Cambodia emerges from shadow of Pol Pot to face AIDS threat

As the aircraft begins its descent into Siem Reap airport, I get my first glimpse of Cambodia's Killing Fields. Acre after acre of brown, flat land unfolds before my eyes. It is hard not to think of the estimated two million people who perished at the hands of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army on this very soil more than a quarter of a century ago.

Siem Reap is a bustling, developing town beside the famous Angkor Wat Temples in north-west Cambodia. The airport is quickly outgrowing itself, barely able to cope with the influx of tourists now the country is enjoying a fragile peace. The luggage is thrown carelessly from the aircraft into the arrival's area to be sorted out by passengers. The staff is friendly and laid back.

Outside, about 20 taxi drivers wait in the dusty heat for the latest batch of tourists from the Bangkok flight. I am immediately surrounded by the group, all keen for my business. One dollar for the 7 kilometre journey into town on the back of a motor bike, $5 in a car. "Why are you travelling on your own?" one asks teasingly. "I will take care of you." I struggle to ward them off and breathe a sigh of relief when my lift arrives.

Cambodia, with a population of 11.4 million, borders Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. It is slowly emerging from years of civil strife, violence and genocide. This once-thriving country has been left with a shattered infrastructure. Its people are among the poorest in the world.

The harsh and tragic legacies of war include high rates of amputees from landmine accidents, mental illness, and an extreme scarcity of skilled resources. All these factors are impeding Cambodia's social and economic development.

Cambodia continues to be one of the world's poorest nations, lagging well behind its south-east Asian neighbours. The Royal Government of Cambodia, headed by Prime Minister Mr Hun Sen, remains weak and depends heavily on foreign assistance, which provides nearly half of its operating budget.

This week in Tokyo, donor countries agreed a $500 million aid package for Cambodia for the next year. This was despite opposition from some NGO's, which claim that not all the money is going where it should. Bribery and corruption are rife in this country.

However, free of armed conflict for four years, Cambodia and its people are fighting back. In the countryside more and more refugees from war are being resettled as land is made safe, thanks to the efforts of mine clearance organisations.

But the poverty in Cambodia is still striking. As you drive across mile after mile of countryside, the picture is the same. The roads are pot-holed and sometimes impassable. You meet the odd heavy lorry bringing goods across the border from Thailand. There are taxis, usually pick-up trucks with up to 15 people swinging dangerously out of the back, bringing tourists and labourers to and from Thailand.

You meet families struggling to survive. In the 1960s, Cambodia was the biggest exporter of rice in South East Asia. Now it does not even produce enough to feed its own people. People are not starving, but it is clear that some are not getting enough food. In a village in Banteay Meanchey Province, near the Thai border, I see a group of children with big eyes and bloated tummies - the classic signs of malnutrition.

Seventy per cent of Cambodian children don't go to school. I come across a school deep in the north-western countryside, a big brown wooden building in the middle of a field. It consists of two classrooms with nothing but old desks and a blackboard - no wall charts or school equipment to speak of. The children are learning to read, reciting words from the blackboard.

But the people of Cambodia are nothing if not resourceful. For food, the peasants in the countryside go to the woods with their flashlights at night to catch frogs. Fluorescent light bulbs are used to attract crickets, which are roasted and eaten. Bamboo shoots are cut down and eaten. And in many re-claimed areas, settled families are given small plots of land to grow vegetables.

Most people here have been directly affected by the war and have had family members slaughtered by Khmer Rouge. Yet it is hard to find anyone who wants a war crimes tribunal. One man told me: "What is that going to do? Will that give us work and food?". While the US and the UN are pushing for justice, the common person does not care for such matters.

Back in Siem Reap, people are cashing in on the increase in overseas visitors. Tourism is the future for Cambodia. Siem Reap resembles a building site, with new hotels and restaurants sprouting up everywhere. It is an untidy, thrown together sort of town, but warm and welcoming to tourists with dollars in their pockets.

The Khmer Kitchen restaurant is located in the centre of Siem Reap, just around the corner from the town's main art gallery. It does not look much from the outside but word has it that the food here is excellent. After two rough days in the countryside, it provides some welcome respite.

The owner, Sophal Perks, takes our order and goes into the kitchen to cook. Her father busies himself setting the table and serving us drinks. We are the only customers here this Sunday afternoon. This is a warm, relaxed place to be. Sophal tells us she fed three Irish backpackers the previous night.

The food is delicious. Green curry, traditional Cambodian chicken amok, and fried vegetables. Each dish costs just $2 each. "Your food is too cheap," my companion tells Sophal. "Not if you are Cambodian," she responds.

Sophal not only runs her own business, but also works with an aid organisation helping prostitutes in Siem Reap. The Rose Project is run under the auspices of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Sophal says Cambodia's next big battle will be against AIDS. While the first case of AIDS was not diagnosed until late 1994, Cambodia is now the fastest growing country for HIV/AIDS infection in Asia. Forty per cent of infection is spread through prostitution.

Women who make their living on the streets and become ill come to The Rose Project for help. There are currently about 20 girls attending the clinic. "Many of the girls are sold to pimps by their families who are desperate for money. Some are sold for as little as $20," she says.

Sophal tells a story of one girl who was promised work by a man who came to her village. She was brought to the town and given food and accommodation. She discovered her work was in prostitution. She could not escape as she had no money and no way of making her way home.

While the prostitutes try to encourage customers to use condoms, the men are often aggressive and drunk, and refuse. A local man can buy sex for as little as $1. A foreigner will be charged $5.

Down in Siem Reap's busy central market, amputees are everywhere, trying to get what they can from tourists. One little girl, with big pleading eyes, is perched on her father's knee with her hand out. Both his legs are gone and he is in a wheelchair. I give her a dollar. She smiles with delight. The average annual wage in Cambodia is $300 a year. The dollar will buy the family enough food for a few days.

The people of Cambodia want to forget the Killing Fields. They are trying to move on, and to slowly rebuild their shattered lives. But Pol Pot's legacy will take many more years to shake off.