Ugly Culture

 

Cambodia had braved through many tough times throughout these years. There were 3 distinct issues: civil war from 1970 to 1993 and again in 1997 (there was a coup between the current prime minister and ex-prime minister), landmines and AIDS. The situation on the landmines has been improveing as Cambodia has been receiving support from foreign countries like Japan. Who suffers the most from this? Cambodian farmers mostly get killed or injured. US bombed Cambodia's provinces which are located along Vietnamese's border during the Vietnam war (Laotians or Khmer people also suffered from it). Things had improved ever since. We no longer suffer from the civil war, but political issues still persists. HIV/AIDS is known to almost 99% of Cambodians and most landmines have been removed. Despite these improvements, the fourth problem has surfaced recently: traffic accident. On average five people die in a day due to traffic accidents. Traffic accidents are becoming more prevalent. There many reasons that contributes to this, Drink-driving, under-age drivers, non-licensed drivers... a lot of poeple are blaming the government, so do I. We have many laws in place, but it is only to frighten the poor and powerless people. These laws are ineffective towards the rich because money can buy justice (spoken by a government spokesperson Phai Sipharn who said that those who "have money, have justice").

But wait, I am not criticizing the government in my blog. What I want to bring attention to not just the accidents themselves, but also to what happens to the victims during these accidents. I am coming to explain why I named the tile of this post as "Ugly Culture". Don't get me wrong, Cambodia is a country of diverse and beautiful cultures. But since young, I have heard about people running into the crowd not to help the victim, but to grab any valueable items that have been strewn across the road. It is a very ugly and selfish sight. This should not be happening. Cambodians should question themselves: what if it happens to my own relatives or family members? This question is very worth pondering over. I would wish that we are more open to discuss about this ugly culture. Recently, I saw two posts on Facebook, one is a video and another one in photographs. This is the case: a truck loaded with drinks collided with a truck loaded with cement. Many people surrounded the area; some were watching, some were calling police or ambulance, and among them, some of them were taking the drinks. They are taking it probably not for personal consumption, but to sell them. My question is, if they drink them, can they drink them? It is like they are drinking blood, sweat... This is what I call an ugly culture. In an interview with a local newspaper, a lady who claimed to be a relative of the victim said that she has no money to pay the company. The people who had stolen the drinks from the truck had committed a very selfish act. Never did they once consider how their actions would have cause an impact on the driver and his family hope that Cambodians are more willing to discuss this issue and what we can come together to stop this from tainting the beautiful Cambodian culture. A better Cambodia is possible, only when we all are educated. I am praying for a better Cambodia. I pray that, this ugly cultured will be dismissed from Khmer people. They should learn from what the beautiful cultures have taught them. Live beautiful, make everything beautiful around you. *** Special thank to my friends who helped me to correct my grammar mistakes and also added some good words. Peace out.