TristranandIsolde wrote:The story goes:.
It wasn't until "Tomb Raider" (2001) with Lara Croft and her shorts (played by Cambodia's Godmother and Honorary Citiizen and UN Peace Ambassador, Angelina Jolie) that the travel agents noticed Angkor Wat and recognized the marquis value of such an enormous site.
So, the world travel agents told the military, "We'll make you rich, but you gotta get rid of all the guns."
In 2003-2005 most of the guns were bought, destroyed, seized, confiscated, etc.
In 2008, everybody and their brother showed up with a suitcase of cash, and it's been "Parking Lot City" ever since.
The fairy tell ending ends up with a fat family and total gridlock, but no more war.
So the story goes ...
Interesting. And with poverty so rampant in Cambodia, I suspect there was no shortage of people lining up to turn in guns, ostensibly for some sort of pay off. What a shame people didn't realize that voluntarily disarming only makes it easier for an oppressive government to run them down. I'm a bit shocked to see such a mentality in a country that so recently experienced major atrocities.