsulates why some people have fallen out of love with the CPP.

Who could say no?

Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat, has some of the most luxurious hotels I have ever seen and restaurants which would be expensive in London. And like Phnom Penh, you will see large 4x4 Lexus and Range Rovers dominating the roads in amongst people on motos. For a province in which the Tonle Sap floods annually, the trickle down of these riches remain dry; Siem Reap is the second poorest province in Cambodia. It is a place where 2 million internationals come to visit but in which local people leave for Thailand in order to find work.

This juxtaposition of garish wealth and enduring poverty does not go unnoticed. During the election campaign in Phnom Penh, it was noticeable how many expensive cars also had CPP stickers or flags on them. The symbolism of who would benefit from a CPP victory stark. For some, the distaste runs deeper than a gap in wealth, being borne from a sense that Cambodia itself is being sold for others to profit from.

People queueing up to vote in a polling station (a school). You could vote from 7am - 3pm. At 4pm, it started raining - impeccable timing. 

Sokimex is a company ubiquitous because of the number of petrol stations that it has dotted on the highways. It has also managed to secure a 99-year lease on managing, and taking large revenues from, the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park. People find it strange that the building that appears on their flag can be leased to a private company to make huge profits from. 

In my area of work here, education, one statistic stood out for me. Between 2009 and 2012, there was only 1 province of 24 in which primary net enrolment fell (% of children aged 6-11 enrolled in primary school). That province was Siem Reap. When local people look around at all of the wealth, they do not feel that they or pubic services are benefiting. (Plus, they complain about the price of petrol. Clinton's mantra could actually have been "It's the price of petrol, stupid"). 

Just voted and got the ink to prove it. My tuk tuk driver friend was able to wash the ink off quite easily, which caused some to joke that he wasn't actually Khmer (because he hadn't been able to vote). Others found it a more serious issue because of potential double voting, which has been alleged.

When in the Angkor Wat Park, my bicycle got a flat tyre. A tuk tuk driver offered to put my bike and me in his tuk tuk and drive me to the nearest bicycle repair shop, which are not common in an archaeological park. After deflecting his questions about who I thought would win or which leader I liked more, I asked him who he voted for. He told me that before he "loved" the CPP, but now, he voted for the opposition. He was not happy, he wanted change. 

The man was speaking Khmer to me, so he knew the word that he was using, and he deliberately used the word love. The jilted lover that is the CPP now has to decide whether to go it alone or change its ways, and the new mistress (Cambodian National Rescue Party) will have to decide whether to push for a full-blown messy divorce based on a belief that they won the election or be content to wait for five years. 

Make love, not war. Supporters from Funcinpec and Cambodian National Rescue Party shake hands during a parade before the election. Funcinpec used to be a coalition partner of the CPP, has royalist links and lost all of its seats in this year's election. 

I think most are hoping that both sides choose their latter options. 

Lots of love folks

Gordon

Postscript added 31.07.13
My last sentence should have read:
I think some are hoping that both sides choose their latter options, whilst for others, it's not just a case of whether the CNRP accepts a CPP government or not, but whether the people will accept a CPP government or not.

Speaking to some more people today, admittedly in CNRP hotbed country (Phnom Penh), they say that everybody now knows that the CNRP won the election, so if the people have asked for change, change is what should happen. The CNRP has taken the first step to rejecting the CPP's unofficial results by releasing their own provisional results showing they won at least  63 of the 123 seats. Enough to form a government.

The more support shown for the CNRP, the bolder more people are becoming. Weeks ago people would have been frightened of speaking out, but now they feel that they are the ones in the majority and cannot be silenced. When asked about possible violent repercussions if the CNRP demands CPP hands over power, they said that the CNRP must not back down.

Cambodian election: change or no change?

Last July, some of my colleagues were showing a mix of frustration, incredulity and hopelessness. Results from the commune council elections (local elections) showed that the ruling party, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), had won 72% of all seats. The two main opposition parties (Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party) could only manage 26% seats between them.

L-R: Chea Sim (President, Senate), Hun Sen (Prime Minister), Heng Samrin (Chairman, National Assembly)
Together, they have ruled Cambodia since 1979 with Hun Sen the most powerful - top man since 1985. Such billboards are everywhere throughout the country crediting these three men with all development - schools are often named after them.

Despite the CPP being in power since the invading Vietnamese installed them in 1979, this was further proof that their dominance has been increasing with every election. Some colleagues felt let down by their countrymen, finding it hard to accept that others did not see the need for change that they believed in. Or rather, they felt that people had sold a brighter future for a sarong or few dollars - usual gifts given out by the ruling party before elections.

Now some of those people are hoping again. The two opposition parties merged to become the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and its President, Sam Rainsy, returned last Friday from years of exile (fear of imprisonment) to be welcomed by 100,000 people. This Sunday, Cambodians will vote in national elections and the shouts of "change!" are being heard louder than ever before.

