Going home for election day

People disembarking the Neak Loeng ferry on the Prey Veng side.

A friend, his wife Sophea and baby daughter were visiting me here in Prey Veng and had planned to stay a few more days, but the baby became mildly ill, so they decided to return to Phnom Penh today, the day before the National Elections. Their driver was supposed come from Phnom Penh this morning to pick them up and should have arrived by 11AM or so, but at noon called and said he was delayed by a huge traffic back up on the Neak Loeung ferry crossing.

National Route #1 is the main road from Phnom Penh to Prey Veng province. Where it meets the Mekong River at Neak Loeung the only way across is by ferry boat, which runs non-stop all day. But today isn’t just any day. It is the day before the elections. Today many of the people who live outside their home province travel back to vote where they are registered. Hence the back-up at the Neak Loeung crossing which can be a bottleneck when traffic exceeds the capacity of the ferries.

Their car had arrived at the crossing on the other side of the river at 10AM. Two hours later he was still hundreds of vehicles back in line and was told it could be hours more. Overhearing us talk of the problem the house owner Vuthy suggested that he could drive us to Neak Loeung, only 30-40 minutes away, where they could board the ferry on foot and meet their car on the other side. Good idea.

With the sky threatening imminent rain we quickly packed everybody into the Pajero and left just as a light shower began. On the road to Neak Loeung I noticed that traffic was heavy, but I was concerned less about that than the baby who was desperately tired and acting up because she wanted her cradle from the back of the truck. Bouncing to and fro in the moving vehicle I retrieved the cumbersome cradle and straddled it across the length of the seat. Without prompting the baby crawled in and went to sleep. We were left with it balanced on our laps and trying to keep the baby from being launched from her spring loaded bed by the bobbing of the truck, but at least her fussing had stopped and allowed me sit back and watch the passing scene.

That’s when I began to notice the sheer volume of remorques and tuk-tuks and taxis and truckloads of people, and more truckloads, and more, all heading north from Neak Loeung into the province. These vehicles were chock full, I mean, absolutely brimming with people.

There’s an old joke; ‘You know how many people can fit in a Cambodian taxi? …One more.’

But not this day.

The insides of these vehicles were packed sardine tight and external passengers hung off every available projection like so many Christmas tree ornaments. They dangled from mirrors, balanced on trailer hooks, squatted on front bumpers. Not that such ridership is unusual in Cambodia, but not in this quantity. We passed a large group on foot making their way along the shoulder, and later a bus, probably theirs, upside down on the side of the road. Dozens of packed vehicles passed, and dozens more. And then it turned into an unbroken stream of people-bloated remorques, trucks and taxis. Sophea mumbled a concerned “charan” repeatedly and there were occasional 'ooos' and awed 'hmmms' from all of us. As I watched these passing masses I noticed that many of them, perhaps even most, were young women. This is worth note.

Prey Veng is a very rural province. There is no tourism or large factories. The vast majority of the resident population is in the agricultural sector - the proverbial Cambodian countryside. This is the demographic with which the CPP traditionally does very well come election time.

Of Prey Veng’s 11 seats in the National Assembly, the CPP holds 7. But the opposition also does comparatively well here, holding 3 seats. The Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) holds the one non-CPP/non-opposition seat, but the NRP is now dissolved and not participating in the election, so that seat is up for grabs. Maybe more as well.

The opposition has won its Prey Veng seats over the last two elections in part by building on the demise of FUNCINPEC which used to hold significant sway here. But perhaps more importantly, the Prey Veng countryside is the source of day laborers in Phnom Penh and large numbers of garment workers employed in the factories around Takeo, Kandal and Phnom Penh. And the factory worker vote falls very strongly on the side of the opposition parties. Those thousands of young women streaming up the road from Neak Loeung and into the countryside are likely garments workers heading home to vote, bringing their opposition leanings with them, and perhaps influencing their families who are the beneficiaries of largess sent home by their daughters in the factories. Their impact may be felt beyond the taking of that one NRP seat.

I looked down at the ill baby bouncing along in her cradle and then up at the passing flow of humanity, and I was concerned. If something goes wrong, if you need help, if you need some sort of special consideration, this is not the place to be. The roads are clogged, the authorities overwhelmed and ordinary people have there own immediate concerns. I anticipated the worst at Neak Loeung, and I worried.

My worries proved unfounded. It was traffic on the other side of the river that was backed up. On our side of the river there was a constant outpouring of people and vehicles from the ferries, but it was smooth, steady procession as people flowed straight onto the main road toward the eastern districts, or turned north at the Vietnam Monument onto the road to Prey Veng City and the northern districts.

Vuthy parked on a side road and escorted the family onto the ferry, leaving me to guard the truck. An apparently mentally disturbed street person moved into the shadow next to the truck and sat eating garbage. Disturbed, I wandered off to the ferry docks and took the above video.

Before Vuthy returned my friend called from the other side to tell me that they had gotten safely to their car and were relaxing with a cold drink before hitting the road for Phnom Penh. Shortly thereafter Vuthy emerged from the crowd and climbed into the truck. Mission accomplished. We lingered momentarily, watching the street person consume what appeared to be a light bulb, but with sunset quickly approaching we had to get on our way. Vuthy gently guided the truck through the crowds and we joined the slowly diminishing stream of north-bound vehicles heading for Prey Veng City, the deep countryside and Election Day.

A road in Prey Veng

CPP logo

This month, five years ago I drove out this same road in Prey Veng province on my way to Mesang district. This particular stretch was a red mud nightmare, deeply rutted and almost impassible in parts. Today I was surprised to find it paved and smooth, 40+ kilometers of it. Impressive...as was the massive CPP campaign parade that passed us on this road deep in the countryside. The new road must be of great benefit to the villages it connects together and to the main road. I was somewhat less surprised to see CPP campaign signs with pictures of Hun Sen juxtaposed with the new road. So was the road built by the state or the party? Hard to tell. This is how the CPP provides for its rural constituency - roads and sewers and other services ordinarily provided by the state, but apparently raining down from the party like gifts dropped from heaven by a devata. And the countryside has traditionally given its votes back to the party in appreciation for such patronage. Democracy feudal-style. Still, I wondered if the fear generated by land grabbing, and the larger youth and the factory worker vote, and the continued lack of development in health, education and poverty reduction, and the seeming generalized desire for change might offset the new road this election. Hard to tell.

