Can We Still Love a Country…?

Loving our country is supposed to be our noble duty. But loving our country has become harder and harder to bear.

 

Under the Cambodian People's Party (CPP)'s politics of stability and peace, particularly in the period before the Cambodian–Thai border clashes of July and December 2025 and the scam scandals, it is important to acknowledge Cambodia's undeniable material transformation. The country experienced sustained economic growth, extensive infrastructure development, rapid urbanization, the construction of high-rise buildings across Phnom Penh, and major investments in transportation infrastructure, including the new Phnom Penh airport and the inauguration of the Techo Funan Canal project. At the same time, the Cambodian People's Party consolidated a political dynasty, using stability and peace as its primary narrative.

 

Yet the visible transformation of the country does not necessarily tell the whole story of how ordinary Cambodians experience security and well-being.

 

From my direct experience, economic growth and physical development have not automatically translated into greater protection from poverty, insecurity, displacement, environmental degradation, exploitation, or political repression. Cambodia's development story therefore contains a fundamental tension: the country may be more prosperous and physically developed than it was in the previous four decades, while many citizens continue to experience insecurity and suffering in their everyday lives.

 

In this context, I want to be truthful and honest, so let me ask:

 

Can we love a country where our people live in fear, threat, and intimidation?

 

Can we love a country where the gap between rich and poor is obscene — just look at the wedding ceremonies of the well-connected elite?

 

Can we love a country where our freedom to speak up is completely restricted?

 

Can we love a country where leaders oppress their own people simply for disagreeing with them?

 

Can we love a country where endemic corruption and land grabs have become the norm?

 

Can we love a country with no rule of law — only rule by one strongman?

 

Can we love a country where the law bends for the rich and powerful, but breaks the backs of ordinary citizens?

 

Can we love a country where we can be arrested and imprisoned — for "incitement" or "causing social disorder" — whenever the leadership decides, with no judge or jury to determine whether we did anything wrong?

 

Can we love a country where there is no meritocracy — only nepotism and "Kse" (strings/connections), the Khmer way of holding power?

 

Can we love a country where only the offspring of the ruling party can lead, without ever earning the people's support?

 

Can we love a country where telling the whole truth is treated as an offense against the abusers?

 

Can we love a country where a neighbor like Thailand can take our sovereign land at will?

 

Can we love a country where online scam compounds keep operating scandal after scandal, with no accountability from those at the top?

 

Can we love a country led by the same ruler, and now his son, for more than four decades?

 

I'm sure all of us hate to say it, but loving our homeland like this is starting to feel like an abused spouse still loving their abuser.

 

Sources

 

Infographics Cambodia 2025 Human Development Status

https://www.undp.org/cambodia/publications/infographics-cambodia-2025-human-development-status

 

Freedom in the World 2025: Cambodia

https://freedomhouse.org/country/cambodia/freedom-world/2025

 

NEW REPORT: Amid Unprecedented Wave of Elections, Political Violence and Armed Conflict Fueled 19th Consecutive Year of Decline in Global Freedom

https://freedomhouse.org/article/new-report-amid-unprecedented-wave-elections-political-violence-and-armed-conflict-fueled

 

World Report 2025: Cambodia Events of 2024

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/cambodia

 

Cambodia: Second Generation Systematic Country Diagnostic Update

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cambodia/publication/cambodia-systematic-country-diagnostic-update

Note: I refined this reflection with AI for grammar, word choice, and structure. The ideas and metaphor expressed here are entirely my own.

 

 

51st Anniversary of Cambodian Genocide Day of Remembrance: Lessons of Memory, Justice, and Prevention

Lessons of Memory, Justice, and Prevention

 

Today, we gather to remember and offer lessons of memory, justice, and prevention for all who come after us.

April 17, 2026, marks the 51st anniversary of the Killing Fields—one of the darkest chapters in human history and in our Cambodian story.

I stand before you not only as a speaker, but as a survivor.

Though I was not in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, my family was. My mother, two younger brothers, two younger sisters, and ten relatives were taken from us. On July 22, 1977, in Cheyo village, Chamkar Leu, Kampong Cham, they were clubbed to death and buried in a mass grave.

This is not just history to me.
It is a loss.
It is memory.
It is a wound that does not heal.

Today, we remember all who suffered—those starved, tortured, displaced, and executed in the name of an ideology that valued purity over humanity.

We know what happened.

Forced labor.
Empty cities.
Broken families.
Silence filled with fear.

As survivors, as children of survivors, as a people—we carry these truths.

But today, we must go beyond remembrance.

We must ask a harder question:
How and why was this allowed to happen?

Because remembrance without understanding is not enough.

After years of effort, millions of dollars, and limited justice, many victims are still waiting for truth, accountability, and acknowledgment. The pain did not end with the regime. In many ways, it continues.

So what must we teach the next generation?

First, autarchy and self- isolation.

