Cambodia's Curse

My curiosity on Cambodia was stoked because of the holiday we are embarking on from tomorrow for a week. My main interest is to see the Angkor Vat temples which are believed to be a thousand years old. Just to get familiar with the country where I would be holidaying, looked around for a book on Cambodia....Joel Brinkley is a NYT staffer and won a Pulitzer Prize for his writings on Cambodia in the late 70s. His documentation of the Pol Pot regime and the mayhem thereof is considered one of the most authentic and vivid descriptions. Later, the country was the only country to be managed by the United Nations directly with a transition government for two years which led to the institution of democracy.Well, there was democracy and the government incubated institutions for growth and development and the people lived happily ever after. This would be the ideal ending of the UN experiment. Unfortunately no. Brinkley visits the country three decades letter and the book is a firsthand account of all that happened in the country post the Pol Pot regime,The democracy that was installed and the rule of Hun Sen, the corruption, maladministration, a generation suffering from PTSD ( Post Trauma Stress Depression) due to the barbarism of the Khmer Rouge and which is being passed onto the next generation also is what the book is all about. Depressing at times but the graphic on the ground account of an award winning writer, the venality that prevails instead of governance, the sham democracy ( btw..Hun Sen is one of the World's longest democratically elected rulers, messing up the country for the last 28 years) that exists...makes you wonder whether Democracy in isolation without clean governance is worth the trouble.I know Cambodia is not normally on anyone's radar...but do read the book to understand what Corruption can do to a country. After reading the book the likes of Karunanidhi, Lalu look like angels and paragons of virtue and what happens in the badlands of India seems like kid's stuff.

Great

Good book but very sad stories. The book helps to understand how the government used to rule Cambodia

Very interesting and gives good perspective of what people there are like

The corruption in Cambodia exists since the Angkor times. We all know that over 90% of the countries in this world are corrupt, and I am not talking only of the governments and their employees, but also of individuals in general when they deal with their families, friends, Government, business associates, work colleagues, employers and employees, etc., because this is the Human Nature. Race, religious faith or geographical location do not seem to have much differential effect on this human trait.The corruption intensity varies from country to country, in Cambodia it permeates the entire society. But what really sets Cambodia apart is:1) The atrocities of the civil war and of the ones committed by the Khmer Rouge.2) The UN has spent billions of dollars trying to build a truly democratic society when there has never been a culture of democracy or any proper political education of the people who were asked to participate in this exercise.3) Year after year aid donator countries continue to pour in close to a billion dollars in Cambodia, either to buy themselves a clear conscience for having watched the Khmer Rouge slaughter the population instead of doing something about it, or now to advance their political agenda.4) It generates more interest and scrutiny because of the above mentioned reasons.This is an excellent book for people who want to learn more about the present day Cambodia. This is also a great book for people who wants to see how a society operates, survives and thrives when it is catapulted from a state of total devastation and lawlessness to one where the survivor mentality is at its pinnacle.

Ich sah und kaufte das Buch am Ende eines kurzen Urlaubs in Siem Reap. Die großartigen Ruinen von Angkor Wat und den umliegenden Tempeln konnten nicht über die erdrückende Armut hinwegtäuschen, die dort herrscht. Wenn man das Buch liest, versteht man die Hintergründe besser. Aber es ist eine deprimierende Lektüre über ubiquitäre Korruption und Resignation eines ganzen Volkes unter den Augen der Weltgemeinschaft. Gut und engagiert geschrieben mit einigen Längen. Sehr zu empfehlen, wenn man mehr über dieses Land erfahren will.

Updated on August 4, 2011Since my first trip to Cambodia in 2008 I've been an avid reader of books and articles available on Cambodia. The author, Joel Brinkley, returns to Cambodia nearly 30 years after his journalist assignment in 1979 right after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge. Now Mr. Brinkley takes a new look at Cambodia as he delves deeply, through extensive research and countless interviews into current day Cambodia and it's modern history. One of his most stunning quotes for me is that of former US Ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph Mussomeli, which sets the tone for the book. "Be careful, because Cambodia is the most dangerous place you will ever visit. You will fall in love with it , and eventually it will break your heart". Much of the information was not new to me. Corruption, violations of human rights, the subversion of a fledging democracy, cronyism, legal impunity, etc. You don't have to spend much time in Cambodia to learn about these things. But Joel Brinkley really takes the reader into the story more deeply. And if you have any connection to and affection for the people of Cambodia, it does break your heart. This book goes into a lot of detail yet is very readable. It takes the reader through some history and tries to make sense against Cambodia's historical context, why this corrupt system seems to flourish. For many westerners interested in and concerned about the present and future of Cambodia this book can help explain some stubbornly puzzling questions about Cambodia. The subject of this book can be very interesting though also depressing ( with it's title am i not stating the obvious? ).... but in the epilogue the author provides some worthwhile insights about the present and future of Cambodia and from where it's rays of hope may emanate.While i understand that no book is perfect and there are subjective impressions with which i disagree, this book is very well researched and a very worthwhile read. I highly recommend it. My only disagreement with the author is that i did not find the Cambodian people 'dour'. For sure, there is a great deal of emotional and mental damage and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as the author reports, but in general i find the Cambodian people much warmer and more loving than i do in my own country. The illuminating smile and loving presence of the mother i met at the hospital where she was sitting vigil to the long recovery of her daughter from her injuries in the Water Festival Stampede in November of 2010 is something i will long remember.I hope that this book gets a wide reading and helps people to better understand this neglected country and will be motivated to help in some way.