Prey Veng, July 26, 2013

The Vietnamese

With the election approaching, many of the ethnic Vietnamese in Phnom Penh are expressing increasing fear – fear of racial/ethnic violence directed against them by the opposition party and/or opposition party supporters.

I first started hearing concerns over this election from the Vietnamese a couple of months ago, just small talk in the cafes. They were saying that they felt this election had more potential for anti-Vietnamese problems than any election since 1998, but the reasoning seemed non-specific at the time. In an effort to get a better handle on these fears, over the last couple of weeks since the beginning of the campaign I’ve made it a point to have my afternoon coffee at cafes in the Phsar Kandal area of Phnom Penh, (where there is a large ethnic Vietnamese population,) hoping to overhear some scuttlebutt, perhaps talk to some local Vietnamese about their fears. I got a bit of both.

It has been said that the ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia support the CPP (the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cambodian Peoples Party) because the CPP will not deport the illegal Vietnamese immigrants from the country. But to listen to the Vietnamese talk about it, while this is certainly an element, perhaps a stronger element from their point of view is that the opposition parties have always represented potential discrimination and even ethnic violence against them.

In my couple of weeks listening to the Vietnamese talk about the election, rumors have swirled and grown and are getting thicker. Though not verified, there is tell of groups of intimidating young men stopping Vietnamese appearing people in the evenings, demanding to know “what number” (which party) they support. “Number 7” is said to be the safest answer. They tell of racial epithets yelled by passing CNRP supporters, of Vietnamese caught alone after dark receiving a beat down, of women soup and egg sellers having their wares overturned and smashed by groups of young men. In light of these rumors the Vietnamese offer safety and security advice to each other: Vietnamese should not go out after dark, be careful not to get caught alone even during the day, don’t challenge them, just say “7” and keep your head down. They are also making contingency plans of where to go should widespread violence erupt, exchanging phone numbers, determining whose house is most secure, where they should gather, how they can get there, etc.

None of this should come as a surprise to Cambodia watchers. This sort of anti-Vietnamese intimidation and violence is far from unprecedented. The Vietnamese are the Khmer’s ethnic Other, the first minority group onto which blame falls during times of political and social tension.

The relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia is complicated, and traditional ethnic antagonism is deeply intertwined with historical and political animosities which are not completely unjustified, but when things turn bad in Cambodia, it is often if not always the poor, powerless ethic Vietnamese that take the violent brunt of it. They were massacred in a nationalist fury under Lon Nol in the early 70s, and again by the Khmer Rouge, not only in the late 70s when the KR were in power, but through the 80s and right up into the mid 1990s. Racially provocative rhetoric has been part-and-parcel of every Cambodian election since 1993, with the Royalist and the Sam Rainsy party leading the way in this regard. In the pre-election period of 1998, ethnic Vietnamese were assaulted and murdered in the provinces. During the post-election opposition protests of 1998, when the anti-Vietnamese rhetoric became particularly heated, there was significant anti-Vietnamese violence in Phnom Penh, including the murders of a couple of Vietnamese women, innocent street sellers, by an angry mob right in front of the French Embassy.

The Royalists (FUNCINPEC), and now the opposition party, (formerly the Sam Rainsy Party [SRP,] now the Cambodian National Rescue Party [CNRP]), have always played to the anti-Vietnamese sentiments in their election rhetoric, employing a convoluted mix of anti-government (the current government is seen to be aligned with Vietnam,) anti-immigration, nationalistic, historical and racial rhetoric. In this election (2013) the opposition has altered the rhetoric slightly, reframing much of it in terms of land issues and jobs in a seeming attempt to make it more palatable to the western press, but the underlying racial appeal remains the same, just in slightly new garb. (And, unbelievably, the international press and English press in Cambodia was apparently fooled, or perhaps indifferent, even sometimes playing into it in their reporting.)

Now, with the election nigh, even those new clothes are beginning to fall away. There are increasing reports of anti-Vietnamese sentiments being yelled from opposition party parades. And the reports are coming not just from Vietnamese but Cambodian and western observers. At Sam Rainsy’s return to the country on July 19, I heard several anti-Vietnamese chants (though interestingly it went unreported in the local English language press.) And apparently Sam Rainsy, as he stumps through the country in this final week of the campaign, has ratcheted up the anti-Vietnamese rhetoric, helping to fuel some of his supporters’ anti-Vietnamese resolve.

Many ethnic Vietnamese in Phnom Penh are scared, and justifiably so – of the increasing anti-Vietnamese fervor of this last week, and even more of what may follow the election.

Also see:
Cambodia Daily: 'In CNRP Campaign, a Subtler approach to 'Vietnamese Issue'
Cambodia Daily: 'CPP the Clear Choice for Ethnic Vietnamese Voters'

Sam Rainsy returns

Sam Rainsy returns

After 3 years abroad avoiding a politically tainted criminal conviction and sentence, last week Cambodian opposition party leader Sam Rainsy was granted a royal pardon by the king, allowing him to return to the country. Yesterday (July 19) he did just that, arriving from France by Thai Airways at the Phnom Penh International Airport at 9:05AM. Just in time for the July 28 elections in Cambodia. He was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters in what The Cambodia Daily dubbed the largest opposition rally ever in Cambodia. Estimates of the final crowd size are currently running 50,000-110,000, with it more likely closer to the top end, probably around 70,000-100,000. Tuktuks and market talk place it at an (impossible) million or more. Regardless, the turnout far exceeded the 40,000 the party was hoping for.

Tens of thousands of people awaited Sam Rainsy's arrival outside the airport, and the full length of Airport Road into town (8.5km) was lined elbow-to-elbow with supporters on one side and sometimes both sides of the road. The crowds were thicker and thinner in parts, but unbroken, sometimes as much as 2 or 3 people deep. Sam Rainsy and Ken Sokha (the party's vice) stood hand-in-hand atop a truck as they traveled from the airport to town, smiling and waving to supporters' enthusiastic cheers. Demographically, the crowds seemed overwhelmingly young (under 35,) including some monks, and though there were some rural folk there, most seemed to be urbanites.

The convoy left the airport and followed Airport Road to town, both preceded and followed by supporters, most on motorcycles or on foot. It then jogged a block north to Freedom Square where tens of thousands more were waiting, the convoy ended and Sam Rainsy addressed the crowds. The whole journey took 3-4 hours from airport to Freedom Park.

