Not so good news

Whenever I am out and about, I like to purchase a copy of the Cambodia Daily – a local English language newspaper with a Cambodian language insert of the top stories. For 1,200 riel (30cents) I get current events and language practice in one!

News is rarely good, but Thursday’s edition disturbed me more than usual.

The front page story was headlined, “PM Bans Rice Exports in Bid To Rein in Price”. The country’s staple food has experienced a series of price rises, almost doubling in the last two months. The article also reported that in the last year, food prices increased by 20%. The price of cooking gas has doubled in the last week.

Cambodians are resilient people. Yet, these kinds of increases to basic necessities combined with already tight household income will create real suffering (not the kind that means you can no longer buy your favourite orange juice or holiday at the beach).

The Government’s response is to ban exports for two months and sell its rice reserves, mostly within Phnom Penh because of the amount of concern there (despite their higher purchasing power). No mention is made of the impact of these decisions to those in rural areas (ie 85% of the Cambodian people), except that farmers shouldn’t be too affected because it is only a short ban.

Further back in the paper was an article on the daily blackouts we have been experiencing coinciding with the HOT season. Annual demand in the capital is increasing by 10-20% - the major contributors being increased use of household appliances and the world-wide rising costs of oil encouraging factories and hotels to switch from generators to public electricity. Blackouts will continue to occur for two to three hours on the outskirts of Phnom Penh to fill in the lack of energy in central Phnom Penh.

Again, it’s another example of the rich being appeased while the poor and less powerful are left to sweat it out in the dark.

The only bright spot about all this is that I am concerned. My sleep-deprived hardened heart has softened enough to be concerned … concerned enough to make a stand. My night-waking Lion cub slept fantastically on the weekend when we stayed at an air-conditioned hotel for our team retreat. But sorry, I'm not about to install aircon at home. We’ll sweat it out so that our neighbours can have access to affordable power.

You might think I’m crazy, but our actions and consumption really do affect others. The only difference between you and me is that I know the people I am affecting.