A Lucky Find

While searching through coins in the Cambodian artifacts stall at the Russian Market, I came across an old Latvian coin from 1931.

It was a strange find among dirty and rusting French Indochinese cents. The filthy American 1969 nickel makes a lot more sense, but the Latvian coin seemed bizarrely out of place.

Less than four years ago, I walked the streets of Riga, Latvia and found the Magarik family's apartment building and a few Magarik entries in in a 1929 phone book.

How did a 77-year old Latvian coin end up in a market in Phnom Penh? There must be a good story.

Any Ideas?

Obama and the American Likudniks

There is a serious effort underway to attack Barack Obama for his positions on Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process, and American policy in the Middle East.

The main attack has focused on the endorsement of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's National Security adviser, who is not an adviser to the Obama campaign. The attacks have been mainly circulated by surrogates of the Clinton-campaign (which has happened so frequently that there would appear to be a pattern), but was even uttered by Ann Lewis, one of Senator Clinton's closest advisers.

Addressing Jewish leaders in Cleveland, Obama has responded directly to these comments:

"I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt a unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you're anti-Israel and that can't be the measure of our friendship with Israel," the Illinois senator and contender for the Democratic presidential nominee told a group of Jewish leaders in Cleveland on Sunday. "If we cannot have an honest dialogue about how do we achieve these goals, then we're not going to make progress...

Obama also said he encountered more nuanced views among Israelis than Americans.

"There was a very honest, thoughtful debate taking place inside Israel," he said. "All of you, I'm sure, have experienced this when you travel there. Understandably, because of the pressure that Israel is under, I think the U.S. pro-Israel community is sometimes a little more protective or concerned about opening up that conversation. But all I'm saying though is that actually ultimately should be our goal, to have that same clear eyed view about how we approach these issues."


Obama makes two important points that don't often appear in mainstream American political discourse:

1)One can support Israel's security without supporting hard-line Likud positions.
2)The policy debate concerning the peace process is more open in Israel than it is in the United States.

This is an extremely brave and perhaps even risky move for Obama, as it dissents from the discursive frame (the basic terms of the debate and what is considered the acceptable position) in the United States about Israel and Middle Eastern foreign policy.

But it's a good risk, and won't alienate Jewish voters: the overwhelming majority of American Jews support a peace process and a two-state solution, and don't identify with the Likud position. There is broader support for diplomatic options among the Jewish masses than among the leadership. As with a number of religious communities, the leadership is ideologically more polarized than its constituency.

Y'asher Koach, Barack Obama.

*Update*
The New York Times picks up the story....

The Obama Assassination?

The Secret Service's codename for Barack Obama is “Renegade.”

When I was canvassing in New Hampshire, a number of people told me that they liked Obama, but that they were certain that he’d be assassinated.

The New York Times picks up the story…..

Cambodia and Rwanda: Some Comparative Observations

Seeing the killing fields and the Genocide museum got me thinking about my previous experience visiting a “genocide country.” While historical comparisons of different events are often ideologically motivated and inappropriate, I couldn’t help but make some observations about my experiences viewing the evidence, impact, and effects of genocide in Rwanda and Cambodia, as well as the the conditions of the genocides. Here are a few thoughts:

1) The Rwandan genocide is still fresh (it happened in 1994), whereas the Cambodian genocide is more distant (1975-1979). This is evident from visiting the Cambodian sites, which are worn-out and well traveled. In Rwanda, the memorials are newer and less-traveled. The large memorial in Kigali is quite fancy, with colorful multi-media presentations created with the support of international donors. The exhumed bodies are fresher in Rwanda, and there are few foreign tourists.

2) In Rwanda, people don’t talk about the genocide, generally avoiding the subject. My Cambodian colleagues speak of it openly, and will talk about their families experience when asked.

