Small Steps

I overslept again today. The dilemma is the following: I can not sleep without running the fan, which is quite noisy. With the fan running, I cannot sleep without earplugs. But with plugged ears, I cannot hear my alarm clock anymore. The solution appears to be a high volume alarm clock, which I need to buy rather sooner than later.

However, I went by moto to one of the persons I met yesterday in one of the meetings. He is the country representative of his organization and happened to study very close to where I spend my last two semesters in upstate New York. And he provided me with a couple of good articles as well as a handbook listing all the development organizations in the country. So I found a rather small number of organizations which potentially can provide me with the kind of information I am looking for. After an insightful and very specific conversation I went back home and later to the compound of the Ministry of Interior, where ‘my’ project office is located. My interim boss Shelley flew to Italy today and I met another GTZ (Andrew) consultant who serves as my reference person (Andrew) for the time of Shelley’s absence. Interestingly, although GTZ is sort of a German government organization, I did not meet a single German yet. That is not to say that I need Germans around me. Shelley is from Canada, Andrew from Britain, another consultant is from the US, and the rest seems to be local staff. This appears to be a good thing, since it gives jobs and training to locals and enables them to manage their own affairs.

Silver Pagoda

Since I was there two hours before our appointment (I confused the time, possibly due to jet lag), I got the chance to talk to several of the local staff. This again was very interesting. Their general attitude towards minorities seems to be rather different (more critical, if not hostile) than the attitude exposed by foreign consultants. However, these short discussions are in no way representative. The climate in the office seems to be very friendly and positive. Particularly local people display a disarming smile on every occasion.

Andrew is another nice person. Although he is very busy, he dedicated about two hours to introduce me to his interpretation of the current political situation, which was quite interesting. However, he did not have much to say about ‘my’ issue. Actually, so far nobody had much to say about cultural minorities. People told me that there has not been much research on the situation of minority groups, although most of them agree that it is important to address the topic. Accordingly, the information I get is confusing and frequently contradicting. For the time being, it seems that I am rather on my own regarding the subject of my research.

Independence Monument

So far, it was raining heavily every day in the afternoon and I though this happens during the entire rainy season. However, it did not rain today. Unfortunately, because there is no cloud to shield from the brutal sun light and nothing to cool down the temperature to bearable levels.

Late in the afternoon I was back in my guesthouse. I went to a close by supermarket and was surprised to find everything one would expect in a Western retail store. Pricy, though. Apparently, this is a place where foreigners and rich locals buy. In general, I was surprised to find that there is a significant number of foreigners. Backpackers as well as people that seem to work here. This makes things easier. In Ethiopia, where I spend a couple of month, I was always the only white guy on the street. This got me much attention. More than I would have wanted, since I always felt ‘on stage’, which is a very stressful thing for me. Here, a white fellow is not such an exotic event and I feel I can more freely through the town.

The high number of internet cafes and cell phone shops is surprising, too. Virtually every other business seems to supply cell phones. And most of the rest are internet cafes. Everybody seems to have a cell phone and apparently people like to use them.

Later in the evening, I went to one of the internet cafes to check my email. Back in the guesthouse I started to read some of the papers that accumulate in my cupboard and to write down this here. Then I ordered a double shot of tequila. It turned out to be a generously filled water glass. I just had it and I better not continue writing at this point.
Continue reading Small Steps

getting accommodated in Phnom Penh

I went to bed at about 7 pm yesterday. And I woke up at about 9:30 am only because my colleague and boss Shelley was knocking on my door. We had an appointment at 9:15 but my alarm clock did not manage to wake me up. Even after 9 hours of sleep. As Shelley told me, she had to knock very hard and for quite some time.

Together, we went to one of the GTZ offices, which is located on the compound of the Ministry of Interior. Shelley introduced me to a couple of people working for GTZ, Asian Development Bank and UNDP. Everybody seems to be very nice and willing to help. And many of these people appear to be knowledgeable. I got many more recommendations and suggestions. However, these messages are ambiguous and occasionally contradicting.

In the afternoon, Shelley picked me up again and we went to a meeting of the Steering Committee for partnership. Again, many nice and knowledgeable persons. Although the meeting was not related to ‘my’ subject, these people encouraged me to contact them to get more specific information. Afterwards I went home and had some delicious Khmer foot in my guesthouse. Later, I started to review my notes and to read the literature I brought with me.

me at home

Continue reading getting accommodated in Phnom Penh

Just Arrived in Cambodia

This web log is dedicated to my stay in Cambodia. I am going to spend 3 month in this fascinating country. However, this is not vacation. What I am going to do is working as an intern for GTZ, which is a German governmental development organization. The project is called ‘Administration Reform and Decentralization Project’. My task is to assess the current decentralization process with regard to the following question: Does it facilitate the accommodation of Cambodia’s cultural diversity and the needs and fair demands of ethnocultural minorities?

To make this web log more user friendly, I intend to create the following three categories: cultural diversity, traveling in Cambodia and private reflections. This way, it should be possible for interested people to find the kind of information interesting or helpful for them.

It should be mentioned in the beginning that this web log would not have been possible without the support of my buddy Thomas Mellenthin. In fact, a couple of days ago I did not even know what a web log is. However, now I am writing in it.

