1st August, 2011
Re: An American lady plans to live with her deported husband in Cambodia
It's been speculated that the US government arm-twisted Cambodia into signing the repatriation agreement by threatening to impose certain restrictions on wealthy CPP officials' interests in the United States, including, perhaps, those of Hun Sen himself. So it comes as no surprise to learn that while this family's tragedy is unfolding before our eyes, one of the PM's sons has been awarded half a million dollars by the same American government to pursue his elite education abroad.
The US government might also have threatened to cut off that annual aid package to Cambodia that could have serious socio-political implications for the Phnom Penh regime. International aid has got to be a major contributor to the durability and survival of the regime given the dire state Cambodia is still in economically.
Almost 1 billion US dollars every year from this international assistance has given the Phnom Penh regime a massive life-line. Whilst Hun Sen would argue that aid organisations themselves, and not his administration, is responsible for budgeting or spending the aid money, it nonetheless represents a huge cash-flow into the national economic stream enabling various unscrupulous elements to divert much of that flow right into their private or corporate pockets. Even the current American ambassador - Carol Rodley - estimated that every year 500 million US dollars had been swallowed up by governmental corruption.
The irony is that international aid's medium and long term impact in a country systematically mismanaged like Cambodia is, tends to work to the disadvantage of the poorest who constitute Cambodia's vast majority by subsidizing not merely an economy that has been struggling to recover from three decades of destruction, but also the administrative personnel or engine that deliberately and ruthlessly mismanages economic activities out of a combination of incompetence and private greed.
One of the recently fallen regimes in North Africa and the Arab World - Egypt - is another instance of how a repressive and authoritarian regime had been helped to stay in power for several decades through generous US political and financial succour. In his long stay in power, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had seen off at least half a dozen American presidents. And just like Dr. Hun Sen he had also claimed or witnessed regular electoral 'landslides' for his lengthy stay in office.
It's been speculated that the US government arm-twisted Cambodia into signing the repatriation agreement by threatening to impose certain restrictions on wealthy CPP officials' interests in the United States, including, perhaps, those of Hun Sen himself. So it comes as no surprise to learn that while this family's tragedy is unfolding before our eyes, one of the PM's sons has been awarded half a million dollars by the same American government to pursue his elite education abroad.
The US government might also have threatened to cut off that annual aid package to Cambodia that could have serious socio-political implications for the Phnom Penh regime. International aid has got to be a major contributor to the durability and survival of the regime given the dire state Cambodia is still in economically.
Almost 1 billion US dollars every year from this international assistance has given the Phnom Penh regime a massive life-line. Whilst Hun Sen would argue that aid organisations themselves, and not his administration, is responsible for budgeting or spending the aid money, it nonetheless represents a huge cash-flow into the national economic stream enabling various unscrupulous elements to divert much of that flow right into their private or corporate pockets. Even the current American ambassador - Carol Rodley - estimated that every year 500 million US dollars had been swallowed up by governmental corruption.
The irony is that international aid's medium and long term impact in a country systematically mismanaged like Cambodia is, tends to work to the disadvantage of the poorest who constitute Cambodia's vast majority by subsidizing not merely an economy that has been struggling to recover from three decades of destruction, but also the administrative personnel or engine that deliberately and ruthlessly mismanages economic activities out of a combination of incompetence and private greed.
One of the recently fallen regimes in North Africa and the Arab World - Egypt - is another instance of how a repressive and authoritarian regime had been helped to stay in power for several decades through generous US political and financial succour. In his long stay in power, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had seen off at least half a dozen American presidents. And just like Dr. Hun Sen he had also claimed or witnessed regular electoral 'landslides' for his lengthy stay in office.
2 comments:
It is not a wise choice for this young lady to depart away from her children. Her husband need and must learn the responsibility on his own for the crime life that he had committed. He is strong enough to be on his own. She thought her husband was her true love. She need to realize that her children are more important than herself and her husband. Why brought children into this world with out having any responsibly? In my opinion, I think
she had make a poor judgement.
It is my belief that she selfishly made the decision based on her emotion and feeling for the husband--not for the welfare of her children. Also, I'm surprised that someone or some organization does not intervene on these kids behalf.
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