http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29228359/
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This article appeared this week on MSNBC and there have been others in the Wall Street Journal and across the US. The interesting thing is that here in Cambodia no one seems to know and if they do, they don’t seem to care too much. Now granted I’m in Siem Reap and the trial is happening in Phnom Penh, but still, this isn’t OJ, no one is glued to Court TV, in fact up here it’s just another day.
I have mixed feelings about the tribunal. Part of me is glad that justice is being carried out, that these men and women who caused inexplicable pain will be held accountable. Everyday we see remnants of this brutal regime, everything from Cambodians often choosing not to wear glasses, no matter how much they are needed, to staff not wanting to stand out and be noticed or be better than anyone else, to villagers being terrified of banks and keeping their savings hidden in their homes or gold. These are leftovers from a time when being different, educated, or wealthy was a risk and a liability. In many ways Cambodia is what it is today because of the Pol Pot era. The years of civil war following the Khmer Rouge have left Cambodia behind in infrastructure, healthcare and education.
So while I do think there are many reasons, including retribution for the 2 million lost and the long felt repercussions, I also am concerned about the cost of justice. I read that the price tag for the trials is now over $100 million, mostly funded by foreign donors. To put this in perspective, that’s over a million microloans given to village entrepreneurs, it’s over 8 million people getting access to clean drinking water and it would run the Siem Reap Children’s Hospital for 50 years! So is it worth bringing 5 people to justice for this price tag?
This is why out in the village people aren’t talking about the trial, when I asked what they said is it won’t bring their loved ones back, won’t erase the memory of the hunger and the fear, won’t make up for the years lost and won’t help them in their life today. There are people that want this justice, but these aren’t the people that we know, aren’t the ones worrying about where they will find money for food or how they’ll send their kids to school. So while Duch gets all the attention and the world focuses on justice being served maybe we need to take a step back and worry that maybe, those that need the attention still aren’t getting it.