The main themes of the Airport Road crowds, repeated again and again, were "change" and "Number 7", the place of the CNRP (Sam Rainsy's party) on the ballot. (The CPP, the ruling party, holds the number 4 position on the ballot.)The general atmosphere was positive, enthusiastic, energetic, peaceful and well controlled. People yelled "Change or no change?" and others or the crowd would respond "CHANGE!" They also chanted "Change 4 to 7", "4 out, 7 in", and of course simply "Number 7!" Some added, "No corruption!", "Still poor." and "We must change the government!" Everybody flashed seven fingers. A few pockets also included some anti-Vietnamese chants such as "Vietnamese out" ('Yuon cheng') and "Change number 4, change number Vietnamese," (which rhymes in Khmer, 'Do lek buon, do lek yuon') in a reference to the ethnic Vietnamese and/or the perceived alignment of the current government with Vietnam.

Sam Rainsy is said to be planning to spend this last week before election day campaigning for the party in the provinces. He is apparently already off to Kampong Speu.

Crowds follow Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road.

Supporters lining Airport Road flash 'Number 7' 

Shot from my car window, starting in front of the Airport and traveling up Airport Road about 10 minutes ahead of the Sam Rainsy convoy.

Kem Sokha

Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy.

CNRP supporters on Airport Road.

A group of musically inclined CNRP supporters on Airport Road, awaiting Sam Rainsy's arrival.

Crowds precedes Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road.

Supporters lining Airport Road flash 'Number 7'

Throngs of supporters following the Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road..

Supporters lining Airport Road flash 'Number 7' 

Supporter on Airport Road flashes 'Number 7' 

Crowds follow Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road.

Crowds follow Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road.

Supporters lining Airport Road flash 'Number 7' 

Crowds precedes Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road.

CNRP supporter.

Supporters lining Airport Road flash 'Number 7' 

Crowds follow Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road.

Crowds follow Sam Rainsy convoy on Airport Road, nearing the city center

Supporters lining Airport Road flash 'Number 7'

Street child collects discarded plastic water bottles from CNRP crowds on Airport Road.

Practice Ballots

The Cambodia Daily today reported that government officials and party activists are going door to door in some parts of the country asking people to mark practice ballots, reportedly instructing them to tick the CPP box. The article also put “practice ballots” in scare quotes and mentioned the potentially related issue of intimidation via their use.

If, as reported in the Daily, government officials operating under color of authority are conducting practice ballot marking sessions and instructing people to mark a particular party, this is a clear violation of election law and complaints should be filed with the NEC and/or CEC. If the complaints are not properly addressed it can be held up as yet another example of the partisan bias of a CPP-stacked NEC. If, on the other hand, government officials are claiming to be acting in a personal capacity when conducting practice ballot marking sessions, this may constitute a loophole in the law which may also be better addressed by a more balanced NEC.

Nevertheless, practice ballots have been employed by party activists in every election since 1998, (perhaps 1993 as well,) and not only by the CPP. In its legitimate use, it is done to help illiterate voters and inexperienced voters identify and correctly mark their preferred party on the ballot come election day. Mismarked ballot can cost parties votes to the degree that it can even have a significant effect on the voting results. (See example below.) And, of course, if the practice marking is conducted by party activists, the activists will instruct the voter as to how to mark the ballot for their particular party. As far as I can see there is nothing illegal about this. Insofar as the CPP may be effectively using this training more than other parties, it is not something for other parties to complain about but to copy.

Regarding the possible misuse of marked mock ballots, in all previous national elections in which party activists have conducted practice ballot marking, there have never been any significant reports from observers of those marked mock ballots being used for nefarious purposes in the real election. The mock ballots almost always distort or blur the parties other than that of the activists conducting the training, and otherwise do not appear to be authentic ballots. Further, ballot box stuffing and other fraudulent practices in which some might imagine the mock ballots being used has never played a significant (if any) role in Cambodian elections.

It was also mentioned in the Daily story that some people have complained that they feel intimated by activists/government officials asking them to mark practice ballots. If it is government officials acting under color of authority, then as mentioned above, voters are entitled to feel intimidated and should file a complaint. If, on the other hand, it is merely party activists, people should simply say ‘no’ if they do not want to participate. To suggest that Cambodian voters, after 20 years of elections, are incapable of refusing to participate in partisan activities is to take a demeaning paternal attitude regarding the capability of Cambodian adults. At some point, people must be expected to stand up for themselves.

One example of how mismarked ballots can impact the election results can be found in 2003 National Assembly election in Prey Veng province. Due to the large number of parties participating in the 2003 elections, a butterfly-style ballot was employed on which two columns of parties and tick boxes appeared side by side. The mismarking of these ballots by a significant percentage of voters seems to have earned SRP an extra seat at the expense of the CPP.

The Rice Party, an obscure party that did not even campaign in Prey Veng, received an inordinately large number of votes, most likely due to the butterfly design of the ballot placing the Rice Party tick box immediately to the left of the CPP logo, apparently leading some inexperienced voters to tick the wrong box. Like other minor parties in its league, the Rice Party probably should have received less than 2000 votes, but instead got 24,891 votes, an astounding 5% of the total vote in Prey Veng. FUNCINPEC was similarly affected, with the minor party opposite FUNCINPEC on the ballot also receiving an inordinate number of votes. Also, many of the spoiled ballots had a tick for both the Rice Party and the CPP. In all likelihood almost all of the votes for the Rice Party were intended for the CPP. The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) was unaffected by similar mismarking because, just by chance of ballot design for Prey Veng province, it appeared alone with no other party next to it. This loss of votes for the CPP to the Rice Party has had a direct effect on the seat allocation. The final seat allocation was CPP (6), FUNCINPEC (3), SRP (2). But if the CPP had received only 15,000 of the Rice Party’s votes (a conservative estimate) the seat allocation would be CPP (7), FUNCINPEC (3), SRP (1). The mistaken votes for the Rice Party denied the CPP a seat and gave it to the SRP. After the election CPP party officials told me that in the future they would conduct more rigorous ballot marking practice to make sure that there would be no similar reoccurrence.