Right now, I am sitting in my room in the guest house Amok. I arrived only a couple of hours ago and do not feel like I am already here yet. The trip was sort of stressful, since I had to take the train from Berlin to Frankfurt. Particularly burdensome was to carry my fifty kilo or so of baggage, predominantly books. From Frankfurt, I flew to Bangkok (my first flight with a Jumbo) and from there to Phnom Penh. Both flights went smoothly and from time to time I was able to sleep. However, I do not want to bore the reader with too much uninteresting details.
This is the airplane I was flying with

A driver of the project, Pat, gave me a ride from the airport to the Amok. Phnom Penh is not a big city. From the airplane, Bangkok looks like an immensely big urban place. In stark contrast, until we almost touched the ground, I could not see anything except for jungle and water in Phnom Penh. Only in the airport area I saw the first settlements. Furthermore, I did not see houses higher than four stories yet. The city appears cleaner than I expected.
prior to landing in Bangkok

in contrast: prior to landing in Phnom Penh

The guesthouse is really charming. Although it is in the center of the city, it is surrounded by palms and various plants. Everything is green and there are many airy terraces in the shadow. My room is lovely, too. There is a huge bet, a desk and a cabinet. There are two big windows, although the only thing I see in both directions is the wall of the neighboring house. However, together with the van, these windows seem to make it easier to cope with the heat. Finally, there is a Western-style bathroom. Taken together, this seems to be a really attractive accommodation. And it is only 8US$. Or 10$, in case I use air-conditioning.

After I checked in, I took a moto (motorbikes that are everywhere and serve as taxi) to a bank to change some money. Traffic is very chaotic. Although there are lines on the streets, nobody cares and people appear to drive on both side of the street in both directions. Although relatively slow. I called my reference person Shelley and we decided to meet in the Amok in the afternoon. That gave me time to get a shower and a short nap. I felt much better after that. When Shelley arrived, we sat down at a table on the terrace. These tables are very low and people sit on pillows on the ground. Very comfortable. And I did not see other guests yet. The climate is very hot and humid right now. However, only minutes after we sat down it started raining violently, including thunder and lightening. That was really nice, because it cooled down the air considerably. Now temperatures are bearable.

Shelley is very nice, too. And knowledgeable. Since this is in the beginning of my fieldwork, I might tell some more. In her view, the national election on July 27 poses a severe security concern. Elections are always surrounded by violence and political assassinations. However, foreigners are usually not subject to political violence. However, the country is politicized to a very high extend. Everybody knows who is in which party. If you happen to be a supporter of a party other than your, lets say, village chief, it is likely that you lead a miserable life. This causes a problem for my research as well. It is very likely that people, particularly political leaders, will act very carefully and most probably won’t tell me much. However, she would advice me to start my fieldwork as soon as possible, to get some things done in the field soon. She advised me to be back in Phnom Penh a couple of days prior to the election. Than I should wait another couple before I get back into the field, provided that there is not too much turmoil.

Shelley told my about a couple of organization which might facilitate my research activity, among them UNDP and the Asian Development Bank. She presumes that the situation of cultural minorities has almost entirely been neglected, at least in the framework of the decentralization project. Our preliminary agreement was to focus on the following groups: Vietnamese, Chinese, Cham, Christians, Montagnards, and one insular indigenous group. However, particularly with regard to the hill tribes in the north and northeast, it might be very difficult to access them, since they live very isolated and are difficult to find. The Chinese are considered the most integrated group. Its members do not, unlike Vietnamese and Cham, live territorially concentrated.
Continue reading Just Arrived in Cambodia

Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

The plan for today is to ride from Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, and to visit Phnom Chissor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chi Sou) in Takeo Province on the way. It is raining heavily by the time we get up. Distance and road are not a big deal but the prospect of doing this trip in strong rain is unpleasant. It keeps raining while we have extensive breakfast.

Continue reading Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

The plan for today is to ride from Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, and to visit Phnom Chissor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chi Sou) in Takeo Province on the way. It is raining heavily by the time we get up. Distance and road are not a big deal but the prospect of doing this trip in strong rain is unpleasant. It keeps raining while we have extensive breakfast.

Continue reading Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

The plan for today is to ride from Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, and to visit Phnom Chissor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chi Sou) in Takeo Province on the way. It is raining heavily by the time we get up. Distance and road are not a big deal but the prospect of doing this trip in strong rain is unpleasant. It keeps raining while we have extensive breakfast.

Continue reading Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

The plan for today is to ride from Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, and to visit Phnom Chissor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chi Sou) in Takeo Province on the way. It is raining heavily by the time we get up. Distance and road are not a big deal but the prospect of doing this trip in strong rain is unpleasant. It keeps raining while we have extensive breakfast.

Continue reading Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

The plan for today is to ride from Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, and to visit Phnom Chissor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chi Sou) in Takeo Province on the way. It is raining heavily by the time we get up. Distance and road are not a big deal but the prospect of doing this trip in strong rain is unpleasant. It keeps raining while we have extensive breakfast.

Continue reading Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor

The plan for today is to ride from Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, and to visit Phnom Chissor (Phnom Chissor, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chi Sou) in Takeo Province on the way. It is raining heavily by the time we get up. Distance and road are not a big deal but the prospect of doing this trip in strong rain is unpleasant. It keeps raining while we have extensive breakfast.

Continue reading Kampot to Phnom Penh via Kep, Takeo and Phnom Chissor