A Scottish NGO director I met suggested that the time factor explains the reticence of Rwandans to talk about the genocide and their experiences. While time may play a factor, I think there are other factors at work:

-Culture: There is not a lot of trust in Rwandan society, and this was reportedly the case even before 1994. This is in stark contrast to the Buddhism of Cambodia, in which people are very open, share experiences, and ask questions freely.
-The cause and character of the killings: the Rwandan genocide was primarily ethnic, with the majority ethnic group (Hutus) slaughtering the minority (Tutsis). In Cambodia, Pol Pot’s Agrarian Maoist ideology provided the reason and impetus for the Khmer Rouge’s systematic killings. Ethnic genocide leaves a different legacy than political and socioeconomic genocide.
- The scope of the effect on society: the loss of people, skills, knowledge, and infrastructure in Cambodia seems like more of a catastrophe economically and socially than the killings in Rwanda. The Rwandan genocide occurred in close to 100 days, whereas the Khmer Rouge period was four years long. In Cambodia, the sense of “civilizational loss” is very great, and immediate. In Rwanda, many Tutsis who had left the country returned to Rwanda after the genocide.
-The political environment: Cambodians routinely criticize Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party for government for corruption (even in the press, I am told), whereas no one would dare criticize Paul Kagame in public. As far as I can tell, it is unlikely that Hutus would even dare to directly criticize him (or his government) in casual conversation with people they do not know well.
-Cambodians are accustomed to seeing and interacting with outsiders, and there has been a flood of international funding ($500 million a year). The expats in Rwanda are few and far between, and people are less comfortable talking to outsiders.

There are some similarities, as well:
-Both countries were European colonies, each with a series of poorly managed and corrupt post-colonial regimes after attaining independence.
-War and instability were present on each country’s borders (dictatorship and overthrow in Uganda and Congo versus the Vietnam War, sanctuaries for the Vietcong, and enormous American bombing), which spilled into the country.
-In both cases, there was economic hardship and mismanagement in the years preceding the genocide.
-In Cambodia and Rwanda, Invading armies from outside the country’s borders removed the genocidal regime and halted the killings/oppression of the people. However, the Vietnamese Army left, whereas the RFP has stayed (as it was made up of Tutsi exiles), and shows no intention of leaving.

Following the genocides:

In Rwanda, the government has been stable and well-managed, albeit with not a lot of free speech. There has been a fast transition to the rule of law and democratic elections, and an enormous effort to provide transitional justice through local courts (ongoing), public memorials, and an International Tribunal.

In Cambodia, the Vietnamese may have exhumed the mass graves in 1980, but the Khmer Rouge leadership has escaped justice, and some elements have been brought into the government. The aging leadership is only now being put on trial by the ECCC, a hybrid UN/Cambodian court. Pol Pot died while in Khmer Rouge captivity, whereas a number of leading perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide have been tried (or are currently on trial).

Shooting Elephants

George Orwell's Essay on Shooting an Elephant. A terrific read, although it is only somewhat relevant to my time in Asia.

Although I am certainly not a colonial ruler in Cambodia (far from it!), I do find myself slipping into a post-colonial role of authority, at times. The dynamic is hard to escape.

I am happy to say that I haven't shot any elephants.

Insightful Analysis of the Pakistani Elections

So Pakistan finally held elections, and the results are very encouraging. Here's some insightful analysis by a bright journalist with OpenDemocracy, an online British journal.

Toul Sleng: The Genocide Museum

We have a long lunch at a hotel (another Boddhi Tree) opposite Toul Sleng, the Genocide Museum. I considered moving to this hotel , but Toro advised me against it, telling me it wasn’t safe. I learned later that the locals believe the street and area to haunted by ghosts. In Khmer culture, a person does not receive a proper funeral after death becomes a ghost, and many died in Toul Sleng (14 or 20,000, depending on which side of the museum you are on).

The lunch is long, perhaps purposefully so. Finally, we enter the museum. Toul Sleng was a high school in Phnom Penh before the Khmer Rouge converted it to S-21, a military prison, interrogation and torture facility. The presentation is minimalist and effective: we walk into room after room, each with a rusty bed (no mattress) a decaying and empty box of machine gun shells, and a picture on the wall of a prisoner of the Khmer Rouge regime, post-torture.

