Magnum Blog / The Khmer Chronicles / Issue Nr 1: UNICEF in Cambodia

Except for a few rare occasions over the last thirty years John Vink arrives too late... Or does he? When he gets where he wants to be, the paroxysms of the crisis are gone. So are most of the media, on to another spot on Earth where violence and tension are mounting. John thinks it's starting to get interesting when no one is watching anymore...

In 1989 he spent one month in Cambodia. He came back in 1991. Then again in 1999. And in 2000 he stayed. More than six years later he is still there and hardly moves outside the Cambodian borders. He is somewhere else without having to travel.

A pawn in the cynical game of geopolitics, Cambodia was dragged into a war it initially didn?t belong to. It was left stunned and bloodless by the second genocide of the 20th century: an estimated 1,7 million people died during the 3 years, 8 months and 20 days of the Khmer Rouge regime. It was liberated/occupied by a foreign country for ten years and was ostracized by the West for that. After the 1991 Paris Peace Accords it was kept breathless by a civil war which lingered on until 1998 and by political unrest. Today it still has a heavy price to pay for its reconstruction in an unbridled market economy where literally everything, from governmental property to human dignity, seems to be for sale (Cambodia is ranked nr 151 out of 163 on the level of corruption according to Berlin based Transparency International)?

The destruction caused by all those years of turmoil was not only physical. It was moral as well. The very particular and intricate values which built Khmer society over the centuries were shattered by a constant urgency to survive. The country is far from having recovered the tissue of solidarity which binds a society and which provides protection to those weaker members of its community.

Khmer Chronicles proposes to give you a glimpse of that Cambodia. John Vink won't talk about himself right away but it'll tell you a lot about what he is interested in... And you can always ask him a question. Probably he'll answer...

Cham Bakkuy, Svay Chrum district (Svay Rieng). 16/08/2007: Immunisation set up by the ministry of Health in conjunction with UNICEF. Antenatal care is also provided on the same spot. © John Vink/Magnum Photos

Established in Cambodia since 1972, but interrupted by he Khmer Rouge regime ripping apart the country from 1975-79, UNICEF, today with a staff of about 140 people, has set up a widespread range of programmes in six provinces with its usual focus on children to support the government in rebuilding the country.

The country programme for 2006 to 2010 has a budget of 92,5 million$US which will be used for the Seth Koma (Child Rights in Khmer), the Child Survival, the Expanded Basic Education, the Child Protection, the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care and the Advocacy and Social Mobilization programmes. These programmes cover an impressive array of topics ranging, among many others, from hand washing campaigns to the improvement of water quality or child-friendly classrooms, from dengue fever protection to supporting NGOs dealing with drug addiction or Buddhist monks doing HIV/AIDS prevention, from implementing a decent treatment of children caught up in the judiciary system to thorough immunization campaigns or avian influenza awareness campaigns.

The road ahead is still steep though, and several years of economic growth with double digits have by far not rendered the presence of UNICEF in Cambodia obsolete. In fact the rapid growth of the country and the ensuing increase in economic disparities among the population have made the presence of UNICEF and many other active international organizations in Cambodia even more indispensable.

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I am awfully sorry, but my failing memory omitted the fact that the genocide of Armenians took place in the 20th century. So please read "It was left stunned and bloodless by the third genocide of the 20th century".

Please accept my apologies...

Comment posted by John Vink on September 14, 2007

"Fire your questions"...not really. A few comments:

- if you deduct an average of 30 percent of UNICEF's overhead: the money they spend on salaries, photocopiers and paperclips, they will spend about USD 13 mln a year between 2006/2010. Which in terms of actual needs is the proverbial drop in the ocean. At least its real money targeted towards the most vulnerable;
- the Cambodian government is in very bad shape. Mafia style connections dominate and the rule of law is glaringly absent. This is the main reason for economic disparities, not economic growth itself;
- what would the long-term impact of spending by international organizations like UNICEF and/or the many hundreds of NGOs be? Negligible ;
- Unless Heng Samrin is cautioned by the powers that be that he needs to clean up his act, poverty and disparities will prevail. Is this likely to happen anytime soon? No. Because China and the USA are posturing without any side willing to bleed;
- All this said, I'd agree that any cent which reaches the poor and downtrodden in Cambodia is a cent well spent. Short-term and one-off as it may be.
- John Vink prolonged stay in Cambodia; his pictures...difference it makes? Perhaps John Vink should tell us.

Comment posted by Peter on September 14, 2007

Peter,

If you read the introductory text it seems we agree on what you write. But as you probably know about HALF of the Cambodian budget is money coming from donor countries (this year over 600 million dollar). This has been going on for some 15 years, with some requests asked on behalf of the donors as to improve governance and with rather cosmetic improvements as a result. So yes, the impact could have been much better if pressure to improve governance would have been heavier or if there was a better response. But half of a country's budget is not a drop in the ocean. 15 years is not long term yet, but it certainly is not short term. And, believe me, there IS a difference between my first visit in1989 and today. For sure the difference does not benefit all Cambodians on the same level, and that's what is disturbing of course.

If my prolonged stay in Cambodia makes a difference? I wouldn't know. How could I? I don't see my published pictures and most of the time don't even know if they are. But I believe that a nail is driven deeper when you hammer on it more than once.

Comment posted by John Vink on September 14, 2007

John,

The issue is that during the past 15 years or more, the international community has been spending money in Cambodia whilst during this same period government performance has either not improved or has deteriorated. In other words, economic growth and progress in Cambodia happened despite of it's government. UN Agencies and NGOs are unlikely to address this dichotomy since they depend on government approval and cooperation to do what they think they should be doing. On nails, yes I would agree as long as 'big names' such as yours truly keep on hammering, the Cambodian people stay on the international agenda.

Comment posted by Peter on September 15, 2007

You can read the latest news from Cambodia on : http://www.netvibes.com/cambodia

Comment posted by Cambodia on April 7, 2008

If it is news about Cambodia you want:

French and khmer (and soon in english) website updated daily by (really) independent journalists: http://ka-set.info

English website with translations of khmer newspaper articles(not always independent): http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/about/

The Phnom Penh Post, bought by the former editor of the government backed Myanmar Times: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Blog by Andy Brouwer: http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/

Blog by Sam Rainsy Party sympathisers: http://ki-media.blogspot.com/

Blog by 'tongue-in-cheek' Cambodians: http://detailsaresketchy.wordpress.com/

Comment posted by John Vink on April 8, 2008

The Khmer Chronicles / Issue Nr 1: UNICEF in Cambodia

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