Counterpunch: A Journalistic Horror Show?
Counterpunch, the left web journal founded by the late Alexander Cockburn and edited now by Jeffrey St. Clair, is on a roll when it comes to coverage of Cambodia. Following the positively ludicrous article written by Israel Shamir some months back comes another absurdist trashing of Cambodia, this time coming from author Andre Vltchek.
Before addressing the failings of Mr. Vltchek’s article, let me get out of the way and state for the record that I have no love for the regime which rules Cambodia. It is a kleptocracy; one has only to look at the wealth proudly displayed by low paid government ministers to ascertain that.
This of course is not an unusual observation among third world states. Prime Minister Hun Sen, while widely referred to as a “strongman”, is not an autocrat in say the Fidel Castro mold.
Instead in the Cambodian model – one which has existed for hundreds of years – power is granted in exchange for loyalty, and those granted such power, usually cemented by family ties, operate with relative autonomy and impunity within their realm of authority.
Rule of law is something mostly the poor have to worry about. The Prime Minister is not a stickler for details, nor is he or the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) guided by any discernible ideology. Maintaining the stability which ensures the continuation of this arrangement is important above all ideological considerations.
Those in power the last two decades have benefited immensely by this arrangement. Those not in power have for the most part seen their lives and livelihoods slowly improve to the extent that while they might not have great affection for the CPP, they acquiesce to its leadership as providing the best alternative available to them. At least, after almost eight years of residence here in Phnom Penh that’s how Cambodia appears to me and to most people I know here, whether they be Khmer or expatriate foreigners.
So there is plenty to criticize without resorting to exaggeration. What Mr. Vltchek’s motivations are for resorting to such obvious exaggeration and tall tales I cannot begin to imagine. Mr. Vltchek characterizes Cambodia as a “horror show”, “worse than hell” where in Phnom Penh…
”There are thousands of them, child beggars, working the intersections and the sidewalks, in front of virtually all the tourist attractions. The Police do not care, or are too corrupt to intervene. The citizens don’t care, as they don’t seem to care in many other places, including India.”
Mr. Vltchek is correct that there are child beggars and that except at ASEAN conference time, the police do not much care about their activities. But thousands of them? How many did Mr. Vltchek see? I’ll tell you what I see. As I write this, we are at or near the peak of the tourist season in Phnom Penh, which means we are at the height of the begging the tourists season as well. I have a 5.5 kilometre commute from my home near the Russian Market to my business near the riverside and my route takes me on some of the city’s busiest and most gridlocked streets. On most days over the course of this commute I see one or two children selling jasmine flowers to commuters stuck in traffic. Yesterday I saw two ten year old boys feather dusting a Lexus at a stoplight, much as you’d expect to see a homeless window washer on your busy commute in New York or Los Angeles.
The largest concentration of beggars is to be found on the Tonle Sap riverside, not surprisingly where the largest concentration of tourists is to be found. Last night at peak beggar time I walked the length of the riverside with a friend and counted them. I saw the blonde haired children to which Mr. Vltchek refers being lectured to by their gang leader on street 178, preparing for the night’s work.
There were eight children. A few hundred meters farther north on the riverside I came upon two women in their fifties or sixties quietly sitting on the pavement with plastic cups waiting for tourist donations.
Several hundred meters farther on there were three women with babies strapped to themselves as described by Mr. Vltchek. And that was it. Go to the Killing Fields or S-21 and you will indeed see beggars. But you will not see thousands of them: this a wild exaggeration on Mr. Vltchek’s part.
Vltchek then proceeds to spin the tale of K-11, Phnom Penh’s notorious collection of brothels and center of underage prostitution. As anyone who follows Cambodia knows, the brothels of K-11 were shut more than seven years ago. But Vltchek spends just short of 1,000 words describing the evils of K-11 in the late ’90’s and of his efforts in beginning a campaign to see it shut.
Why one has to ask, is this news? K-11 was the subject of scrutiny of every investigative news program on the planet in the early 2000’s. For many people in the West it is all they will ever know about Cambodia. Is it really necessary in a piece nominally about 2012 Cambodia to talk about Svay Pak in 1997? No it’s not: it’s useful only in helping the author to build this characterization of Cambodia as a “horror show”.
