MAROONED!
on So Now It's Cambodia (Cambodia), 28/Oct/2010 13:58, 34 days ago
One of the things they were keen to emphasise in our training in England was for volunteers to reassure family and friends that we had had health and safety training and that there were systems in place so we were to tell them not to worry as we would look after ourselves!Unfortunately, that training didn’t include how to cross the road in Phnom Penh without breaking your ankle! It also didn’t include anticipating which sockets will give an electric shock! I received another shock in the Pavilion Hotel Phnom Penh recently. I found one bedside light was a bit dodgy so went to turn on the other one but found it wasn’t plugged in. So I plugged it into the extension only to receive a similar shock to the one I received in Kampong Cham during language training. It was - well – a bit of a shock!Marooned? Well not quite! The flooding in our area has to be seen to be believed! It’s weird because we’ve hardly seen rain for a week – so cause for celebration – but there has been water pouring in from Thailand and to some extent from Vietnam. This has really pushed things over the edge. Apparently, thia is partly due to Thailand opening sluice gates from reservoirs thussending us their extra water!It’s even been reported in the Phnom Penh Post. So far ,our house and road hasn’t been affected but the road outside the hospital in Mongkul Borei has been – Alison even saw people fishing there! In fact, this random fishing is quite a feature of the floods. The road between Mongkul Borei and Sisophon has been badly affected. We drove on it in our taxi to go to Siem Reap. It’s incredible – there’s even little waves running along the road. They’ve stopped all lorries and buses from using it and mini bus and tuk tuk links have been set up to connect the two towns. The water is easilyup to hub caps - it is passable with care.There are loads of buses parked at the end of our road so it looks like a bus station and lorries just waiting along the road until they are told they can move.I think I mentioned last time that people are being displaced because of this but it was worse than I’d realised. On our drive we saw many improvised shelters of wooden poles and plastic sheets by the side of the road - a series of mini refugee camps really. A very sorry situation for many. Even so, the fishing in random places and the swimming continues. Unfortunately, the papers have reported 8deaths and a 6 year old drowned near our town when he was swept away by the current in deeper waters. At least there are colourful lifejackets for sale in Sisophon - a bizarre sight here.The national paper reported that if flooding continued that everyone in Mongkul Borei would have to leave their homes. We think this is over dramatic but we can’t know for sure. However, the waters are receding, only to reveal badly damaged roads. The main tourist road is in good condition but the other roads are diabolical – just so broken up and puddles everywhere. The local roads needed improving before this but they seem to have an even bigger jobnow……When I read about the earthquake and Tsunami in Sumatra I’m glad we didn’t go to Indonesia because there is always that possibility as the islands are so vulnerable. Seeing the flooding here at first hand makes me realise just how finely balanced these eco systems are. We’ve seen beautiful swaves of green fields full of rice but some of that has been rendered useless by the flooding – how many livelihoods are affected by this it’s hard to imagine and after all that back breaking work planting etc. One of the issues is that small holders get loans to buy seeds etc. and expect to pay it back with the sale of their yield. If the yield is rotten they won’t be able to pay back the loan – so more problems…..We’ve also been informed by our landlord that they have to repair electricity lines damaged by the flooding so we could be disconnected for up to a week while they do this! I am not convinced this is accurate information but the idea of no electricity doesn’t sound too good - how would I play my electric piano??!! Anyway, he has told us we’ll have a day or two’s notice- let’s hope!It’s been a busy and interesting week so I’ll write about that in another post. Meanwhile, we are going to Bangkok on Saturday to meet Ollie and his friend Sarah when they fly out from England for a month or so’s travelling before going to work in Beijing. Thailand (including Bangkok) have theirshare of flooding problems so let’s hope we can get to Bangkok ok!