Thu, Jul 27, 2000 page2

• Taiwan's angels of mercy in Cambodia

  In stark contrast to Taiwanese who invest in Cambodia to exploit cheap labor, a Taiwan-based organization called TOPS has dedicated itself to relief and educational work in some of the country's most underprivileged areas

  • By Liu Shao-hua / STAFF REPORTER
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  They are Taiwan's conscience in Cambodia," a Taiwanese businessman investing in Cambodia said of a group of Taiwanese aid workers.

  This group, Taipei Overseas Peace Service (TOPS, 台北海外和平服務團), is the first Taiwan-based non-governmental organization which has committed itself to Cambodia for the long-term.

  In contrast to the pursuit of wealth undertaken by the majority of Taiwanese in Cambodia, TOPS volunteers work to assist development in the country without a financial reward but "a much better sense of achievement," said Sylvia Lin, who is currently the director of TOPS in Cambodia.

  

  Foreign aid organizations say that education is the key for ensuring success on the rocky road to development in Cambodia, a nation where 61 percent of parents think it is more important to educate boys than girls, a scenario that has been termed the "feminization of poverty."

  PHOTO: LIU SHAO-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES

  TOPS has been dedicated to development work in Indochina for the last 20 years. At present, apart from the programs it has running in Cambodia, it is involved with Karen refugees in remote villages in northern Thailand.

  TOPS has also operated in Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya where it was engaged in post-war reconstruction work between 1994 and 1996.

  Mekong Slum

  "When I see that these children can read and write, I feel very happy and satisfied," said Tsai Mong-chi, who is working on a literacy project in village No. 5 around Neak Loeung ferry in Cambodia's Prey Veng Province.

  This village is a slum near the Mekong River, around two hours east of Phnom Penh. There is no bridge linking the two banks of the Mekong River. Two huge boats carry thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles every day to and from the Neak Loeung ferry terminal.

  It is one of the busiest places along the Cambodian Mekong, a spot crowded with multifarious characters from all walks of Cambodian life and foreign tourists en route to Vietnam.

  Pickup trucks belonging to the UN or NGOs operating in the area are also to be seen here as are larger trucks loaded with food from the UN's World Food Programme, which often board the ferry here on their way to deliver food to disadvantaged rural places nearby.

  The pickup truck owned by TOPS is also one of the frequent users of the ferry.

  Fifteen minutes away from the ferry is village No. 5. There are around 3,000 residents in this poverty-stricken village. Having five to six children in a family is commonplace in rural areas due to the lack of education about family planning.

  Most of the villagers migrated from desperate neighboring provinces in the hopes of crossing the river into Phnom Penh to seek a better life, but later found a better life was a cruel illusion and then settled down in this arid and empty land.

  All the houses in this village are built of bamboo, wood and palm tree leaves, which give little protection during the rainy season from May to October. This kind of house is very common in rural places in Cambodia, whose leaf roofs are seen by aid workers as one of the most open manifestations of poverty. Those who can afford it tend to have wood and red tiled roofs.

  Education the key

  More than half the children and adults in this village are illiterate. The drop-out rate is around 12 percent for grade one and 18 percent for grade four school children. The repetition rate is nearly 40 percent for grade one.

  These staggering figures are, in this country, not unusual. According to an official report, more than 40 percent of primary school-aged children do not go to school.

  Girls face a tougher predicament than boys. An American NGO, CARE, conducted a survey in 1998 which revealed that 61 percent of parents interviewed thought education was more important for boys than girls, while 83 percent of interviewees said girls had to shoulder more domestic responsibility than boys.

  Such attitudes are particularly rife in rural places in Cambodia. Over 90 percent of this country is rural.

  Girls have to do household chores and look after their younger siblings while their parents work outside, which casts a shadow upon the future of the country. Many aid workers worry that the poor educational level of women will hold back the development prospects of the country, a scenario which has been termed the "feminization of poverty."

  Prostitution

  In village No. 5, teenage girls are seldom seen. "Most of them have been enticed to Phnom Penh to work as prostitutes," said Bunara, a Cambodian social worker at a Swiss NGO working in the village. Bunara said most of the girls were cheated by people-traffickers to travel to Phnom Penh for supposed jobs in garment factories, only to be sold to brothels in the city.

  In Cambodia, the prostitution problem is a window on the disparities between urban and rural provinces. Phnom Penh is a conglomeration of brothels and night clubs, which also attract a great deal of Vietnamese women crossing the border to earn money in Cambodia.

  Some businessmen say that prostitution is the biggest commercial activity in Cambodia. The government is thought by some to be unwilling to shut down the brothels or eliminate prostitution because if they do so, the collapse of one of the main enterprises, tourism -- with tourists mostly from neighboring countries -- will damage the country's main source of income.

  Prostitution, which has been on the increase since 1993, has become a severe social and medical problem, which the government is virtually incapable, if not unwilling, to cope with. This has caused not only the rapid spread of AIDS, but also people-trafficking around Cambodia.

  In Phnom Penh, it is estimated that four percent of the population are infected with HIV, according to a 1998 report released by the Ministry of Health.

  Education has been considered by all aid workers as essential to the development of the country. TOPS was the first organization to enter village No. 5 and provide literacy classes for 100 children aged between seven and 14 years old whoare kept out of school by poverty.

  "I hope my children can read and write, and lead a completely different life from mine," said Om Laik, sitting at the gate of his shabby house on stilts, looking older than his 41 years. "I am glad TOPS came to my village."

  TOPS cooperated with the educational authorities to organize the literacy curriculum for the village and acquire literacy textbooks published by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

  Bumpen Sawaengdee, a Thai trained by UNICEF in Thailand and now the program coordinator of TOPS' unofficial education program, is working with TOPS' Taiwanese education specialist Tsai to coordinate the training for local teachers and staff.

  In addition to the literacy project, TOPS is also running another education project -- publication of a teachers' bi-monthly magazine distributed to all primary schools nationwide.

  This project has been running for three years and has trained seven staff from the Ministry of Education. Cambodian educational authorities are expected to take over and run the project independently next year.

  Alternative Taiwanese

  One year ago, TOPS phased out two programs: a street people's center and the organization's sole Cambodian primary school cluster system, the latter of which was also running training programs for educators and administrators.

  These two programs were designated model programs by the Cambodian government.

  In the absence of official diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Cambodia, many Taiwanese ask TOPS volunteers why they are so dedicated to Cambodia.

  "Humanitarian aid breaks down national boundaries," say TOPS volunteers.

  Some Taiwanese businessmen support TOPS in various ways, ranging from small amounts of money, factory outlet clothes, shoes from their factories, and free medical treatment for certain villagers chosen by TOPS.

  "TOPS volunteers are alternative Taiwanese in Cambodia," said a Taiwanese farm owner. "They really come here to provide help instead of taking advantage of the cheap labor in this country."
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