Each room has the same set-up but with a different picture. The tiled floors in some of the rooms have dark splotches, which aren’t explained.

In another room, we walk through bulletin boards of photographs. The faces of the victims are familiar, I can almost see my Cambodian co-workers and friends on these walls.

The most effective exhibit is a display of narrative stories of Khmer Rouge soldiers, cadres (poor and illiterate people who were given political positions), and victims.

The brutality and paranoia of the regime are mind-boggling. The hubristic grandness of Pol Pot’s vision is stunning: Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge believed that they could entirely remake Cambodian society (start over from the Year Zero) and return Cambodia to a collectivist agricultural commune.

The Killing Fields

We arrive in the parking lot. A white woman is arguing loudly with a man in what sounds like Portuguese. Nearby, some attractive Scandinavian tourists sit in the shade a makeshift cafe, silently sipping cold sodas.

It costs $2 to see the killing fields, plus $10 for a guide. We opt out of the guard package. Within a hundred meters is a small, elegant, tower-like structure.

We approach it, take off our shoes to mount the steps (Asian-style), and reach the top. Inside the glass doors is a display case full of skulls. A sign reads "VICTIMS OF THE POL POT REGIME."

The skulls are small and plentiful, and there are glass rows stacked upon each other, reaching the ceiling. At the urging of an attendant selling incense, we circumnavigate the tower of skulls within the tower. The bottom layer contains clothing taken from the bodies of the victims.

I buy and light a few sticks of incense, and walk down the steps. The rest of the killing fields is unimpressive: some craters in the ground from which the bodies were exhumed (by the occupying Vietnamese Army in 1980), and a small pavilion with some commentary about the evils of the Khmer Rouge. It is dusty and hot.

Walking around, we see an old broken (head?)stone in the ground, with what looks like Japanese markings. From the Japanese occupation during World War II? A later memorial?

We decide to take a walk around the perimeter of the grounds, which encompass a small marshy pond.

The walk is helpful.

The Buddha's Birthday

Today was Meak Bochea, a Cambodian holiday honoring the birth of the Buddha. It was also my birthday.

I had the day off from work, and was feeling a bit better. So I decided to go see the Killing Fields and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.

Appropriate, no?

The day began with Toro (my guide, Cambodian translator, friend) singing happy birthday to me, which was priceless.

Then we're off to La Croisette (on the river) for breakfast with Z and L, two great Chicagoans traveling through the region. We talked about the news, the main news items being:

-Obama's massive victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii.
-Fidel Castro Stepping Down.

Then, we zip away to the Killing Fields, a twenty-thirty minute ride outside of Phnom Penh.

A Parasite of a differant Color

 the little bugger

My Intestinal Saga continues....

In today's news, it appears I was misdiagnosed. After a consultation and testing at a Vietnamese Clinic (the Vietnamese have socialized health care and so Cambodian doctors sometimes train in Vietnam), I've tested positive for Dysentery's younger cousin: Giardia Lamblia.

So much for dysentery. The other possibility is that after beating dysentery with a round of antibiotics, I've contracted Giardia.

Tony Lake is Jewish

Anthony Lake, Barack Obama's main foreign policy advisor recently converted to Judaism.

Here's a very entertaing clip from a speech he gave to students at the Bronfman Center at NYU: Anthony Lake on Being Jewish

As Lake recounts, Nixon wasn't too fond of him.


From the transcripts of the Nixon tapes:


Nixon: Well Tony Lake always seemed Jewish.


Haldeman: I don't think so. I wondered about that.


Nixon: He looked it.


Haldeman: I know.

Tony Lake resigned as Kissinger's assistant when Kissinger ordered the secret bombings of Cambodia.

Hmmm.

Kosher Chinese Food

Everyone wants their food to be kosher. Even the Chinese.

Apparently, Chinese manufacturers of foods and ingredients are increasingly interested in obtaining Kosher certification.

"...the surge of kosher certifications hasn't come without hiccups. Many Chinese companies were unfamiliar with the concept: One furniture maker asked for kosher certification, drawing a polite rebuff."

