Cambodia, War Criminals, The UN, and the US Election

Inspired by these: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110659595/National-news/what-the-us-vote-means-for-cambodia/Page-2.html
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/where_autocrats_dont_fear_to_tread
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/opinion/cambodias-brazen-un-bid.html?ref=cambodia
Prime Minister to Cambodia and Notorious War Criminal Hun Sen is making a bid for a seat in the UN. On Thursday he will find out that corrupt dictator's aren't always allowed in the UN (looking at you Mr. Mugabe). There really is no reason to expect Cambodia to earn the seat, especially not against inspirational South Korea, the problem is that the idea was ever considered in the first place. Cambodia is known to have an excessively corrupt, Sen-Dominated government that has recently been involved in some heavily criticized land-grabbing and economic concessions. He is a man who appears to be dividing up his country between the highest bidders, a man with no respect for human life or liberty, a man seeking a voice in the UN.

That's f@&*ing stupid. His request should have been laughed at. If Hitler sought a seat in the UN, would he get it? Would they even give him the courtesy of considering it a valid claim? I should hope not but who knows. What we need is to ensure clean elections, which basically means the removal of Hun Sen from power. With the good King Sihanouk dead, this issue becomes all the more pressing.

So, in the interest of staying topical, which US presidential candidate bodes better for the future of Cambodia? My concern in this regard is not necessarily the extent of financial aid, but more literally what form our foreign relations will take under different administrations. While aid has increased substantially under Obama, this is not what I feel makes him the best prospect here; his ability and desire to foster and maintain a productive relationship with Cambodia appears to outweigh that of Romney, who has made references in the past to his interest in cutting foreign aid.

But cutting foreign aid isn't what would hurt, because the slack would be picked up by China in a heartbeat. The danger is the impact of having more Chinese hands in the Cambodian pie. Several dam projects across the country, led by none other than Chinese companies, are set for execution over the next two decades. The projects have come under international criticism for the tremendous environmental damage it is expected to wreak and for the human rights injustices being perpetrated in their interest. (Illegal/uncompensated forced relocation, home seizures, illegal arrests, etc)

China being more involved with Cambodia can only lead to a less wealthy, less socially progressive Cambodia, and an increasingly wealthy China. I feel that under Obama's regime, embassy activities will be more locally integrated and culturally aware than they might be under Romney. Having had the chance to involve myself extensively with many embassy activities and projects, I can say with confidence that in the last four years, the relationship between the US Embassy and Cambodians themselves has been quite wonderful for the most part, and I feel like our increasing involvement in social improvement programs will only continue under Obama.

Should We Be 'Rescuing' Sex Workers?

Article: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Vancouver/Stop_rescuing_sex_workers_new_film_says-12628.aspx

In a country where it is becoming increasingly difficult for anyone, let alone young women, to find work, many voluntarily turn to sex work to earn a sufficient living. Ironically, Cambodian policies on anti human-trafficking are causing more harm to many sex workers than the sex they have in their work. A joint endeavor between the Women's Network for Unity and Canadian journalist Paula Stromberg illustrate this point with the aptly named documentary "Sex Workers Hurt by Rescue in Cambodia". Featuring interviews of 'rescued' workers, the documentary presents first-hand evidence of the negative impacts caused by Cambodia's overzealous anti-trafficking policy. 
The influence behind the nation's dogged pursuit of justice in sex work is primarily international pressures on the entire region to basically clean up its act. While intentions are good, the boomerang effect of human rights advocacy networks in the region has negatively affected many voluntary, evidently 'well-treated' and most importantly well-paid individuals who found no better way to make a basic living.
The WNU suggests the best way to help sex workers and combat trafficking is to "decriminalize sex work and give sex workers full human and labor rights,”. I agree. The way the issue of human trafficking is framed is fine to direct international efforts against traffickers, but it ignores and even harms the significant issue of the rights and protections of voluntary sex laborers. A possible solution to this problem is to turn this issue into one as loud and international as that of trafficking. That way, efforts can be made to establish just cause for the reformation of sex work laws in ways that have proven successful elsewhere. 

Migration and the Formation of a Youth Nation

Article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012100259040/National-news/young-cambodians-in-exodus-to-phnom-penh.html

Young people, mostly women, from all over Cambodia have been migrating into the nation's capital city of Phnom Penh in unbelievable numbers in pursuit of education and work opportunities they can't get anywhere else in the country. Phnom Penh has the best schools, universities, modernity and social mobility in Cambodia.. This mass exodus can create 'detrimental chain reactions' for local villages now suffering a shortage of able-bodied young people. One village in particular lost 600 people in one year. In order to combat a situation like this, government intervention is vital in redirecting resources to rural development, which in Cambodia has been increasingly damaged by horrible economic concessions and land-grabs. Even Phnom Penh sees it's fair share of dislocations, particularly around the Boeng Kak Lake area, which I had the opportunity to personally watch shrink from a vast, beautiful lake to a few scattered puddles evaporating in a flat basin of misery between Summer of 2010 and Summer of 2012. However, the condition of rural Cambodia is substantially worse. Vast swathes of land are being sold to international investors (mostly Chinese). I've seen some of the concession areas from helicopter, miles of ruined earth and shattered trees bordering deliciously lush, beautiful rainforest just waiting to be turned into shitty rubber plantations or vacation homes. I've spoken to people being displaced by government land-grabs and sorrowed over the utterly inadequate compensation these populations can expect. And I've seen the impact these policies have on local wildlife. It's not good.