Media access and The Cambodia Daily online in Khmer

I was recently exploring the back roads of Kampot province, rice paddies, more rice paddies and the occasional little hamlet, bumping down narrow dirt roads in my beat up old Camry. Great car for rural Cambodia, but she was suffering that day. The engine was getting ready to give up the ghost 20km out in the backcountry, overheating and burning off water. Trying to get back to the main road I had to stop every couple of kilometers to refill the radiator. Midday, temp gauge topping out again, I pulled off in a village at a thatch shack full of Khmer countryguys sipping tea and coffee and watching the community TV. A no-English situation. I asked for water for the car. One guy motioned to a cistern beside the shack and handed me a scooper. "Thank you very much." But the engine was too hot and needed a few minutes to cool. I pulled up a chair, ordered a black coffee and settled in.

The guys gave me a curious glance now and again, and finally one brave soul started asking me questions (in Khmer) - the usual - what's you name, how old are you, are you married, and finally, what are you doing here? I answered in Khmer, and they understood most of what I said, but when I tried explaining that I was out there writing a piece for a travel magazine, they just didn't seem to get it. Probably my fault. I was struggling with the word for 'magazine.' Frustration building and trying to simplify things, I switched to 'newspaper,' an easy and common word. "Ahhh, cassette, cassette, ko'ot traukah cassette" ('he works for a newspaper') one guy said, and everybody seemed satisfied and went back to watching TV.

Figuring the engine was now cool enough to take water, I fetched a scoop full from the cistern and went to remove the radiator cap, but it was too hot to touch. I rummaged in my car for a rag, found an old copy of the Phnom Penh Post and used it as hand protection to remove the radiator cap. Noticing what I was doing, one of the TV watchers announced "He works for the Phnom Penh Post!" This drew everybody's attention. I tried explaining that I don't work for the Post, but nobody was listening. To my surprise, one guy was exclaiming how great the Post was, talking excitedly, "Oooo, Borei Keila, Boeung Kak, I read it in the Phnom Penh Post. Post is very good, very good. Borei Keila not good, very bad. They steal! People's houses! Post very good!" and so on. Others grunted emphatic agreements.

I wasn't surprised that they thought that the Post was good, but that back here in the middle of rural nowheresville they knew it at all. And more, that they had learned about controversial land-grabbing issues from it. And even more, that they were greatly appreciative to have that information, presumably in contrast to the say-nothing local Cambodian press.

Most of the local Cambodian press, whether government controlled or cowered into self censorship, remains almost silent on controversial issues such as land-grabbing and the attendant protests. The English language press in Cambodia (The Cambodia Daily and The Phnom Penh Post) regularly reports on these controversial topics and is largely tolerated by the government, presumably because (even in its Khmer language version) it is thought to have very little penetration into the Khmer market, especially in the countryside where most of the population resides.

For at least the last decade and a half the government has shown sensitivity to foreign news about Cambodia (especially news with a critical/anti-government lean) reaching into the countryside. As early as the 1998 election period, back when rural folk got much or most of their news from radio, I heard regular reports of village chiefs patrolling at night, listening under the thin floored stilted houses for people tuned into VOA (broadcast in Khmer), and then threatening them to turn it off. More recently, in the last commune elections (2012), for the first time ever the government ordered VOA and RFA off-the-air on election day.

Sitting back in the rural countryside 20km from the nearest paved road, and seeing the impact The Phnom Penh Post was making back there, I wondered how long the tolerance of the English language press and its unrestrained reporting could last in Cambodia. On a related note, with Internet penetration expanding exponentially and Facebook users now likely exceeding a half-million in Cambodia, I have also wondered whether the ruling party's recent paranoid-seeming tactics in the run-up to the national elections may be due in part to their fear of losing grip on the media and the flow of information in Cambodia.

Which brings me to The Cambodia Daily. The Daily, in my opinion, like most of the English language press, leans anti-government, and has been hitting hard in the last couple of months as the election approaches, (not that there is anything wrong with that in a country that supposedly enjoys freedom of the press.) Last week, the Daily launched an online version of its publication in Khmer language, free of charge, including all of its election coverage and stories critical of the ruling party and government. This is a timely and, in my opinion, gutsy move on their part, especially during this very tense pre-election period and on Internet where the government feels its media control slipping. This is also a fine example for other in-country media that self-censors for fear of reprisal. Granted, it is easier for the Daily than the Cambodian press because it is run mostly by foreigners and has far less penetration in the Khmer market, but as demonstrated by the impact of the Post deep in the country, this latter part is changing.

It will be interesting to see what happens. If the online Khmer Cambodia Daily catches on, if it begins to penetrate deeply into the Khmer market, will it face temporary suspensions during sensitive times like VOA/RFA, or worse, threats and intimidation like the Khmer press? Or will it perhaps help lead the way to a freer press in Cambodia?

The Cambodia Daily - Khmer version

LiDAR, Mahendraparvata and the Media

On June 14 and 15 the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported the high tech mapping and “discovery” of previously unknown Angkorian era ruins and extent of the the city complex of Mahendraparvata in Siem Reap province Cambodia. The discovery was made through the use of LiDAR, a laser scanning device that can provide precise landscape mapping. The overly dramatic wording of the SMH article provoked some snickers and snide comments on social media, and as the story spread to other news outlets the wording became even more dramatic, even fanciful – Mahendraparvata evolved from a “Lost City,” to a “Lost World” and even “Atlantis-like.” With that the social media jabs shifted into high gear.

On June 17 The Cambodia Daily published an article on the discoveries which seemed to imply some controversy between the archaeologists about whether the city could accurately be said to have been “discovered,” since its existence had been known for more than a century. On June 18 I noted on Twitter that the media coverage of the discovery was becoming a story in itself. But admittedly I too took a poke in this blog at the Indiana Jones-like language of the SMH article. Unfortunately, in all this chatter over how the discovery was being reported, the significance of the new archaeological work at Mahendraparvata was becoming lost.

Enter ‘Alison in Cambodia,’ an archaeologist and blogger in Cambodia who correctly brought the discussion back down to Earth. She helped refocus the discussion back on the archaeology, putting the significance of the discoveries at Mahendraparvata and the ground breaking use of LiDAR back into perspective. And in something of a scoop, she also managed to secure an extensive response from Damian Evans, the archaeologist at the center of the new discoveries, on the work at Mahendraparvata and the media uproar.

The purpose of this post is to try to bring some extra attention to these excellent blog entries by Alison in Cambodia, as well as provide links to some of the other relevant articles on the subject. Great work Alison. Thank you for helping clear the air and put the spotlight back on the science.

