The Road
on Oly's Cambodia Blog (Cambodia), 08/Sep/2011 13:59, 34 days ago
Justbefore I came to Cambodia my friend and football teammate Jules gave me a bookcalledThe Road.  It’s about the struggle for survival ina barren, post-apocolyptic wasteland. It was a nice thought, but I decided to wait until I returned fromrural, post-conflict Cambodia before reading it!Butperhaps that was a mistake:  thething I talk about, whinge about,dreamabout more than anything else here is my goddammed godforsaken road.The50km route from the provincial town of Sisophon to my village is officiallyNational Road 59 - the equivalent of an‘A’ road in the UK.Butas you leave town the tarmac abruptly becomes a derisory dirt track. A large, faded sign mockingly pronouncesthat a new highway has been funded by the Asia Development Bank, work to start in2006 and finish 2008.Infact, the running joke here is that the new road will be completed“in just twoyears”.  A rolling two years, thatis, from whenever you ask the question. It was two years when I arrived here, two years ago, and if it’s evenstarted in two years time I’ll be happy.Sowhat’s the big deal?Well,clearly the main reason to improve the road is for my personal comfort!  This is particularly the case since thesurface got so bad that even the once-a-day bus service stopped last year,apparently as the vehicles could no longer cope with the journey.  What about me?Thereare other, even more convincing arguments.  Watching poor local people strugglingthrough the waterlogged clay it’s clear a new surface would deeply improvetheir lives.  Everyone works theland, even those with other jobs. If they are lucky enough to have excess rice then they need totransport it to market.  Equally, adecent road would open up their villages to new goods and services which havenever made it up the terrible old one. Watching children struggle through the mud or market women cover their faces from the dust makes me feel wretched for what they haven’tgot.Our focus here is on maternal health,and if an expectant mother is diagnosed with a condition such as pre-eclampsia (basicallypregnancy-induced high blood pressure) then it’s vital this is recognizedand treated quickly.  Here, thiscan mean helping to prevent seizure, such as by giving magnesium sulphateinjections and avoiding stimulation. But the only cure is to have the baby.  As this is likely to be by caesarian, mothers need to betransferred to a larger hospital for this major operation.  And how to get there (still avoidingstimulation of course)?  The onlyway is in the back of our ancient ambulance, feeling every bump and rut in thehellish 50km route.  It must be anagony for a poor woman in such a condition - another compelling reason for theroad to be improved.Sadly, some of those who are meant to be helping the poor also seem to be a little shy of thepresent travel conditions.  Whereasnearby Siem Reap is heaving with well-meaning charities, very few indeed can bepersuaded to help the real poor people in my area.  Is it coincidence that they work where there are already greatnew roads which join the fancy hotels to the amazing temples?  I understand why of course - the mostimportant thing for any NGO is to ensure their shiny white four-by-fours don’tget muddy.Somuch for the poor then.  But surelythe rich dollar-earning tourists have more influence? Yousee, my road is also a key link for anyone wanting to visit the pre-Angkoriantemples at Banteay Chhmar.  The siteis being restored by the UN Heritage Fund, and there are impressive plans for a‘’community-based’’ approach to tourism there (no hotels, but rather stayingwith local people and getting an insight into how they live, eat and eventravel – courtesy of an ox-cart ride!). Butfor now, few tourists brave a 100+ kilometre round trip on bone bashing boulderswhen the alternative is the smooth, straight tarmac direct to Angkor.  Surely the tourist income will helppersuade the authorities to build a new road?Thereis one other factor:  the N59 runsparallel to the Thai border, from the south up towards the area of disputedtemples.  With a new governmenttaking power in Thailand it is hoped that the will be no more fighting– butthe military’s desire for a good transport link for troops and equipment must makeit of some strategic importance.Sowhy then does this road– my road – remain the only unpaved national road inthe whole country?Moneyis bound to be an issue– over 50kms of road doesn’t come cheap, and funding isscarce in the present economic climate. Apparently the original plan was bankrolled by Thailand, who pulled theplug when the recent fighting broke out.ButI have another theory. The people up here are close-knit, independent and proud.  The government in Phnom Penh closelyoversees roadbuilding, knowing the political value of being seen to bring newinfrastructure to a region (Prime Minister Hun Sen is said to insist onpersonally opening every new bridge and highway in the country).  So it’s simple – there’ll be a new roadjust as soon as the unruly folk of my area start voting the right way!There’san upside to all this:  a new roadwould certainly help development, but it would cause problems too.  Evidence suggests that better roadsactually lead to worse traffic problems– more people will drive cars andlorries, they will go even faster, and they will maim and kill even more people.  They will also cause more noise andpollution whilst contributing nothing to the communities they zoom past.Soas I slither along the mud track to my village backwater I know in my headthat a new road will on balance be good for the people here.  But in my heart I’m very glad that, atleast for my time here, I will enjoy the peace and safety of a car-freeexistence. Apeace I will enjoy on my balcony, watching people walk or cycle by, and readinga good book– anything other thanTheRoad!