I will be leaving Cambodia next month after more than 25 years here. During that time, much has changed in the kingdom, while much remains the same. And of the changes, some are good, some not so good.
The kingdom is transitioning. Twenty-five years ago, remnants of the genocidal Khmer Rouge were still active. There was no travel after dark, and we received weekly safety bulletins about ambushes and attacks.
Today, a strong autocratic one-party government that tolerates little opposition is leading a shift from a least-developed country to a moderately-developed country. There has been progress, but much of it is limited to the urban areas. In rural Cambodia, there is still much poverty and hardship and limited access to education, healthcare and other services.
Much of that progress is China-related, as Cambodia has moved decidedly into the Chinese ambit, receiving needed project support and in return becoming China’s vassal.
The government’s drive toward moderately-developed status has prompted major non-governmental organizations working for development to move to other countries where the need is greater, leaving a service vacuum that the government has not filled.
Their exodus has been hastened by increasing restrictions and bureaucracy as a government, especially fearful of foreigners, limits political expression and the exercise of civil rights and freedoms. At the same time, foreign business and NGO leaders have been replaced by an increasingly more educated and now more experienced youthful workforce.
Overall, the economy has strengthened as tourism to Angkor Wat resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic abated. The garment, shoe and travel-gear industries are other pillars of economic growth, although the effects of U.S. tariffs remain to be seen.
The church has seen disappointingly little growth in the past quarter century. There are only about 20,000 Catholics in the population of 16,000,000, and three-fourths of these are Vietnamese. It is very difficult for young Cambodian Catholics because they tend to marry Buddhists. Living in a culture where Buddhism dominates daily life and society, they can easily drift away from the faith.
When I came to Cambodia in 2000, there were 32 priests, one of them Cambodian. Now there are 90+ priests, and 10 of them are Cambodian. One of the 10 has just been named coadjutor bishop. He will replace the current French bishop when he leaves.
In terms of daily life, there have been gradual but major changes. When I came, a large part of society moved on bicycles. Those have mostly been supplanted by motorcycles, and now the motos are being replaced by cars, mostly imported used cars. Recently I saw a car on a Phnom Penh street with an Oxmoor Toyota dealer sticker!
Although stronger than before, education is still weak. Not all areas have schools; teacher training needs strengthening; and private schools and universities are set up as for-profit businesses, without well-trained faculties.
The Deaf Development Programme has been part of the change in Cambodia. We’re still going and still the only program serving the general deaf population, but we now function on a much reduced scale because two of our major funders were part of the NGO exodus.
I’m part of the change, too. As a dinosaur, one of the few remaining foreigners leading an NGO, I have replaced myself with a competent Cambodian man, and now serve as an advisor.
Through it all, the program continues to address the needs of the deaf community of Cambodia. That hasn’t changed.
Father Charles Dittmeier is a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville who serves the deaf community and English-speaking Catholics in Cambodia.