Alison in Cambodia: LiDAR and Lost Cities

Alison in Cambodia: “Lost Cities” and the press

SMH: Revealed: a lost city and a holy temple

SMH: Lost horizons: mediaeval city uncovered

The Age: The lost city

Phnom Penh Post: Lasers reveal Angkor city four times bigger than previously believed

The Cambodia Daily: Archaeologist Says Existence of Siem Reap Lost City Long Known

Sophat Soeung’s Connecting the Dots: Angkor’s Founding City Revealed on Mount Kulen

CSM: In Cambodia's jungles, a lost world is found

FOX News: Atlantis-like lost city unearthed in Cambodia

The Silly Season

The last couple of months have produced some particularly stupid, self-contradictory, silly and even vile comments in and about Cambodia from politicians, journalists and the like. The upcoming election has had a lot to do with it, but it hasn’t been restricted to politicians alone. Amongst the many ill-considered remarks of the last couple of months, the following are but a choice few.

“Most Cambodian men are dignified—we never have sex with minors. Only foreigners do that.” - Phay Siphan
(Cambodian government spokesman reacting to the U.S. State Department downgrade of Cambodia's ranking in its annual human trafficking report. Leaving aside the many studies showing that Cambodian men make up the vast majority of sexual abusers of children and minors in Cambodia, this statement is so counter-factual as to almost defy reasonable retort.)

"If the Khmer Rouge killed a lot of people, they would not be stupid to keep it to show to everyone, they would destroy it to eliminate evidence. I believe that it was just staged." - Kem Sokha
(Opposition candidate apparently denying that the infamous S-21 Prison [Tuol Sleng] was real, seemingly claiming it was some sort of Vietnamese propaganda invention.)

"Atlantis-like lost city unearthed in Cambodia" - FOX news
(Headline of a story about the high-tech mapping of a Angkorian era city complex in Siem Reap, which was not lost, nor unearthed and certainly not 'Atlantis-like', whatever that is supposed to mean.)

“But not only did I not authorize his arrest, I also sent other agents to go to Micasa Hotel without notifying authorities. It was like signaling to him that the authorities knew, and he escaped...So you have to remember that I helped you (Kem Sokha) by breaking the law myself.” - Prime Minister Hun Sen
(While engaging in some political mud-slinging against the opposition candidate, apparently also publicly admitting to interfering with the police in order to facilitate the escape of an alleged sex criminal.)

"Any election result would be dismissed by the CNRP" - Sam Rainsy, paraphrase by Cambodia Daily.
(After saying that his opposition party CNRP would participate in the national elections, Sam Rainsy went on to say he would reject any election result, apparently including his own electoral victory.)

"Fairfax Media recorded the discovery of the first five temples after pushing through landmine-strewn jungle, swollen rivers and bogs with the expedition on a mountain called Phnom Kulen." - Sydney Morning Herald
(Article from SMH about the high-tech mapping of a Angkorian era city complex in Siem Reap, portraying itself as some kind of journalistic Indiana Jones, presumably with bullwhip and Fedora. They managed to work in a plug for the publisher as well.) 

"I hope people in Cambodia are discussing the unfolding tragedy: Stealing a generation: Cambodia’s unfolding tragedy." - Lindsey Murdoch
(Apparently, after almost a decade of the orphanage tourism problem here in Cambodia, dozens of discussions on travel boards over the last 8 years, several articles in the Cambodia Daily over the last two and a half years, several more articles in the international press including the very often cited Al-Jazeera piece last year and, of course, the well-publicized  Childsafe 'Children are not tourist attractions' campaign launched in 2011, it was his article 2 months ago in an Australian newspaper that may finally spark discussion of this "unfolding tragedy" here in Cambodia.)

Children as tourist attractions

Tuk-tuk on Phnom Penh riverfront. Orphanages and other tourist attractions.

I have been railing online against orphanage tourism in Cambodia for almost a decade, particularly back in the mid/late-2000s when the orphanage tourism game was taking off big-time. In 2010 I posted a compilation of some of my early arguments on this blog under the post 'The Pity Industry.'

In 2011 UNICEF released a report showing a radical increase in the number of orphanages in Cambodia over the last decade and that most of the so-called 'orphans' in fact still had at least one living parent - the implication being that Cambodian orphanages had become an exploitative moneymaking business driven by foreign tourism and 'charity.' This prompted the Cambodian government to begin investigating orphanages here. Shortly thereafter the NGO Friends-International/ChildSafe launched its brilliant 'Children are not tourist attractions' campaign, which I wholeheartedly endorse. In my casual observation the word is getting out and the orphanage tourism business does seem to be leveling off, if not suffering a bit for these efforts.

Yet some people still don't get it, including some who should know better.

Two weeks ago an article appeared in Forbes online: 'Cambodia's Booming New Industry: Orphanage Tourism.' Leaving aside that the industry is not new and probably not as booming as it was, this article completely misunderstands the problem of orphanage tourism.

It casts the problem of orphanage tourism as one of holiday planning for the tourist:

"The problem is finding (an orphanage) that isn’t a scam."

Wrong. Dead wrong. The problem is not "finding an orphanage that is not a scam." The problem is orphanage tourism.

The article draws its version of the orphanage tourism problem from its formulation of the tourist's holiday dilemma:

"It’s the end of your three week vacation in Southeast Asia. You did good. You managed to hit all the locations on the backpacker’s circuit; lounging on the tropical Islands off the Thai Peninsula, experiencing the street food of Bangkok, exploring the temples of Siem Reap, and shopping on the floating markets of the Mekong River. Now, with just a few days left before your flight home, you’d like to do something selfless, something worthwhile. You decide to volunteer in one of Cambodia’s orphanages."

Herein lay the misunderstanding, (if it can be labeled a 'misunderstanding.) Cambodian orphanages and 'orphans,' i.e. children, are categorized in with street food, beaches and shopping. On this description, orphans - like gems shops and temple tours - are tourist attractions. Most travelers have heard of Thai gem scams and overpriced tuktuks and ways to avoid these scams. Similarly, for tourists the problem with orphanages becomes finding one that isn't a scam. And bizarrely, the article actually cites the 'Children are not tourist attractions' website as a guide to how to identify a ‘non-scam’ orphanage where the tourist can treat children as tourist attractions.