The CNRP is number 7 on the ballot list so this is the popular sign of support for them.  The CPP is number 4.
This was taken at the rally welcoming back Sam Rainsy. I was passing by & took this video

Two weeks ago, I was having dinner with a Khmer friend at a restaurant and we could hear motos driving past shouting "change!" at each other. We then saw a convoy of motos with the leader shouting "Change or no change?" and the masses yelling "Change" in response. The waitress in the restaurant started talking openly (in Khmer) about her distaste for the ruling party and the corruption within it. Only weeks before, even if in English which most don't understand, this conversation would have been conducted in hushed tones.

Every night now, there are throngs of mainly young people out on their motos driving around Phnom Penh. The numbers are huge and the fervour is real, drawing people form their houses to support them as they go past. A friend in Takhmao (large town near Phnom Penh) says the same is happening there and another back from Battambang (a large town) was surprised to see so many people out there too.

CPP campaign parade with loudspeaker, music, big screen and video playing. A lot higher tech than the CNRP parades like the one that took 30 minutes to go past my flat on Sunday - here's a video (shorter than 30 mins...)

Of course, the CPP have their convoys and parades, which are also numerous. But, in Phnom Penh at least, the fervour is not there. As some colleagues explained, many people are on the streets because the CPP pays you money, food and petrol, whereas for the CNRP, tuk tuk drivers are donating two days salary for the campaign.

CPP parade just near my work

This fervour is worrying some people. The Prime Minister has predicted a troublesome future if the CPP loses the election and the reality is that the CPP still have enough support in the predominant rural areas to win the election, probably easily. And if they didn't, they would still ensure that they won the election. The whole state - crucially the army and police - are subsumed under the control of the ruling party.

I think most believe that the CPP will win but that it will be closer than before and that this will be a step towards a much closer election next time. The worry is that with great fervour, can come great disappointment. How the people who believe in change react will be the key to whether that next election will be closer or not.

Gordon

Sports in Cambodia

When I walk through a market here, I sometimes find a Cambodian quietly sidling up beside me to measure themselves against my shoulder. Their friends are usually found having a friendly giggle a few yards away. Cambodia is a nation of small people which makes volleyball, a sport for tall people, a very strange choice of national sport.

The best volleyball court in the world; literally on the riverbank of the Mekong in Kompong Cham. That's my knee that you can see as I'm sit on the wall above drinking a beer. 

At about 5pm every day throughout the country, men will finish work and gather for a game of volleyball. Probably due to a reliance on manual labour, the impressive athleticism of Cambodians allows them to be springing upwards to spike the ball better than Tom Cruise in Top Gun. It's pretty serious stuff, especially as there is always at least $5 riding on the outcome. Unfortunately, Cambodia does still get whacked when they play internationals against giants.

People rise with the sun to get their exercise in before it hots up. So at 6am you will find people playing another favourite sport - kick a shuttle-cock type thing about - better described in this video I took. Some of them are ridiculously talented, letting it go over their heads, and kicking it from behind their head through arms raised above their heads to another person. I felt very privileged to be asked to join once, then felt very ashamed as I disproved a widespread Cambodian belief that foreigners are always better at everything.

A great thing about Cambodia is that exercise often takes place in the streets or pavements. Walking down the road can involve dodging flying shuttlecocks as a security guard and friend, or a mother and daughter, or a husband and wife are playing badminton (without a net). It reminds of playing 'kerbie' (throwing a ball from one side of the road to hit off the kerb on the other side) when I was young.

6am on a Sunday morning at the riverside

Being Asia, ping pong is a big favourite and ping pong halls are full most days. Apart from the one that I go to with friends, which is usually empty and obviously not a place for serious players. Ping pong seems to bring out the best of the Cambodian array of shrieks and yelps that they enjoy using to show whatever emotion they're having (usually disagreement, disapproval, disgust etc). I've also never know ping pong to be as sweaty as it is in ping pong. One of the guys I play with (Paul!) is like a (lawn) tennis player and actually changes his shirt between games.

Whilst volleyball is the sport most played by men, badminton by women and couples etc, the one that is the most watched and revered is Cambodian boxing (pradal serey, which translates as free fighting) which they will tell you pre-dates Thai boxing. When it is on, the cafes with TVs are packed full of men watching and betting. At one of the halls near the Olympic Stadium we watched some junior and club matches, which included one guy taking a dive for some cash. It was quite hilarious. He was flat out on the canvas in a star shape and then as soon as the ref counted ten, he jumped up smiling and fresh, hopped over the ropes and jogged past a guy who gave him an envelope on his way to get changed. This fight we filmed was a bit more real as you can tell by the way one of the guys move towards the other after they've taken a tumble.

