Why do I write this blog?  There are many reasons because I write for a varied audience. There’s news going out to family and friends with photos and anecdotes about my ramblings. There’s discussions of the ins and outs of the publishing world, the how’s and how not’s of writing.

But I also write about Cambodia, and so today I feel I must draw attention to what, I believe, will be seen to be a fundamental shift in their politics and the demands of its citizenry. People in the West generally ignore Cambodia. It’s always been the forgotten country. So for my information I tend to rely on my #Cambodia twitter feed and messages from friends. Yesterday evening, I had a text from  a student that said, Have you been following the news in Cambodia today? There’s been another protest, but it’s gone bad.

In July, Cambodia voted to elect their Prime Minister. Hun Sen, the leader of the Cambodian Peoples’ Party (CPP) has been in power for 28 years and has recently proclaimed that he would continue to rule for another ten years, until he was into his 70’s. And he could make such a statement because he could be assured that any vote that was held would go his way. Or so he thought. Hun Sen did win that last election, but he won by a much smaller margin than ever, and amid allegations of improprieties. No one on the ground would be surprised by such allegations. Corruption is rife throughout the political process. But this time, the main opposition party, led by Sam Rainsy, decided to do something about it. It called for a peaceful demonstration and an investigation into electoral fraud. Last week that peaceful demonstration was held. But this weekend there was another demonstration, and as my friend said, it’s gone bad. There have been many injuries and even one fatality.

courtesy of darkroom.baltimoresun.com

I woke to images of riot police, raised truncheons, smoke grenades and water cannons on my Facebook feed. Some of my friends have stayed home from work, roads are blocked. And yet the Hun Sen controlled television continues to show only dramas and concerts.

There is an excellent overview of what’s happening in the NY Times here with a very powerful photo. (I’m not sure if I’m allowed to publish the photo here or not, so just in case, I’ll just lead you to the link).

And what do I think? I’m not surprised. Cambodia is a country where over a third of it’s population is under 15 years old. Over the four years that I have been involved there, I have watched confused teenagers turn into disillusioned young adults, disillusioned young adults turn to angry adults. The world is a much smaller place than it was a generation ago. These young citizens see what is possible in the rest of the world —  through Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. There has been a simmering (and not so simmering) violence behind their smiles for years. It was just a matter of time before it started to spill out onto the streets. The only question in my mind was what would be the catalyst. And now we know. Elections. In one of the photos I saw, there was a line of people holding up signs. Most of them were in Khmer, but some were in English. One shouted out:

                                                        Our Vote Our Life

The last scene of my novel, A Clash of Innocents, takes place in a march for justice which really occurred in 2007. That march was peaceful and full of hope. But much has happened in six years. Much for the good, but also much for the bad. So I am worried and frightened. But I am also, somehow, proud. There are far reaching implications to all of this and the West better take notice and listen. Cambodia is a country tottering on the brink.

courtesy of bbc.co.uk