So let's try to be really really clear here for those who somehow missed the meaning of the name of the campaign and pretty much every bit of advice it gives. Perhaps large font, bold and all caps will help:

CHILDREN ARE NOT TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

This is a categorical statement, not one of degree, nor is it qualified. If tourists treat children as attractions, the children are tourist attractions regardless of how well they are treated, or how nice the orphanage, or how good the tourist imagines her intentions to be. Orphanage tourism, by its nature, treats children as tourist attractions.

The reasons it is bad to treat children/orphans as tourist attractions are myriad. It drives an exploitative industry, it violates the rights and privacy of the children, it endangers the children, it teaches the children the wrong message, ect. This has all been very well covered in other articles. See The Pity Industry for my take on why voluntourists are not really helping at orphanages and fueling the exploitation of children. See ChildSafe Traveler Tips to understand why orphanage tourism is both dangerous to the children and a violation of their human rights. Also see Al-Jazeera's recent report for a general look at orphanage tourism in Cambodia. And for some alternative points of view on the subject see The Cambodia Daily's 'Tourism Sector a Boon to Orphanage ‘Business’'

So, you want to visit or volunteer at an orphanage? Don't do it. Full stop. Why? Because children are not tourist attractions.

(Yes, I know that medical professionals, child care specialists, construction engineers and such can be helpful in certain special circumstances, but I'm going to skip past that because it just encourages the wrong sort to misunderstand and do the wrong thing.)

It's stuff like the contorted logic in the Forbes article that makes me question the motivations of those who would volunteer at orphanages in Cambodia. Commentators more generous than myself argue that orphanage voluntourists are well intentioned but misguided/misinformed. I have my doubts about that. I think many, even most are motivated by fad and self interest - the desire to see themselves as saviors, as heroes, to feel fulfilled, as someone who 'gives back' - with little consideration given to whether they are actually helping.

Look at the penultimate sentence in the paragraph quoted above. After listing all the fun stuff you've been doing in Southeast Asia, "now, with just a few days left before your flight home, you’d like to do something selfless, something worthwhile." It is about doing what YOU would like to do, amongst all the other stuff you liked doing. It is about the western fantasy of putting on a cape and playing superhero for a day. It is, in part, about assuaging YOUR guilt over having fun amongst the poverty that surrounded you here. It is about buying Indulgences in the form of hugging brown children. It is about treating third-world children as a means to your end. It is about you, not them. And the seeming willful blindness that allows the unambiguous meaning of five simple words - children are not tourist attractions - to be contorted into a holiday planning problem leads me to conclude the intentions of orphanage voluntourists are not good and selfless, but culpably self-serving.

Sermon over.

I also suggest reading the 'Children are not tourist attractions' website and the articles at 'Good intentions are not enough.' They are far less harsh and judgmental than me, and perhaps more convincing.

New elections, old joke

Sam Rainsy walks on water. The local Cambodian press reports nothing about it. The next day Hun Sen walks on water. The local English-language press reports: 'Hun Sen can't swim.'

Old laundry

Digging through boxes I  found a couple of old tees that I thought had long disappeared. My 'war souvenirs' from the July 1997 factional fighting in Phnom Penh (a two day military confrontation [July 5-6] between FUNCINPEC and CPP forces.) To my memory there were a few different war tees. One played on the embassies' reluctance to label the fighting a 'coup' or the assisted exodus of expats an 'evacuation.'  On the front it had a drawing of civilians running to a C-130 at the airport, entitled "This is not an evacuation." On the back it had a picture of tanks on the streets, entitled "And this is not a coup." Anyway, here's a couple of photos on my old laundry.

From my journal:

"July 13, 1997

A good end to a bad week

Last night, Saturday night, was special. The Australian ambassador (Tony Kevin) had a ‘barbie’ at his residence near Wat Phnom. The ambassador's Saturday barbie has long been a regular weekly event open to Aussies and other expats, but this week's was the first truly normal happening since the little war.

Tents were set on the lawn of the ambassador's villa, steaks and chops on the grill and a free flow of draft Angkor. Very well attended by a strange medley of embassy/NGO types, English teachers, journos and construction guys. Rain threatened but nobody seemed to care. The DG guys were there, selling tee-shirts on the side. I bought my first war-related tee:

Coup? Hunpossible!

Democracy? Sensational!

And another with "What did you get up to this weekend?" on the back and the text of the the recorded war warning from the embassy on the front.

We drank beer, socialized with expats, some of whom were actually not leaving the country, and had a generally good time that stretched into the evening. As the sun sank there was some talk of security, but the party plugged on. It was the first truly light, relaxed and encouraging moment since the fighting, and it was the first time many have been out after dark this week.

After the ambassador's party I went to the Heart of Darkness, my standard. Around 30 people were there, mostly men. Light for a Saturday but, according to Samnang, it was the first night the Heart had had any real business since the fighting. People drank and smoked and told giddy stories of ‘where I was when...’ and what’s going to happen next. Like a bunch of school boys, we were all friends last night.

As I put on a light and listened to stories passing up and down the bar, I felt...a rush. Something male, Hemingwayish and no doubt highly politically incorrect. I know it was wrong and shallow to feel this way, but...We made it! The war is definitely over. The week of hysteria is over. Everybody in the bar is a stayer. The spirit and the talk last night filled my cup."

Bridge Tower Building

Bridge Tower Building, 2008

Bridge Tower Building and Treasury Bridge (Naga Bridge), circa 1900

Originally constructed in the early 1890s, Phnom Penh's old Bridge Tower Building stood distinctively at the corner of Norodom Blvd and Street 108 until last year when it was razed to the ground by the property owner (1). It would have been nice to see this unique piece of Phnom Penh's architectural heritage preserved and restored, but it was in extremely poor condition and would have cost a small fortune to save, if possible at all. According to the Cambodia Daily (2), at the time it was razed the owner pledged to replace it with some sort of replica, but that has yet to come to pass. Yesterday the Cambodia Daily (2) reported a new building had been constructed on the site - a garishly colored piece of architectural lint slated to be an office supply store (see last photo). Regarding the promise of a replica the owner of the property plead lack of funds in yesterday's article, saying she simply couldn't afford to build a replica at this time, hinting it may happen at some time in the future. I won't be holding my breath.

As distinctive as the Bridge Tower was, there seems to be very little published on its history and fewer historic photos than other buildings and bridges of the time. It was a remnant of the Belle Époque and a particularly productive decade in the early colonial development of Phnom Penh. 