It also seems Vltchek may be overstating his role in the efforts to shut down those brothels.
Let us observe that five years after his alleged 1997 busting of the K-11 story, that is in mid-2002, Svay Pak was reported by western journalists as still being wide open. At least as recently as late 2003 the area was still easily accessible to westerners even if the street scene had gone behind closed doors. And, as noted it wasn’t until 2005, eight years after Vltchek’s described intervention that K-11 was shut down. Vltchek makes no effort to describe the state of underage prostitution in 2012 Cambodia, instead using an outdated story to color our perceptions of Cambodia’s current evils.
Having shaken us with the horror of K-11, Vltchek now returns to the present.
”This city – the capital of one of the poorest countries in Asia – is now clogged with Range Rovers and Lexus SUV’s. Just as during the pro-US corrupt dictatorship of Lon Nol, all the wealth and sleaze are concentrated in Phnom Penh; that old whore that goes with anyone who offers the best price, and therefore, by definition, it goes with the West. In the meantime, the countryside is starving; it is devastated by the lack of medical care, education, and staggering food prices.”
This city is indeed becoming clogged with SUVs, a sorry transformation particularly for those of us with cross-town commutes. Thousands of ordinary Khmers took advantage of an extended property boom, much of that driven by foreign (especially Chinese and Korean) investment and put that money into the vehicles which have changed the face of Phnom Penh. Nevertheless, generally speaking, it’s not the West offering the best price, it’s the Chinese, and certainly not the Americans and the EU.
The countryside is not starving. Malnutrition is a problem in many areas of the countryside, medical care is indeed poor, but conditions are slowly improving and Cambodia does produce enough rice that the famine suggested by Mr. Vltchek has not existed here for decades.
Some of Vltchek’s observations are just plain wacky. For example:
”I went several times to the remote borders; not to the main drags, where the police take money from foreigners for so-called visas (a sort of legitimized entry fee of US$20).”
If at the “main drags” yes Mr. Vltchek, it seems you’re describing a visa.
Or here:
“But the international organizations are saying that you are doing well”, I pretended I was confused. “They say Cambodia is fine, and that you have… you know… a democracy… Many political parties and stuff like that.”
What international organizations are these? If they think Cambodia is doing so fine why on earth would they be there? The ‘many political parties’ reference sounds like Vltchek is characterizing the UNTAC line circa 1994. It’s just plain silly.
”Cambodia is one of the most brilliant examples of a failed State.”
By what measure? Certainly not in terms of stability. The CPP has been in power for decades and has no opposition which Cambodians take seriously as an alternative. There are no floods of refugees, no armed gangs roaming the streets. There is poverty and injustice but that does not a failed state make.
“They were degenerates, not Communists”, this came back from my interpreter. The Mayor said something much stronger, which seemed to be untranslatable. But he was not done, yet. He pointed towards the red flag with the yellow star, flying over the Vietnamese border post. “These people are Communist…” He did not spit this time. He just brought his right hand close to his temple, which could have been some sort of salute. But maybe I was just imagining it.”
Yes. Or concocting the whole story. This salute to Vietnam and communism is so uncharacteristic of Khmers as to be unbelievable and reflects primarily the author obvious bias toward the “heroic Vietnamese”.
In the above quoted paragraph Vltchek acknowledges the use of an interpeter. Elsewhere he seems to be conversing in Khmer. Throughout the article, beginning from his first paragraph with a mother pimping her children discussing UNICEF, his quotes from discussions with Khmers are peppered with words and phrases which ordinary Khmers would never use:
“The government is corrupt, and the oil company of Cambodia, belongs to the people who are simultaneously in the private and public sector. They make sure that nothing public gets built”, explained a driver while we were stuck in an unyielding two hour traffic jam, on the way to the airport.”
In my experience, this is not how Khmer taxi drivers speak, certainly not in English. If Mr. Vltchek’s Khmer is good enough to translate words like “sector” and “simultaneously”, clearly he doesn’t need an interpreter. As a quote it seems to me a fabrication.
”The uncomfortable truth is that the genocide came from the air, not from the ground. And there is no memorial to the victims that were annihilated by the Empire. And shockingly, I know of no research done by Cambodians themselves on the subject. No funding, no research, it appears. And only the ludicrous “Communist Genocide” theory is generously rewarded.