On a somewhat related note, I've yet to meet any Jews in Cambodia, as far as I know.

A View from Phnom Penh (#3)

The Sun Setting on the Olympic Stadium.

Sometimes, I run in this stadium, as the sun goes down. I usually do 10 laps. I was told that each lap is 2k by a German man who works for the Cambodian government. I think this is not true.

Additionally, Cambodia has never hosted the Olympics. I was told that it had in the 1950's, but this also wasn't true. The stadium played a role some international soccer matches.

Apparently, there is a lot of misinformation about the stadium.

Lunch at Lotus Blanc

Lunch at Lotus Blanc, the restaurant training school of PSE, a large and fantastic French NGO (Pour Sourir d'Enfants, For Smiles of Children) that takes in and educates orphans.

The restaurant is terrific, one of my favorite in Phnom Penh. I lunched with Monsieur G, the Country Manager of CIST, a French NGO that is very friendly with DDD. We were joined by the M's, a wonderful American couple who live in Cambodia.

Terrific food, even better company.

A View from Phnom Penh

From the top floor of a hotel off Sihanouk Blvd

Y'asher Koach To Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is not going to participate in the production of the 2008 Olympics.

Neat. This is good for him, the Jews, and the people dying in Darfur.

In other news, I am surviving Dysentery.

I've been watching a bit of television in the evenings, and I've been noticing a pattern: there seems to be a lot of terrorism in the news cycle.

A View From Phnom Penh

From the FCC , the Foreign Correspondent's Club, in Sepia

What Do I Have in Common With Senator John Mccain?

Dysentery.

That's right, I have dysentery. Amoebic variety, according to the doctor at the Calmette hospital.

The consultation occurred in French (thank god for high school french classes), and she decided that it was Dysentery, not Giardia Lamblia, which was my own diagnosis.

The Wikipedia page on Dysentery is fascinating.

Some neat facts:

Buddha died from it. So did a bunch of french kings who no one cares about, Sir Francis Drake, Hernando Cortes (good riddens), Elie Wiesel's father, and Richard Wright.

And some other people I've never heard of...

Other facts stolen directly from wikipedia:

In the Woody Allen movie Annie Hall, Allen's character jokes that two leading intellectual magazines, Dissent and Commentary, had merged to form Dysentery.

Harrison Ford apparently suffered from it while filming Raiders of the Lost Ark in Tunisia; this partially resulted in his suggesting that rather than have an elaborate fight with an assassin, Indiana Jones should just shoot him - a now famous gag in the movie.

I am taking four pills twice a day. No milk, veggies, or hot/sour foods. I think i'm supposed to rest.

My previous experience with this is playing Oregon trail (the computer game). I lost of lot of people in my wagon to dysentery.

I don't Cambodia has a save-and-return-to-previous-area feature. But I'll look into it.

Comforting e-mails are welcome.

On the Road Again

I hit the road hard today, to get back to work/Phnom Penh by Tuesday.

The trip, step-by-step:
1) Bus/taxi to Ferry: I was turned down by about 20 taxis until a local Thai decided he wanted to make the Ferry. We made it by a minute-and-half. 1 hour waiting, 30 minute ride.
Interesting moment: passing an overturned truck on a hill. As the Thai guy sitting next to me said: oy.

2) Ferry to Mainland Thailand: Fairly boring. 40 minutes.

3) Bus/Taxi to Trat Bus station: Some Germans got into an awful fight with the driver because they didn't understand what was going on. Ex-pat tourists often get angry when they don't understand the situation, can't communicate, and feel like they are getting ripped off. Often, the whole thing can be solved by listening, speaking slowly, and reading Lonely planet. This took a while (30-40 minutes).


Interesting moment: Meeting a French man who works in China. He's starting a giant toy store.

4) A/C Bus to Hat Lek Border Crossing (Thailand): Met some good Chicagoans en-route. Talked about Obama, and found out that he just won Maine. Talked politics with a knowledgeable American for the first time in a while. Terrific! Great guys, hope to reconnect in Phnom Penh. Hour and half ride.