In the early 1890s Résident-supérieur Huyn de Verneville initiated several public works projects in Phnom Penh including draining wetlands by the construction of an enclosing canal around the European District centered on Wat Phnom. One leg of the canal ran about 1km from the Tonle Sap River along what is now Street 106/108. Three bridges were built over the canal including the Treasury Bridge (aka the 'Naga Bridge', so named for the naga ballustrades), which linked the European district with the Chinese/Khmer districts and formed the beginning of what is now Norodom Blvd. The canal and Treasury Bridge were completed in1893 (3). The Bridge Tower Building sat at the south end of the Treasury Bridge and was probably constructed at about the same time. Other surviving buildings of the same period include the Treasury Building on Street 106 (namesake of the Treasury Bridge,) the Post Office and the Central Police Station next to the Post Office.

The canals were filled and the bridges dismantled in the early 1930s. The canal with the Treasury Bridge became the boulevard park separating Streets 106 and 108. In 2006, naga balustrades were erected along the short stretch of Norodom Blvd between Streets 106 and 108, creating a faux Naga Bridge where the original sat.

The tower

2006

Collapsed roof

Window

Replacement building on the site of the former Bridge Tower Building. Today.

(1) 'After Demolition, Colonial Building Site to Lie Dormant', The Cambodia Daily, June 20, 2012
(2) 'Store Built in Place of Colonial Building Decried', The Cambodia Daily, May 9, 2013
(3) Phnom Penh Then and Now by Michael Igout, White Lotus Co, 1993

K440: Another Old Building Disappears
Phnom Penh Places Blog: Le Pont Des Najas or The Naga Bridge
1920 Map of Phnom Penh showing the canals around the European District

Apsara I

Wat Bo: Scenes of daily life

Wall painting of ordinary life scene in the vihear of Wat Bo, Siem Reap

Vihear (temple), Wat Bo, Siem Reap, Cambodia

I'm fascinated by the occasional representation of ordinary life that can be found in old Khmer art. Unlike the usual depictions of deities, royalty and religious tales, images of daily life (e.g. bas-reliefs of a market scene on the Angkorian-era Bayon) provide revealing glimpses into common Cambodia, the life that most people of the time knew, but was only rarely recorded for posterity. Though much more recent than the 12th century carvings on Bayon, several scenes of turn-of-the-century French colonial Cambodia are tucked amongst the century-old wall paintings of Siem Reap's Wat Bo pagoda, including the amazing tableau pictured above. Sometimes called the 'market scene,' it portrays several shops and dozens of people, many of them foreigners, involved in activities ranging from hauling water and selling silks to meeting friends and getting stoned.

Panels depicting the Reamker

Wat Bo is one of Siem Reap town's earlier pagodas, likely founded in the 18th century. (Wat Preah Prom Rath, reputedly Siem Reap's oldest, was founded in the 16th century.) The vihear of Wat Bo (the main temple building) is at least a century old, constructed with an old-style segmented roof. Like many Cambodian vihears the interior walls are adorned with paintings, but Wat Bo's paintings are quite uncommon. Instead of the usual scenes from Buddhist lore, the wall paintings of Wat Bo depict the Reamker, the Cambodian version of the classic Hindu epic the Ramayana. It is one of the few Cambodian pagodas to do so, (another being the Silver Pagoda at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.) (Harris, 2005, 'Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice', pg 90-91.) Even the presentation of the paintings is unique, displayed in quilt-like patchwork, possibly inspired by a shadow puppet presentation of the epic (Giteau, 1975, Iconographie du Cambodge post Angkorien, EFEO.) Unfortunately many of the lower panels have been damaged or even whitewashed over. Scenes of ordinary life including foreign soldiers and French officers at a traditional dance performance are primarily located along the bottom edge of the surviving paintings. The painting of the 'market scene' is placed prominently in the center of the front (east) wall, between the entrance doors, at about eye level.

Monks at Wat Bo estimate the painting to be about a hundred years old, which corresponds well with the costumes depicted. It's about a meter wide and a half-meter tall. Though sometimes referred to as the 'market scene,' it looks more like a street scene to me. The compartments in the upper half are not shaped like market stalls but like shophouses (combined shop and home) that are longer than wide. And though the presence of wares seems to indicate that they are shops, the proprietors also seem to be engaged in homey activities including grooming and smoking. The painting would appear to be a representation of a row of shophouses with proprietors (upper register,) and people passing in the street in front of the shophouses (lower register).

French soldiers from panel on east wall.

The scene appears to be set sometime between 1890 and 1920 and contains at least 34 people (more may have been painted over at the edges.) Each individual is unique and displays characteristics (dress, facial features, activity...) indicative of a particular ethnicity, profession, gender, status, etc. In an effort to understand these individual characters I met with the head monk of Wat Bo pagoda last week, Ven. Chou Lim Leang, who graciously granted me almost two hours of his time to discuss the painting. Though he didn't know the complete story, he was able to identify several characters as well as point out some of the cultural cues and indicators, (e.g. neck scarf and sampot chang kben on males indicating Khmer ethnicity,) allowing some informed speculation.

Like others, the head monk estimated the painting to be about 100 years old. He asserted that it was not a representation of some particular market or street of the time, but was rendered in the spirit, style and even time of the Reamker (or Angkor) with contemporary characters that the artist had seen in his daily life inserted into the scene. Further, that the characters were signifiers of peoples present in Cambodia at the time - Chinese, Indians, Khmer and ethnic minorities. I tend to disagree. The costumes and accoutrements (e.g. umbrellas, guns, clock) are contemporary with the artist. The architecture is not inconsistent with the artist's time. And the presence of Europeans would seem to contradict the notion that these are signifiers from a millennium ago. This is a contemporary scene.

The following descriptions of the various characters from the painting are not definitive but amount more to notes from the meeting with the head monk, talks with other monks and guides over the years, and my own speculation. I have not been able to find any significant writings on this painting but I figure there must be something on it somewhere, most likely in French. If you know of any existing papers or articles, please let me know.


Upper Register

The upper register appears to consist of a row of seven shophouses, each displaying products for sale (mostly silks/textiles), and each shop with its proprietor lounging, presumably waiting for customers and often engaged in some personal activity. Each shophouse is much longer than it is wide (like classic Southeast Asian shophouses) with tile roofs and stairs at the front leading up from the street level to the shop area. Below this register is the street scene in front of the shop houses. Above this register is a completely separate painting, part of the Ramayana story.

