Election Season: Cambodia-Style!

There are many cultural differences between our home here and our home in the United States. Sometimes they are subtle. Sometimes...as in this instance...


...they are quite obvious.

So the basic idea of campaigning here is this: canvas as much ground with loud music, banners, radio and/or TV broadcasts (often mounted on the back of a flatbed truck with a projector screen!), and a massive mess of people in matching shirts and hats...

The thing about these "parades" is that they are quite difficult to predict. That is to say, it is nearly impossible to know (at least for us foreigners) when and where and for how long they will occur. So far we have seen plenty of campaigners, from both parties, marching in close rank (via moto or truck or tuk tuk, of course) throughout various parts of the city. We've seen them plow through heavy torrents of rain. We've seen them basically shut down traffic coming from every direction on major streets. We've even had the blessed opportunity of "leading" one of the parades, as we accidentally turned out in front of a giant truck full of "party singers" (they actually write their own music for this kind of thing!) and ended up riding side-by-side with the lead moto, his flag flying high next to us.

Despite the political issues and conflicts that sometimes put a strain on society here, and despite the fact that these antics seem to just make a lot of noise and cause a lot of traffic jams, we've found the election season to be quite an interesting (and often humorous) experience. There is a communal feeling of pride and joy as thousands of Khmers--young and old--wave their flags, sing their songs, and ride their motos down the dusty, exhaust-filled streets.

There is yet cause for lifting up this time in Cambodia. The fact is that there is a lot of unrest between those who adhere to the ruling party (basically in power since the fall of the Khmer Rouge) and those of the opposition who are demanding change. From what we hear, it seems that every year the debates and issues heat up a little more than the year previous. There are certainly some challenges ahead, so please keep this nation in mind, and let us all be grateful for the level of freedom that we experience in our own homeland.