After the carpet-bombing displaced millions, bombs and bombies that dotted the countryside, prevented millions of farmers from returning to their fields, another fact that is hardly mentioned: the fact that it was definitely not possible to feed the country under such conditions.”
”The entire nation was paralyzed, displaced or dead. Add mismanagement and the idiocy of the Khmer Rouge cadres and you get all the essential ingredients for the famine and the other horrors. But what cynicism it takes on the part of the West to blame the Cambodian tragedy on Communism! And again, what discipline and willingness to collaborate, on the part of Cambodia!”
And now we are back in Israel Shamir territory: that more died from American bombs than from Khmer Rouge executions, famine and disease, an assertion for which there is absolutely no evidence. Suggesting that more than one million may have died from American bombs is simply making things up to fit a preferred ideological model. Curiously, the Khmers are portrayed as heroic in their collaboration with the Khmer Rouge but not in their rebuilding of the society after its destruction under the KR.
Just what ideological biases Vltchek might bring to the Cambodian case is made clear in an article he published in the October 12 edition of Counterpunch entitled “Our Leningrad”, wherein Vltchek characterizes Joseph Stalin’s farm and economic policies as “pulling tens of millions out of poverty” without making reference to the 4-5 million Ukranians who were consciously starved to death in what has become known as the Terror Famine of 1932-33.
He goes on to state: “Some members of the Soviet intellectual and military elites (including my grandfather) were executed”. Some? Vltechek’s characterization here makes it sound as if the number might be in the dozens or hundreds. The number executed in the Great Purge of 1936-39 is put in the range of 650,000 to 1.5 million persons.
To make matters worse Vltchek adds: “Stalin and those around him, had plenty to be ‘paranoid’ about: the hostility of the West towards the young Communist state was apparent. The USSR was attacked by the US, UK, and ravaged by brutal Czech Legions and other invading forces.”
To anyone with the least familiarity with Cambodian history these apologies for Stalin’s genocidal economic policies and party purges are frightening in their parallels. It makes one wonder if Counterpunch has at its disposal for Southeast Asian commentary anyone other than Russian writers with a penchant for fiction and an inability to face to face up to the realities of genocide.
Speaking of fabrications, one wonders most of all about this:
”Months later, I spent several thoroughly Kafkaesque hours chatting in the Royal Palace, with the wife of the Prime Minister, Hun Sen. Also known as ‘Lady Macbeth’, she poured her heart out to me that evening, with no restraint, and for no apparent reason.”
No one that I have spoken with believes this happened. If there is even an element of truth in the story, relating it would be far more interesting to Counterpunch readers and Cambodia watchers than another tired rehash of the horrors of K-11.
Jeff Mudrick
Jeff Mudrick lives and works in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Nicely done JM. While this place has many shortcomings, it ain’t as bad as this guy makes it out. The people are optimistic, development is carrying on regardless and the future looks bright for the average Cambodian. I hope his article does not become the basis for too many people’s impressions of this place as that would be the real crime here.
Great analysis from a writer who has his finger 100% on the pulse of Cambodia.
A failed state is a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government. Common characteristics of a failing state include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality.
Sounds like you are describing the USA.
One excellent piece of writing,& thanks for defending what we know is good about our beloved Cambodia.
Very eloquent and a well constructed counter argument! I look forward to reading more from you!
Quote
Before addressing the failings of Mr. Vltchek’s article, let me get out of the way and state for the record that I have no love for the regime which rules Cambodia. It is a kleptocracy, one has only to look at the wealth proudly displayed by low paid government ministers to ascertain that.
This of course is not an unusual observation among third world states. Prime Minister Hun Sen while widely referred to as a “strongman”, is not an autocrat in say the Fidel Castro mold.
Instead in the Cambodian model – one which has existed for hundreds of years – power is granted in exchange for loyalty, and those granted such power, usually cemented by family ties, operate with relative autonomy and impunity within their realm of authority.
Rule of law is something mostly the poor have to worry about. The Prime Minister is not a stickler for details, nor is he or the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) guided by any discernible ideology. Maintaining the stability which ensures the continuation of this arrangement is important above all ideological considerations.
