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Election Day, July 28th, and excitement exudes from my host brother as he rushes into the home, skin visibly darkened after a long day. Since the election polls opened in the morning, Visal has been out perusing the streets, following the ballot count, at the center of the action. “Sam Rainsy chin-Auh DAyang awh,” Visal says, eyes wide, countenance barely containing its glow, as he catches his breath. Ming looks at him incredulously. My heart skips a beat, as I tune my ear to what he is saying. Visal begins to name off the districts and provinces in which he learned Sam Rainsy, the opposition favorite, had claimed victory in the ballots… “Phnom Penh, Takeo, Kanda, Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Kampong Tom, Battambang…” As Visal keeps talking, all I am thinking is...no way. I have not even entertained the thought that the opposition party, Sam Rainsy's Cambodian National Rescue Party(CNRP), might even have a chance at winning against Hun Sen, the longstanding Prime Minister. A ruler that has seemingly implemented every form of corruption in his three-decade reign since the Khmer Rouge, Hun Sen would surely abuse his power to win this election again. But perhaps, the tide has changed. Perhaps Hun Sen's power was finally meeting its match against a fed-up Cambodian people.
There had been much excitement around me, in the weeks leading up to the election. Political rallies became a regular part of my day, as bike commutes to work inevitably included surges of demonstrators making their voice heard on the streets. Youth lead chants of "p' Do" or "m-pel" - "Change" and Seven," the number for the CNRP. Meanwhile, television and radio stations, under Hun Sen's Cambodia's
People Party (CPP), had little to show except love for the Prime Minister.
Wherever I went, excitement over the "boh chinaoit," or election,
filled the atmosphere. Despite the bold climate on the streets, a stronger sentiment loomed in the
background. Fear reigned, in the hearts of Cambodian people, with the
horrors of the 1970s Khmer Rouge, playing in not-so-distant memories.
At night, Cambodians would shut their doors, talks of the election
continuing only in whispers.
"Khnom
gut ta Menu DAyang Awh prohIl joljet Sam Rainsy laaw
jeeing..." I say one evening, thinking out loud. I am immediatedly interrupted
with a "shhh" by my siblings. They look around
quickly, as if to make sure no one unwelcome is listening. In the middle
of saying, "I think all people probably like Sam Rainsy
better..." I quickly change my statement to a jestful, "Na
GA joljet Sam Rainsy?" or "Who is the world
would like Sam Rainsy?" to the snicker of my family. But the feeling of
paranoia, of being watched, looms overhead.
"Khnom
gut ta Menu DAyang Awh prohIl joljet Sam Rainsy laaw
jeeing..." I say one evening, thinking out loud. I am immediatedly interrupted
with a "shhh" by my siblings. They look around
quickly, as if to make sure no one unwelcome is listening. In the middle
of saying, "I think all people probably like Sam Rainsy
better..." I quickly change my statement to a jestful, "Na
GA joljet Sam Rainsy?" or "Who is the world
would like Sam Rainsy?" to the snicker of my family. But the feeling of
paranoia, of being watched, looms overhead. Conversations at language school (LEC), with Bong Tarry and Bong Kim Leang, confirm that people in their provinces have similar feelings of fear, terrified to vote for the opposing party, not wanting to later be hunted down by the CPP after the election. Ming, at home, expresses a similar reality, showing me a CNRP cap - marked by the rising sun - concealed underneath clothes, hidden from the entrance of our home. She tells me that the village leader, a despicable man employed by the CPP, walks around the community with a camera, capturing proof of "traitors," to exploit them after the election.
- - -
Later that day, Pisey looks at me with a dead serious expression, saying "I think there is a 3 out of 4 chance for a Sam Rainsy win". She tells me that the most recent news is that Hun Sen has barricaded all of Phnom Penh's major roads with armed forces. She thinks that Hun Sen would only block the roads, in angry protest to a CNRP win. While startled at the current news, I am still hesitant to believe in a political upset.
When I finally get a phone call from my Craig, my Alongsiders boss, affirming that it looked like an upset might be a possibility, I decide to finally let the wave of exhilaration hit me. And it does — like when my Texas High School football team, with it's 13-0 record, made semifinals in 2008, or like when my High School band took First Place at the Sam Houston State Marching Contest over one of the state's top marching schools, or perhaps, like when the Giants inched to victory over the Patriots in Superbowl 2008. Ming describes a win by the CNRP to mean, "freedom, justice, and democracy like America." While I hesitate at this one-dimensional perspective of the United States, the sentiment of hope for Cambodia is a welcome feeling.
- - -
Later that day, Pisey looks at me with a dead serious expression, saying "I think there is a 3 out of 4 chance for a Sam Rainsy win". She tells me that the most recent news is that Hun Sen has barricaded all of Phnom Penh's major roads with armed forces. She thinks that Hun Sen would only block the roads, in angry protest to a CNRP win. While startled at the current news, I am still hesitant to believe in a political upset.
When I finally get a phone call from my Craig, my Alongsiders boss, affirming that it looked like an upset might be a possibility, I decide to finally let the wave of exhilaration hit me. And it does — like when my Texas High School football team, with it's 13-0 record, made semifinals in 2008, or like when my High School band took First Place at the Sam Houston State Marching Contest over one of the state's top marching schools, or perhaps, like when the Giants inched to victory over the Patriots in Superbowl 2008. Ming describes a win by the CNRP to mean, "freedom, justice, and democracy like America." While I hesitate at this one-dimensional perspective of the United States, the sentiment of hope for Cambodia is a welcome feeling.