I apologize, I got off track. This is an issue that is very close to my heart. One additional idea, back on topic, that is important to consider is that during the Khmer Rouge, almost 30 percent of the Cambodian population was brutally murdered. These were the doctors, lawyers, teachers, people who wore glasses, women in positions of power, anyone in positions of power. They killed all the grown ups. Cambodia is now a nation of youth, with over 70 percent of the total population under 30 years of age. So now what happens when all these young people abandon the remaining seniors for the city. Implications too frightening and irrelevant-to-the-topic to get into now.

Toy Factory Employees Forced To Resign, Factory Wasn't Even Operational

Article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012100359063/National-news/workers-resignations-disputed.html

From what I can understand of this somewhat confusing situation is an American-owned toy factory employing almost entirely women, was fast approaching bankruptcy. Strikes and worker discontent had been building for months and the factory had lost investor confidence due to defective orders. Unfortunately the managers never told the workers the factory was closing, and on closing day forced them to 'thumbprint resignation letters they had not written, a plan they feared could deny them severance pay.' Backwages and some severance was eventually paid to those who agreed to resign, but the real problem here is the idea of resigning from a factory that isn't operational. I don't know too much about how businesses pay employees in the event of bankruptcy, but I'm positive it's not a simple case of backwages, a portion of severance, and having them quit. It seems to me the factory management was seeking some way to cut and run with the least amount of money invested. In Cambodia it's very easy to take advantage of workers lack of rights, especially when your employees are women in a country where women are extremely precariously situated in terms of labor rights and avenues of appeal.

Brad Holes, owner and CEO of the company managing the factory, you are a bad man. These are people's lives you're trying to cheat.  

Protests Staged, Garment Workers Unable to Adapt To New Management Techniques

Article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012100259029/National-news/garment-workers-go-on-strike.html

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091058601/National-news/rare-win-for-ocean-garment-strikers.html

An absolutely incredible mobilization took place on the 2^nd of October among Cambodia's worker population. More than 2000 workers from four factories staged protests demanding better treatment. Turns out the innovative business technique 'fainting and low wages' is not being well-received by the populace. Factory managers are dumbfounded by the implication that they might be wrong. At this point, however, it is uncertain whether these protests will achieve any tangible benefit; Cambodia is not a country that embraces 'deviance' gracefully. However, in early September, a mobilization of 2500 workers managed to press sexual harassment charges on their factory manager. This is extremely rare, though, and even in that case the compensation was not all that impressive. The factory's company director, Mamunar Rashid insisted the decision to cooperate with the workers was not a result of international attention the sexual harassment claims had received. However, with our more developed understanding of advocacy networks and their boomerang effect, I believe this is likely a lie. This would mean good things may come from the more recent protests if Cambodian policy is more effectively influenced by global opinion than it has been historically. Fortunately this issue is very much in the international headlights, with activists all over the world staging 'faint-ins' to protest mistreatment of Cambodian garment workers. 

Labor Innovation in the Global South

Article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092858979/National-news/mind-the-wage-gap.html

Cambodian factories have been spear-heading a revolutionary new approach to business production in which employees occasionally faint, and are subsequently rushed to a clinic where they get to prepare for work the following day. It's caught on so quickly that activists around the world are fainting in stores to advocate this sort of innovation in Western business.

But how does this approach to management function? Doesn't worker consciousness influence production capacity? Factory managers say no, that's ridiculous. Quite on the contrary, in fact, because allowing your workers to faint provides them excellent opportunities for rest and rejuvenation, a benefit workers in Western factories don't get, which is why they're all unhappy. The biggest bonus to this Unconsciousness Method is that you get to pay your workers a significantly cheaper wage thanks to the ever-present option of fainting to revitalize. Plus, you don't need to pay them when they're not conscious. Even better, especially evidenced in garment factories, is the advantage of hiring women; women faint much better than men and have astoundingly nimble fingers when they're awake. Factory managers are consistently impressed by the passion and drive shown by female workers, particularly in their adaptation to progressive management techniques like this one.

Crimes of the Condom Kind

Article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092158836/National-news/condoms-do-not-protect-you-from-arrest.html

According to a recent article by the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia's leading English-language news group, women caught on the street by police may, in many cases, be arrested and detained if they are in possession of condoms. The general (mis)understanding is that because of all the brothel closures in the last decade, sex-workers must have moved their business to the street. Because when you think about it, what would a woman even use a condom for except for paid sex with strangers? It just doesn't make sense. It makes even less sense in a less sarcastic way when you consider the government’s imposition of the 100 percent Condom Program, an initiative dedicated to enforcing condom use nationally.

If Diane Elson is any indication, this is male bias of the most obvious and misguided kind. The arrests are unlikely politically inspired, and are therefore springing forth at the level of local authority. A disturbing tangent to this is a startling drop in condom purchases in Cambodia from 27 million in 2008 to only 17 million in 2011. Coincidence? Probably.