Those in power the last two decades have benefited immensely by this arrangement. Those not in power have for the most part seen their lives and livelihoods slowly improve to the extent that while they might not have great affection for the CPP, they acquiesce to its leadership as providing the best alternative available to them. At least, after almost eight years of residence here in Phnom Penh that’s how Cambodia appears to me and to most people I know here, whether they be Khmer or expatriate foreigners.
Unquote
This is the most succinct description of Cambodia today. It should be sent to all the top newspapers, at least in the English-speaking world, and maybe Der Spiegel and Le Figaro, too.
Great assessment.
“Those in power the last two decades have benefited immensely by this arrangement. Those not in power have for the most part seen their lives and livelihoods slowly improve to the extent that while they might not have great affection for the CPP, they acquiesce to its leadership as providing the best alternative available to them.”
So they are indifferent to suffering and injustice and are self-interested.
Money has over ridden compassion.
Well done, Jeff Mudrick, the Empire is grateful and salutes you!
Your argument, however, boils down to stereotypical and racist: “It makes one wonder if Counterpunch has at its disposal for Southeast Asian commentary anyone other than Russian writers with a penchant for fiction and an inability to face to face up to the realities of genocide.” Well, I guess in your eyes it would be even worse if I would be Chinese.
And I repeat: there was genocide committed against Cambodian people. I don’t deny it. But not by some abstract Stalinists. It was committed US, Australia, Thailand… not by Russians.
And btw, is Mr. Mudrick that very Mr. Murdick from Lehman? To use his own logic, That would explain a lot, would it not?
Mr.Vltchek, whether or not Mr. Mudrick is racist is of little consequence. I have read your article and it begs the question, have you ever been to Cambodia? It was sensationalist, inaccurate, and dated. I cannot fathom any reason for its being except that, as a journalist, you command more money based on popularity, and shock value is popular these days.
Also please note in your response you fail to address any of the issues Mr. Mudrick has brought up, but instead resort to calling him racist and making a vague implication that he is the Mr. Mudrick from Lehman. I find the notion that the latter Mr. Mudrick has taken such in interest in a small backwater country and poor journalism of such a country as to write a response to your article absolutely absurd. It would seem you are simply mudslinging Jeff Mudrick’s point of view rather than address the short coming of your own so-called journalism.
The American bombing was criminal but not genocide. The murder of Cambodias Vietnamese and Cham populations was genocide. To call the former genocide and to deny or ignore the latter is to distort the reality of what occured. I have nothing against Russians,I just find it curious that you and Shamir get the Cambodia assignment. I am not the Lehman Brothers Mudrick. My interest is not in defending the Empire, I am a socialist and an anti-imperialist. I am interested in journalist integrity and have found both recent Cambodia pieces lacking in that regard.
And by the way Andre, the first language of my grandparents on both sides was Russian. And I voted for Gus Hall for president in 1976.
i brlieve Zack both Jeff and Zack speak for m. Disappointing enough to read the original piece. The reply by the writer to Jeff Mudrick’ piece is embarrassing and despair enducing.
wow. embarrassingly weak reply by the original ‘journalist’, Andrea Vltchek. The original piece was bad enough. The retort pitiful.
Exaggeration and sensationalism, along with inaccuracies and lack of research are a disgrace in journalism.
Jeff Mudrick has written a great response to a load of nonsense.
we can all beg to differ on the definition of a failed state…
the bottom line mr vltchek is that your depictions are skewed, ill informed and dare i say obviously biased…
mr mudrick’s response is sensible and measured…
After reading Andre Vltchek’s artcle, I’m left wondering how on Earth he came to be given the assignment – and why this writing was ever published.
You’re off the scale with your slant here, Mr Vltchek, and appear to be deliberately misinforming your readers.
Please respond to the points raised by Mr Mudrick.
