Courtesy of Cambodia: Details are Sketchy
April 21, 2008
Cambodian government officials often say that tourism is key to the country’s development. Surely this is not what they mean.
Thousands of tourists visiting Cambodia’s famous floating village have unwittingly spawned a new problem - floating beggars, local media reported Monday. Chong Kneas village has become a popular side trip from the tourist town of Siem Reap, 300 kilometres north of the capital, and authorities are desperate to stem the flow of intrepid beggars that have accompanied the boom, Koh Santepheap daily newspaper said.
The newspaper reported the panhandlers come by outboard, row boat and even propel themselves in plastic buckets and bathtubs to crowd cruise boats and solicit tourist cash, and it is beginning to damage the tourist industry.
[...]
Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the problem had become so severe that the issue would be discussed at a regional meeting on Siem Reap tourism issues in a fortnight.
As anecdotal evidence goes, this is a pretty good example of just how useless the Cambodian government can be. It cannot provide jobs for its citizens, so its citizens turn to begging. When the beggars start harassing the tourists, the police don’t have the resources to do their jobs — which in this case is to enforce panhandling laws — because the poverty-struck government cannot provide police departments with anything more than a few pencils and a smile.
Meanwhile, in two weeks time, those same government officials will drive their fancy Lexuses to some tacky 4-star resort in Siem Reap, gather around in the freezing air-con and stare blankly at each other wondering what the problem is, no doubt cursing the Chong Kneas beggars for having the temerity to make problems for the important people.
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