The six-aside pitch, with top notch astroturf, where I play on a Saturday or Sunday.  It's in the city but down some little lanes and alleys so that you feel that you are in the middle of the countryside. They very patiently put up with my moaning about them never coming back (trow mao kroway - must come back - is my favourite phrase).

Thankfully for me, football has arrived here and I usually play every week with a group of Cambodians who I met through work. Two hours in the sun usually drains me of all liquid that my body had and requires me to drink ten coconuts in an effort to rehydrate. And having a 7:30am kick off for a game of 11s was a bit of a shock to the system. At first, due to the size difference, I felt like a Dad playing with twelve year-olds so to prevent me from accidentally hurting them, I sometimes join them in playing barefoot. It's definitely one way to feel a bit Cambodian - from the feet up.

Gordon

A view of home from afar

Claire and I were back home for a few weeks, and when I got back to Cambodia (Claire's still home), there were a few people who said that they had seen our Facebook photos and were so surprised how beautiful Scotland was. And I felt like saying that those weren't even the best bits!

Best bit no. 1: Beautiful beaches - clear blue water; pure white sands; nobody in sight. 

When I was home, I noticed the huge media focus on the referendum on Scottish independence that will be held on 18th Sept 2014. Since we have an international audience (the Google analytics tells us so), I'll give a quick overview or watch the start of this you-tube video. The King of Scotland became the King of England & Wales in 1603 but Scotland and England & Wales kept their separate governments and parliaments until 1707, when the governments and parliaments joined (Scotland has since got a devolved parliament again), and now we have the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The arguments for either side have been rehearsed for years: Scotland benefits economically from being part of the UK; Scotland could be richer if it had control of its oil and not tied to an economy built around London. Scotland has a greater voice and influence as part of the UK; Scotland has unique interests and opinions that are neglected as part of  the UK.

Best bit no.2: The Callanish stones (& other historical stuff) - we even have our own Stonehenge - again with nobody there!

Most of the time, the argument predictably focusses on economics. However, economists don't have a great record of predicting three years in advance never mind decades or centuries, which is what we're talking about here. The vote on independence isn't about the next five or ten years, it's about the next two or three hundred years.

This is why I find it strange that people are so concerned about the process of change if independence happens. It's like basing a decision on where to live for 30 years on whether you can be bothered spending one week packing and unpacking and trying to figure out where everything will go. Anyway, it is this uncertainty surrounding what changes might be needed and the numerous things that would have to be sorted out, that campaigners and the media (most of the media covered stories opposing independence) are focussing on.

Best bit no.3: The stillness of snow - not enough to stop you doing anything or freezing, but enough to go sledging, make things look pretty and create an amazing quiet as the snow muffles all sounds.

In Cambodia, the general election will happen on 28th July and the ruling party has also been using the uncertainty about what would happen if they lost as a campaigning tactic. The Prime Minister warned that the country could descend back into war if they lost (not a threat, just a prediction). Cambodians have said that this is very powerful given that change in 1970 led to civil war, change in '75 led to the Khmer Rouge, and change in '79 led to more civil war and refugee camps. Things are a lot better now so you could understand any reluctance to "gamble" on change.

Another tactic here is the politicisation of the civil service. This basically means that to get a job as a civil servant at any level - teacher, policeman, doctor - you have to join the ruling party and then pay party membership fees. Then at elections, you are expected to be out there campaigning with your t-shirt and cap giving out gifts (traditional scarves, money) to people in your community.

Best bit no.4: Men in kilts - even ugly Scots feel that they could give Brad Pitt a run for his money when they've got a kilt on

This hardly makes it a level playing field. The British tradition of a completely neutral civil service with separation of party and government has certainly not found favour here. Nor is it always found in the UK. I noticed many media reports quote a "Treasury spokesperson", which gives the impression of it being a civil servant from that department and thus neutral. In this one, a "Treasury spokesperson" presents as fact that Scotland would be better off in the Union. The truth is that the spokesperson is probably a politically appointed Special Adviser to the Treasury Minister who is a member of a party opposes Scottish independence.

Anyway, as a Scot in Cambodia I'm not allowed to vote in the election here and if we're still here at the time of the referendum in Scotland, I'm not sure that it would be right to vote given I've not lived there for what will be 6 years. Anyway, that was my answer when a mischievous German guy asked me how I would vote when I was standing next to the UK ambassador here.

Best bit no.5: The green - a wise man once told me that if it wasn't for the rain, you wouldn't get the green. 

I will leave you with one more pic. This was the view from our bed and breakfast when Claire went to Skye before Harris (beach pic above) and Lewis (Callanish Stones). Despite the negativity of those who say Scotland is too rubbish to go it alone or those who say we're rubbish because we're not alone, it's not a bad place really.

Gordon