What a joke of an article. What do you work for the chamber of commerce ? There is so much more by ways of corruption, greed, unethical behavour, drug addiction, etc that were not touched on. How about the inability to simply walk down the street due to gangs of motodopes high on crystal meth that harass both verbally and physically even women and the elderl ? How about the fire dept letting homes burn down and watching people cry because they were not bribed with enough money ? The same goes for the police in most cases. Just because this place has running water, cable tv, and ability for an old bloke to pay a gal slave wages to cook porridge for him does not make Cambodia utopia. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc it’s a duck. You arguing that it’s the speckled duck vs the duck without a blue spot on his wing is of no importance. There is a very good reason why the entire planet has boycotted this country. Ebay, Paypal, Amazon etc. No country, even Thailand, will ship anything here unless it counterfeit or pirated. Would you bet your life if that we travelled north, south, east, and west, that we couldn’t find 1000 parents willing to sell their children into sexual slavery for a small amount of money ? I didn’t think so. And if so,let’s meet and make it a real wager.
I have always found this line of argument rather amusing. It’s like the NGOs that make hysterical claims such as “there are 33,000 child prostitutes in Cambodia…send us money to help stop it.” After showing them that their stat is off by orders of magnitude by using actual studies instead of sound bites and NGO brochures, they retort “doesn’t matter how many there are, the point that there are child prostitutes.” Well, in fact it does matter, and they know it, otherwise they wouldn’t have asserted the bogus stats in the first place. They are selling something and they know making over-the-top claims help sales. Later arguing that ‘it doesn’t matter’ is disingenuous and a ploy to distract from the fact that they got caught lying, like Vltchek got caught.
??? I’ve walked down the street many times. Yes, the motodops/tuk-tuks are annoying, and I’ve seen several verbally harass western women, but it is still possible to walk past them. Not all of them are meth addicted. I’ve known some really decent ones. And not all Cambodians are willing to sell their children into sex-slavery. Believe it or not, some Cambodians do have integrity. Paypal and Amazon both deal with customers in Cambodia (my friend had a replacement Kindel shipped from the US to Cambodia in less than two weeks).
I don’t even know what you’re getting at here. Are you supporting Mr. Vltchek or Mr. Mudrick’s argument? Please edit yourself before you hit the post comment.
I had no problem walking down the street in the two years I lived in Phnom Penh,of course I didn’t suffer from the delusion that they were populated by roving gangs of crystal meth addicted motodops. I have now lived in rural Cambodia for three years and haven’t come across one case of children being sold into sexual slavery, a practice that is more prevalent in one of the neighbouring countries.
Zack. Not ALL are crystal meth addicted ? i guess only most ?
Yes, most motodopes are annoying and harass women but it is POSSIBLE to walk past them ? This is a positive argument for Phnom Penh ?
Not ALL sell their children into slavery ? I guess just many or most ?
The exact numbers are NOT the issue. If it is pervasive, prevalent, and a socially accepted norm, that is the issue.
Noone, including NGO’s can change a socially accepted, unethical, majority norm which is the reality in Cambodia. I don’t mean to be apathetic but let’s call a spade a spade and be realistic and not candy coat, protect, and advocate, a majority nefarious populace. Again, does Mr. Mudrick work for the chamber of commerce ? And shame on all for giving him kudos for his micromanagement and slanted take on the issues.
Ps. Paypal does Not deal with Cambodia.
What’s next the positive global environmental impact North Korea has on the planet by reducing its use of electricity ?
Ps Zack. Amazon also does Not ship new products to Cambodia. Your friends circumstances were unique in that it was a replacement. No country may ship new products here except China who ships pirated, counterfeit, substandard, planned obsolented goods in exchange for government and political favors. This is entirely another issue that could be debated and questioned for days. Also, how come all major musical acts bypass cambodia and tour neighboring countries ?
The avoidance of these issues are preventing Cambodia from assimilating into the global economy and environment which is causing greater hardship and further stratification amongst the society. By not shedding a light in attempt to improve the situation, you are only further exacerbating the situation. Many people unfortunately don’t understand their actions due to the fact that it is so widespread and culturally accepted. Education and acknowledgement of these issues would do far greater good than the protection and dismissal of these atrocities.
Aaron my boy, is laboring for money a slavery? Is hawking for customers to ride their tuktuk an harassment if the persons they yell to are female?
musical acts are businesses and they won’t come to Cambodia if there is no market for it. It’s not that difficult to figure it out.
MDB, you’re getting warmer big boy. And Why is there no market for musical acts and businesses here ?