6) Crossed Border(Cambodia->Thailand). This was a hassle, and it was very hot. The highlight: giving a serious speech about DDD to the Cambodian Border Chief to get a business visa, while wearing cargo shorts and a dirty tee-shirt. I even gave him my business card! Got the business visa. Total time: 30-45 minutes, approximately.

7) Pickup truck to Koh Kong (Cambodia): driven by a clever guy named "Ben" (really Bon-tun). He wore a nice red striped shirt that looked vaguely Italian. 15 minutes.

8) co-hired a taxi to Phnom Penh. Ben hooked me up with a seriously expensive (1300 Baht) taxi back to Phnom Penh. 5 hours travel time.

Highlights:
-The Driver shared a seat with another passenger. How many Cambodians can you fit in a Camry?
-I woke up and we were on a ferry crossing a river. I went back to sleep. When I woke up again, the ferry was docked. Only problem: the truck ahead of us (carrying leaking coolers carrying "fish") couldn't get on shore. This took the guys at the village about 20 minutes to figure out.

Went and got some crackers and water. For some reason, they didn't want to remove the coolers from the truck, which seemed odd.

-The Thai woman in the car asked me to marry her sister. Then she told me that I was handsome, and that she was pregnant. They they gave me some strange fruit, dried fish, and asked for my phone number.

I explained that a small kid had stolen the phone. This didn't translate well.

-Near the city limits, we pulled up next to a black Mercedes. The Thai women paid, and got out. "my father" the pregnant woman said.

-Then we listened to some Cambodian stand-up comedy. My driver and the other passenger thought the comedians was very funny, laughing at his jokes. I asked who it was, rather than make assumptions. Turned out it was a speech by Hun Sen, Cambodia's Prime Minister. He's the leader of the Cambodian People's Party.

The guys in the car love him. This is a departure from all of my political conversations thus far. Sort of like realizing that you're hanging out with Republicans.

A Cambodian friend of mine calls Hun Sen "Big H."

I got back to Skypark at 9:45pm. The guy at the desk was happy to see me. How was Sihanoukville, he asked?

Sunday on the Boat

Spent the day on a large, colorful boat. An eight-island tour, with snorkeling, lunch, a BBQ snack, and lots of Europeans.

I spent most of the day napping under the sun. I went snorkeling off of two of the islands.

At the second one, the reef was wonderfully alive. A school of medium-sized striped fish followed us around, as one man fed them from an orange juice bottle.

Giant purple anemones sat on the floor, with matching fish nestled in their tentacles.

I dove down next to a brilliant turquoise clam. He didn't want to play, and sucked himself in. I returned to the surface, and repeated the maneuver a few times. He didn't seem amused.

The Island

I'm on Koh Chang, a large island off the coast of Thailand.


View Larger Map

It's overdeveloped, but pleasant. I am staying in an expensive guesthouse (700 Baht a night) that overlooks a large carp pond.


I spent Friday on the road. Caught a 9:30 speedboat to Koh Rong, then crossed the longest bridge in Cambodia in the back of a truck, and did the border crossing in Thailand.

Then another longer truck ride with some nice ex-pats to Trat, a small town in Thailand. Then another truck ride to the Ferry, with an evening ferry ride to the island, followed by another truck ride to our guesthouse.

Wow. What a day. Lots of negotiating, haggling, and arguing with locals. Oy.

Thailand is much wealthier than Cambodia, and the Thai i've interacted with seem more influenced by the West. Tougher, less naive and emotionally open, harder to negotiate with.

I'm with a wonderful british couple. Lovely people, a bit older, really terrific conversationalists, warm, open.

The weather is nice. I miss Cambodia. This place is too much like Florida. Not so many old Jewish people, though.

Friday Morning with the Police Chief

I am sitting in the Sihanoukville police station. It's 8AM on a friday morning, and I have a rotten hangover. The police chief is wearing polyester business slacks, a dark button-down shirt, and big black baseball hat that says "police." He's making tea and smoking intently.