- - -
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| Hun Sun's CPP leading rallies |
6PM. Election Results...
Hun Sen, majority.
Sam Rainsy, behind.
My family and I are watching the television in silence, unspoken feelings of anger, confusion, and disappointment thick in the air. The reporter is showing that Hun Sun had the lead in almost single province, in each single city. I turn away from the screen in disgust, exhausted. The final results are that the CNRP claimed a significant 55 seats in the 123 seat National Assembly, with 68 seats going to the CPP.
- - -
Over the next couple of days, the city returns back to its busy rhythm, though political tensions remain high in Cambodia. Sam Rainsy declares that the CNRP is not going to accept the results, with allegations of 1 million names stolen by the CPP in the election, and CPP intimidation tactics at play. Further, Sam Rainsy declares a CNRP win.
My family and I are watching the television in silence, unspoken feelings of anger, confusion, and disappointment thick in the air. The reporter is showing that Hun Sun had the lead in almost single province, in each single city. I turn away from the screen in disgust, exhausted. The final results are that the CNRP claimed a significant 55 seats in the 123 seat National Assembly, with 68 seats going to the CPP.
- - -
Over the next couple of days, the city returns back to its busy rhythm, though political tensions remain high in Cambodia. Sam Rainsy declares that the CNRP is not going to accept the results, with allegations of 1 million names stolen by the CPP in the election, and CPP intimidation tactics at play. Further, Sam Rainsy declares a CNRP win.
In a
standstill, both the CPP and CNRP having declared a win, Sam
Rainsy went to the United States in recent weeks to get help, asking for a
full investigation that includes U.N. participation.
 |
| Celebrating Pisey's 21st |
A notable part of daily conversations is an anti-Vietnamese sentiment,
towards anyone and anything affiliated with Vietnam. Because of Hun
Sen's support for the Vietnam, and consequently, the migrant Vietnamese
community's support of Hun Sen, the Vietnamese - impoverished, isolated, and
hated - have become a scapegoat for what is happening. There's rarely a day when I do not hear a snide comment made about these "terrible" people.
Friends choose to stay out of the city, for fear of the political examples that
Hun Sen might want to make of CNRP demonstrators. In the last few days,
Hun Sen deployed armed forces into Phnom Penh once more, with election results
expected over the weekend. They were, of course, delayed.
With the possibility of civil war breaking out in Cambodia, privilege, stands out more than ever as an American. My Cambodian family has asked on several occasions - "Hanna, if you go have to go the American Embassy, will they take us with you if you plead for us?" - mindful that their options of escape and survival would be, whatever resources they could get their hands on. But an email to Matt Soerens - leading voice for Christian immigration reform in the U.S., fellow Wheaton HNGR alum, and HNGR small group leader - tells me that my family's chances of getting refugee status, are close to impossible, with U.S. laws at this point. My family would need to flee to another country first, where they would likely be relocated to refugee camps - of which my host dad has already spent a decade in from the Khmer Rouge era- and then spend "years, maybe decades" of waiting, before even having a chance of getting to the U.S.
---
At this point, again, I pray. And I ask for prayers. Again, I admit I do not know what to pray. But I know I have to pray. We have to pray. For safety, for justice, for compassion. For love and not war, for peace and not fear. For an awareness of God's presence so strong - here, having always been, now being, and always being - that Cambodians would seek God. I pray against political systems fueled by greed, defined by exploitation and corruption. That God would provide an answer, His answer, to this mess somehow. And I pray, for all people, in all places, to be mindful and active in thinking about fellow human flesh and blood around the world that constantly fight these battles, everyday. I pray that God would move us to see one another, to love and understand one another, and to fight for one another, whatever that looks like, wherever we are at.
With the possibility of civil war breaking out in Cambodia, privilege, stands out more than ever as an American. My Cambodian family has asked on several occasions - "Hanna, if you go have to go the American Embassy, will they take us with you if you plead for us?" - mindful that their options of escape and survival would be, whatever resources they could get their hands on. But an email to Matt Soerens - leading voice for Christian immigration reform in the U.S., fellow Wheaton HNGR alum, and HNGR small group leader - tells me that my family's chances of getting refugee status, are close to impossible, with U.S. laws at this point. My family would need to flee to another country first, where they would likely be relocated to refugee camps - of which my host dad has already spent a decade in from the Khmer Rouge era- and then spend "years, maybe decades" of waiting, before even having a chance of getting to the U.S.
---
At this point, again, I pray. And I ask for prayers. Again, I admit I do not know what to pray. But I know I have to pray. We have to pray. For safety, for justice, for compassion. For love and not war, for peace and not fear. For an awareness of God's presence so strong - here, having always been, now being, and always being - that Cambodians would seek God. I pray against political systems fueled by greed, defined by exploitation and corruption. That God would provide an answer, His answer, to this mess somehow. And I pray, for all people, in all places, to be mindful and active in thinking about fellow human flesh and blood around the world that constantly fight these battles, everyday. I pray that God would move us to see one another, to love and understand one another, and to fight for one another, whatever that looks like, wherever we are at.
