How to better understand Cambodia

Khmer Times, Opinion, 25 January 2023 (Link)

There are two ways to better understand a country and its people.

One way is to give up all prejudice and try to approach local people with naked eyes.

Another is to seek to understand the original thoughts, cultures and identities of local people.

Now let us discuss about the first way, the importance of seeing local people with naked eyes without predetermined frames of prejudice.

The approach towards Cambodia and Cambodian people should be in a learning attitude, trying to understand without prejudice and predetermined judgment.

For example, for Cambodian people, when asked what they think about Japanese, they often can accept Japanese as they are, not as the imperialist invaders based on historical and cultural prejudice even if Cambodian people like to watch Khmer-dubbed Chinese movies, Korean movies and American movies that portray Japanese as devil imperialists.

They just accept Japanese people as Japanese, as friends, as guests, as pure human being without any prejudgment.

Cambodian people know that there are also some rude and arrogant American, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. But they still approach those foreigners without discrimination.

Cambodian people rarely view Westerners in the historical frames, such as the past colonists, the past bombers over our grandparents, the past “sanctioners” over our parents, or as the past Khmer Rouge sympathizers.

Generally, we don’t have vengeful feeling against foreigners.

Such kind of approach by Cambodian people should be reciprocated by foreigners.

Now let us discuss about the second way, the importance of digging deeper by getting to know the original thoughts and ways of life of local people.

Let us compare two versions of a movie entitled “47 Ronin”, one originally made by Japanese Director Kenji Mizoguchi in 1941 and another one was a Hollywood movie starred Keanu Reeves in 2013.

The story tells of a group of samurai who were left without a leader after their Lord Asano Naganori was compelled to perform seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a powerful court official named Kira Yoshinaka. After waiting and planning for a year, the Ronin (masterless Samurai) avenged their master’s honor by killing Kira, knowing full well that the authorities would not tolerate their revenge and would put them to death.

Hollywood version was a twisted version, more like a fantasy.

Watching Hollywood version, you would have the “wow” effects and cinematographic visual excitement but you fail to appreciate the depth of words, Samurai’s philosophy, culture, and ethic.

In Japanese version, there was no fantasy, no real protagonist, but in Hollywood version, there is a protagonist, and he is an outsider, a foreigner, a non-Samurai Keanu Reeves.

This is the Hollywood’s approach in appreciating Japanese culture, but whether you understand the real context of Japanese thinking, that is another story.

To really understand Japanese values from the movie, you have to try to watch the non-fantasy version that is based on the viewpoints of local people.

Some foreigners may be only interested in Geisha and Ninja, and many people still bear the prejudice that Japanese women are the best wives in the world.

But that is not the beauty and reality of Japan.

It might be just a fraction of external appearance that outsiders have consolidated prejudice towards Japan.

If you pursue that prejudice, you would fail to appreciate the real values of Japanese culture, philosophy and ways of life.

Many people would not be able to really appreciate Japanese cultural icons and philosophers the like of Fukuzawa Yukichi, Saigo Takamori, Shiba Ryotaro, or Kenji Mizoguchi.

Likewise, to understand Cambodian people, politics and leadership, foreign observers should try to dig deep into local thoughts, writings, culture, history, identities and values.

For example, before accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen as a communist dictator, one should read his book entitled “10 Years of Cambodia’s March: 1979-1989”, and see how he evaluated the situation and ran the country during the most difficult time to really understand whether he is a pragmatist or an ideologue.

Before accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen as a Vietnam’s puppet or that he had ceded land to Vietnam—an accusation constantly and endlessly made by Cambodian opposition to stir anti-Vietnamese sentiment and ultra-nationalism for electoral purpose—one should first review Prime Minister Hun Sen’s five-hour testimony in the National Assembly on the border issues between Cambodia and Vietnam on 9 August 2012, and his 64-page written statement dated 8 September 2015.

Without a proper understanding or at least trying to listen to the voices of senior Cambodian leaders during Cambodia’s most difficult time of survival, ones should not make haste to judge the level of statesmanship of Cambodian senior leaders.

Otherwise, it sounds like an unmarried first year university student criticizing or lecturing their own parents on how to raise a family.

Cambodia and Cambodian leaders are often misunderstood, under-appreciated and misperceived.

It is time to engage with Cambodia and evaluate Cambodian leaders with naked eyes. It is time to abandon foreign-shaped prejudice and try to understand local people, ways of thinking, and ways of life, and values.

Foreign observers should try to read books about Cambodia beyond Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge. They should try to find books and media written and produced by Khmers who have survived, lived and breathed in Cambodia to really grasp the real-life experiences, perspectives and understand what Cambodian people really think.

They should try to read books about Khmer Buddhist culture and mentality, humbleness, the sense of benevolence and gratitude, respect for parents and seniors, respect for the monarchy, cultures and traditions. These cultural traits are so deep-rooted in Khmer society and mentality.

Probably, foreign observers should try to appreciate movies made by internationally-acclaimed Cambodian directors like Rithy Panh, for example the movies called “Rice People” (1994) or “One Evening After the War” (1998).

Or probably they can enjoy a much more modern taste like “The Last Reel” (2014), “Kroab Pich or Gems on the Run” (2013), or action comedy movie, which featured Cambodian martial art Bokator that was inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage List in November 2022, called “Jailbreak” (2017).

Apart from Hun Sen’s books, the book of Keat Chhon, the former minister of economy and finance, who has survived several regimes and is the eyewitness to many Cambodian historical evolutions, can also provide a glimpse on historical context and situation that Cambodian bureaucrats were put in.

Readers should be able to distinguish and judge by themselves what is or what is not a propaganda.

After all, Cambodian people and Cambodian leaders who have survived the Khmer Rouge regime are not “domlong moul”—a Khmer slang literally translated as “round potatoes” to refer to total dumbs—when they have been able to transform Cambodia into what it is today – peaceful, safe, modernized, gradually prospered and free.

But Cambodia is not that free to the level that people has freedom to throw shoes on leaders. In Khmer and Buddhist culture, head is the most sacred part of human body.

Cambodia is not that free to have people utilizing the freedom of expression to accuse others as “killers”.

Cambodia is not that free to have democratic space that allows politicians to make extreme electoral promises such as arresting other politicians and confiscating all their properties, and promising to redistribute wealth. Such kind of extremist Cambodian politicians are no difference from Pol Pot.

In terms of freedom, Cambodia is not there yet, and we don’t plan to develop our society into that extreme either. That is not Cambodia now and will never be Cambodia in the future.

Extremism has no place in Cambodia.

Collective peace, security and harmony is what Khmer people values the most.

In Cambodia, you cannot say it is your freedom and rights when you destroy common stability, peace, and other people’s rights to live in peace.

Cambodian people have seen enough, and we still can see a lot of countries and millions of people that cannot enjoy the right to live in peace, or even enjoy the rights to life itself.

One would know the value of peace only when you start wanting to lock yourself and your family in the house for fear of going outside to witness social unrest, insecurity and violence. One would only value peace when your mind unconsciously starts to think about where to evacuate your children tomorrow to escape from violence and war, and how to get your loved ones to the border or any accessible exits to get out of the country as fast as possible.

What Cambodia wants and needs is peace at all cost.

And it is time to engage and accept Cambodia as it is.