“Those
who believe that evil can be eradicated tend to identify themselves
with the good and attack anyone they believe stands in the way of its
triumph.” From the article i mention later
On Thursday evening, after
spending a very enjoyable (and sweaty) two hours playing street
hockey with a nice group of expats and Cambodians, I was cycling to
see a friend when my bag was stolen. While I was cycling. A moto with
2 Cambodian males drove past, barely pausing as they wrenched my
shoulder bag off me, and zoomed off. I gave chase, mainly from an
overwhelming feeling of helplessness and anger than from any rational
belief that I would catch them. I had never before been robbed,
despite visiting many post-conflict/continuing-conflict and
developing nations (as well as London), and I had developed a cosy
bubble around me to explain this – I am tall, male and athletic,
and nice to people, and therefore nothing bad will happen to me.
Within two seconds, this idea has been crushed forever. I am not
invincible, and all the best preparation in the world is irrelevant
when something can happen so quickly. Thankfully I am unhurt,
although I found it impossible to sleep, coming up with all sorts of
ways I could have reacted differently. A (gift) phone with a cracked
screen, a wallet with $5, now cancelled bank cards, my driving
license, a spare camera battery, my umbrella, and my chopsticks from
Japan; the bastards have hardly gotten away with a bag of loot.
Still, does put a bit of a damper on Cambodia, which is a shame, as I
really rather like the place.
It was rather pertinent then, that
I came across this article the following day, “The
Truth About Evil” in
The Guardian. While its focus is heavily Nazi/Stalin based, largely
ignoring Rwandan and Khmer Rouge ‘evil’, it is a very interesting
look at different beliefs and theology surrounding the concept of
evil, and the role this plays in current geopolitics and world
affairs. It also helped me get some mental closure over the robbery.
“Many
liberals would like to see the idea of evil replaced by a discourse
of harm: we should talk instead about how people do damage to each
other and themselves”
Indeed, I do
not believe in the idea of evil as a counterbalance to God or good,
and find the idea of original sin just ridiculous. The men who robbed
me are not evil, they just believe that their needs justify the means
required to satisfy them - making money without working. This doesn’t
mean I have to like them, or support their actions, but it does
remove some of my anger. Their action wasn’t a personal attack –
any westerner with a bag is a victim.
On the flipside, it has
meant that I have needed to buy some replacements. Given the number
of ethical shops here, with either staff/producers or a % of sales
aiding the disabled, abused or recovering of Cambodia, this has been
less of a chore that it could have been. I now have a silk wallet
($5), and a good idea for small gifts for people when it comes time
to leave. Alas, I wasn’t abled to find any chopsticks. While Japan
is full of shops selling bespoke, beautiful chopsticks for home and
eat-out use, it seems Cambodian’s are perfectly happy to use
disposable ones. So while I saw lots of hand-carved wooden bowls and
spoons, I had no luck with chopsticks, and will have to order a pair
from neighbouring Thailand.
On Friday morning, on the
bus ride to court, we passed a huge group of protesting garment
workers. Plenty of banners and smiles from the young ladies lent the
whole thing a very friendly feel, which given their suffering, and
the attitude of the factory owners is really surprising. They all
waved and cheered when they saw a bus of foreigners go past – I have
a horrible feeling this was because they thought we were
representatives from Nike or Gap or whoevers stuff they make.
This Vice documentary gives a good overview of the current complaints, and the issues surrounding NGO intervention. Sometimes what we perceive to be the worse option - in this case sex work - may well not be.
Pertinent to this, are my
thoughts on Aeon Mall, the brand new Japanese mega-mall in Phnom
Penh. It is full of shops selling the usual big brands, at Western
prices ($100 for a pair of running shoes). This just seems criminal
when you consider the fact that many of the clothes and shoes were
made in Cambodia itself, by someone paid $2 a day. Not only can you
find the exact same products at the local market – factory
overruns, or 2nds – for a tiny fraction of the asking price, but a
huge percentage of the nation cannot afford to pay the Aeon prices.
The whole mall seems to
cater for the expat and Cambodian upper-middle/upper classes, who are
so cut off from the realities of life in Cambodia for most people,
that $50 for a t-shirt, possibly made in Cambodia, but just as likely
to have been imported from Bangladesh, or Pakistan, or somewhere else
where the people who made it were paid almost nothing, is not
something they find strange. Even at the budget end, there was a weeked flash sale
on cheap plain t-shirts, for $5 reduced to $3. These had come from Bangladesh, with
tags in Japanese, and it is entirely possible that they were first
shipped there, before being shipped to Cambodia. For $2 you can find
an equally cheap tshirt at the market, which was made in Cambodia.
The carbon-footprint, not to mention the sheer ridiculousness of it
all just boggles the mind.
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