He offers me a cigarette.

What am I doing here?

Last night, a small child stole my blackberry. I was sitting on the beach drinking Angkor with some fascinating journalist friends and a child came by to try to sell me some bracelets.

I initially ignored him until I finally replied: "tej, tej, tej" (no, no, no).

A minute later, I reached for it and realized what had happened.

Back in the police station, I fill out the "complaint form." The police chief studies it, like a high school english teacher reading an essay. I almost expect him to correct my punctuation.

Then, he asks for $5 for "the photocopy." This sort of thing is quite common in Cambodia.

I deftly reply that I have no money. He seems annoyed but amused, and pats me on the knee.

The tea has boiled, and he pours himself a cup. He doesn't offer me any.

He spend 20 minutes photocopying the form and my passport, and then comes back. We sit, looking at each other for a while.

I expect a speech, or something.

"Cambodia very poor," he says.

'Trau" (Right/correct) I reply.

As I'm leaving, he laughs and says one more word, wistfully

"Americans."

I get back on my moto bike, and we drive away in the morning haze.

On the road...

I'm hitting the road this afternoon to Sihanoukville (Southern shoreline of Cambodia), and then to Thailand. I'll try to blog from the road, sans pictures.

I'm back on Phnom Penh on Monday, with pictures, stories and adventures.

Time for a holiday.

The Pig in the Yard

Showing up at work this morning, I was greeted by a giant pig.

Fat, red, (roasted?), and sweating, and facing the buddhist shrine.

The pig is in celebration of Chinese New Year. Almost 10% of Cambodians are ethnic Chinese, and they are an influential group.

It was a quiet day at work. When I came downstairs for lunch, the pig was gone.

Darth Magarik

I got a new helmet.


I think it's a good look for me.

The Digital Divide Data Giants win the Cambodian Superbowl

Figuratively speaking, that is.

Sunday morning was Game Day for the DDD team, a serious football (non-American variety) match against a top-ranked University team that had won some fancy championship.

It was a more serious match from the start, as they had a fast "german-style" offense, and charged our offense when we held the ball. Luckily, we were able to put up a few goals, and they let me play in the second half. Less of an effort than last week, as I was tired and unprepared for the faster match. I missed another opportunity to score, and skinned both my knees.

But we won, 4-1, which was a big victory. We were partially powered by a recent swedish addition, who played well and with energy on defense.

After the match, we went up the highway to celebrate by the river. We sat around on hammocks, on a platform that overlooked the Mekong River.


The Mekong River

Some of my teammates played cards, and then we sat around and ate. Then it was time for beer. I tried to teach them the words to "show me the way to go home," the drinking song from Jaws.
They were amused, but hadn't heard of Jaws. Oh well.

The Hammocks

Friday Night at Elsewhere

The Pool At Elsewhere

After a long walk at the night market near the riverside, I decided to attend "First friday" at Elsewhere, a swarming mass of ex-pats in the courtyard of a converted colonial villa. A sea of Europeans, a smattering of Americans, and a few locals, too.

A giant college party, with people sprawled out on bamboo mats, with their feet in the dipping pool, smoking cigarettes, downing drinks, with more mixing as it got later.

Germans, Dutch, Americans, Canadians, Australians, and returned Cambodians, blending into a drunken paste. Reminiscent of the boat scene of Gravity's Rainbow.

I even met a guy from Bensonhurst.

Obama Endorsements

It looks as if the Obama Campaign is surging, at least from this side of the world. With Edwards dropping out, I've been watching the wave of important endorsements:

First it was Caroline and then Ted Kennedy...

Then it was Ned Lamont (which makes sense, since Lamont's race was fueled by the same young, insurgent base that powers Obama's campaign).

Most recently, Moveon.org's members overwhelmingly endorsed Obama.

In a vote:

Obama received 197,444 votes (70.4%)
and Clinton received 83,084 (29.6%)

And then, Charlie Rangel's wife endorsed Obama, despite her husband's support for Clinton.

The snowball is rolling...