A: Female with fan. Selling silks/textiles. Basket or bowl on table. She is most likely Khmer or Chinese..

B: Khmer female with mirror and comb, in the act of combing her hair and gazing into mirror. Selling silks. Both finished silks and silk thread (on hook) on display. Two traditional Cambodian bowls on table. (Bowls of this design are common and can still be found in Cambodian homes.) Regarding her ethnicity, the neck scarf suggests she is Khmer.

C: Chinese male sitting and smoking opium pipe. Selling silks/textiles. The head monk suggested that there are  non-Cambodian patterns on the display silks. Oil lamp (mong son) on table. Octagonal wall clock on wall (note the face of the clock is incorrect) possibly indicating that this is a wealthy man.

D: Indian male sitting and smoking pipe. In 'Siem Reap Pagodas' (2000), Zepp suggested that this individual may be Turkish, based in part on the style of pipe. But the head monk posited that he is Indian, citing eastern dress, facial characteristics (facial hair, "sharp nose") and the presence of Indian traders in Cambodia at the time. Note the similarity between this guy and #4 in the lower register, seemingly of the same ethnicity/nationality. Selling silks/textiles. Two jars on table possibly containing other sales items and/or what ever it is he is smoking.

E: Female sitting. Hair knotted back. Ethnicity uncertain, due in part to the damage to the painting. Selling silks and possibly perfumes/fragrances. Finished silks on display. The monk noted of the patterns on the silks, suggesting Angkor-style flower-in-diamond (p'ka-chan) pattern. Two sets of two bottles each on the table, fluted and ornate design, possibly containing perfume/fragrance.

F: Male sitting and smoking pipe. Ethnicity uncertain. Eastern/Chinese shirt, smoking a southern Chinese, hilltribe or perhaps Burmese pipe (opium, tobacco, ganja?). Facial feature suggesting a possible non-Asian ethnicity. Chinese? Birman? Shan (Khmer-kola)? European? A barang 'gone native'? Selling silks/textiles. Finished silks/textiles on display.

G: Khmer female gazing into hand mirror. Selling silks. Both finished silks and silk thread (on hook) on display. Oil lamp (mong son) and bottle on table. Regarding her ethnicity, the scarf suggests Khmer ethnicity.


Lower Register

The lower register appears to be a street scene consisting of at least 27 people engaged in various activities. Several foreigners are amongst the characters including at least 3 Europeans. Many of the characters are depicted in pairs, walking, working, talking together. In some cases the characters seem placed in contrast to each other, e.g. a pair of fancy city folk next to a pair of hilltribesmen. At least one character at the edge (#1) has been painted over.

1: Khmer (?) male (?). Note what appears to be a sampot chang kben, suggesting Khmer ethnicity. Image almost totally obliterated.
2: Khmer male. Wearing a neck scarf and a sampot, suggesting Khmer ethnicity. Image is badly damaged.

3: Malay male. (Re ethnicity: note the style of hat and a male wearing a sarong.) Carrying a shoulder bag, a large umbrella with an bamboo handle and a ring of objects in the other hand, perhaps bells of keys.

4: Indian male with umbrella. Note similarities to 'D' in the upper register - dress, facial hair/features, pipe. Also see note on ethnicity in 'D' above.

5-6: Pair of Khmer males. Note neck scarf and sampot chang kben, both suggestive of Khmer ethnicity. The monk posited that the umbrellas were a indicator that they are Khmer-Kola (Shan), an ethnic minority group formerly present in western Cambodia.

7: A caucasian foreigner of some sort, likely European. Blond with facial hair. Wearing what appears to be a military uniform, but quite different from the French uniforms which are well represented in Wat Bo wall paintings (see photo of French soldiers above.) The monk suggested the red coat indicated that he is British.

8: Chinese male with shoulder stick and baskets. Note style of shirt and hat.

9: Pair of males. Ethnicity uncertain. The monk noted that the sarongs indicated that they were perhaps Malay or Cham. This pair seems unique. Though most of pairs are touching each another in some way, this is by far the closest, the most intimate embrace of them all. They are turned toward each other and may even be gazing at each other. Could this be a gay couple? Or perhaps the market "catamites" noted in Zhou Daguan's 13th century account of Angkor, 'The Customs of Cambodia'?

11-12: Pair of foreigners greeting one another. Note blond hair and mustache on #11. The monk suggests that #11 is in fact a Khmer official and that the hair color is a deterioration of the paint. I disagree. He looks clearly European to me.

13-14-15: This is either a group of three or a pair (the center and right) and a stand alone individual (the left.) The hats and style of clothing would seem to link them. It has been variously suggested that they are Europeans (based on the bowler hats), French provincial governors, and a group of Chinese men. The first time I saw this painting about 15 years ago, a young monk there specifically said that the left-hand character "is not Charlie Chaplin." I'm not sure why he said that, but once mentioned I couldn't stop noticing the resemblance - the hat, the umbrella, the pants, shoes and dark coat, the seeming little mustache. Chaplin (known as 'Cha-Lo' in Cambodia) was very popular in Cambodia and it is easy to see how someone might come to suggest this is Chaplin, or perhaps even how Chaplin's image could come to be painted on a pagoda wall amongst early 20th century characters.

16-17: Pair of French (?) soldiers, unarmed, carrying walking sticks. Though this painting is in rough shape, there are several good examples of French soldiers on the northern wall, wearing similar but not identical uniforms. (See photo of French soliers above.)

18: Uncertain. Male (?) with shoulder bag, machete (?), and walking stick.

19: Khmer (?) female with water jug (?).

20-21: Pair of hilltribesmen (ethnic minority people) with shoulder stick, carrying wild boar.

22-23: Pair of Khmer males. Note neck scarf and sampot chang kben, indicating Khmer ethicity. The monk suggests that from their dress they appear to be rich and/or city folk, in contrast to the hilltribesmen on either side of them.

24-25: Pair of hilltribesmen (ethnic minority people.) Which tribe might be identifiable by headgear and dress. One carrying a fluted bottle.

26: Uncertain. Male (or female?) carrying umbrella (and fish?). Similar hat and facial structure to 'F' in upper register?

27: Male with shoulder stick, hauling water.