The Khmer Rouge cut Cambodia off from the world in the name of self-reliance. But isolation did not bring strength—it brought suffering. When people began to starve, there was no one to help, and no one to witness.

We must teach our children:
A nation that isolates itself risks hiding injustice—from the world and from itself.

Second, the complete destruction of institutions.

Schools were closed. Religion was banned. Families were torn apart. These institutions give people identity, values, and loyalties beyond the state.

When they were destroyed, the state became everything.
And the individual became nothing.

We must teach our children:
Education, faith, family, and a free society are protections—not threats.

Third, the erasure of memory and amnesia

Books were burned. History was erased. People were forced to forget who they were.

In December 1998, former Prime Minister and former Khmer Rouge commander Hun Sen called to “dig a hole and bury the past.” We must ask: does burying the past honor victims—or silence them?

Because when people forget their past, they become easier to control.

We must teach our children:
To know their history is to protect their future.

Fourth, transgenerational resilience.

The Khmer Rouge left a legacy of trauma—but also a legacy of resilience. Survival was not only about staying alive. It was about preserving humanity in an inhumane system.

Small acts of kindness, quiet courage, shared suffering—these remind us that even in darkness, humanity endures.

We must teach our children not only what was destroyed, but what survived.

These are not just lessons about the past.
They are warnings for the future.

Genocide does not begin with killing.
It begins with ideas—unchecked and placed above human life.
It begins when institutions are weakened,
When truth is silenced,
When people are divided,
and when power goes unchallenged.

Today, we honor the victims.
Their lives. Their dignity. Their humanity.

But remembrance alone is not enough.

For victims, silence is not justice.

Silence is not peace.

It is a tool for survival.

We must seek the truth.
We must demand justice.
And we must educate the next generation—not only about what happened, but why it happened.

Because only then can we say: Never again!

Note: This speech had been refined with the help of AI to enhance clarity and flow. The ideas expressed here are entirely mine.

The Cost of Nepotism: Cambodia’s Dynastic Shift and the Erosion of Meritocracy and Democracy

Siem Reap - Svay Dangkum 22 July 2024

The Cost of Nepotism: Cambodia’s Dynastic Shift and the Erosion of Meritocracy and Democracy

Following the Supreme Court of Cambodia's 2017 dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the 2018 elections—in which former Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won all 125 seats—it is obvious that both Cambodians and the international community have portrayed my homeland as a definitive one-party state.

 

The so-called "Hun Dynasty" maintains absolute control through a family dictatorship and strategic elite marriages that prioritize bloodline loyalty over professional merit. From the military and judiciary to the media and an economy dominated by family-linked firms—valued between $500 million and $1 billion (Global Witness)—nepotism serves as the very foundation of the current regime.

 

The Consolidation of a Dynasty

 

We all know about Cambodia’s heartbreaking tragedy of the past. There is no need for me to repeat it. However, it is worth expressing and noting that while some hoped for change, the 2023 handover of power from Hun Sen to his son, Hun Manet, has only further entrenched these family ties within the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). This shift has created another non-lasting effect—a systemic pattern rather than an isolated incident.

 

With over 1,400 government posts now filled through patronage, we are witnessing the rise and consolidation of a "hereditary" government. Notable examples include:

• Prime Minister: Son Hun Manet succeeds Hun Sen.
• Minister of Interior: Son Sar Sokha succeeds Sar Kheng.
• Minister of Defense: Son Tea Seiha succeeds Tea Banh.

 

Across ministries, law enforcement, and the corporate sector, genuine talent and meritocracy are being sidelined. By filling key and vital positions mostly with sons, daughters, and relatives, the regime bolsters its grip on power, amasses wealth through cronyism, and suppresses the very dissent and fair competition necessary for national progress and democracy.

 

The High Cost of Dynastic Politics

 

While this extreme nepotism may offer the illusion of short-term stability, it poses a profound risk to Cambodia’s future. The political, economic, and social consequences are both numerous and costly:

1. Systemic Imbalance: It creates a power structure that fundamentally undermines democratic principles and stifles the rise of capable leaders outside the inner circle.
2. Institutional Corruption: It hardens a culture of inequality, where state institutions serve the interests of a few families rather than the public good.
3. Social Erosion: It fuels deep public discontent and resistance, particularly among the youth and the intellectuals. When young people see that success depends on "Who You Know" rather than "What You Know," it leads to increased social fragmentation, and a higher potential for civil unrest.

 

A Fragile Future

 

Under the weight of local (and fearful) resistance and international scrutiny, with no end in sight, the "Hun Dynasty" model risks creating a fragile, unequal, corrupt, and favoritism-prone state. Such a system is highly vulnerable to internal fractures and external pressures. Concentrated control inevitably invites abuse of power, particularly when offspring and family members in prominent positions and security roles are used to silence opposition and those who dare to stand up for what is right. Ultimately, this cycle of authoritarianism does not build a stronger Cambodia; it builds a house of cards that sacrifices medium and long-term democracy and national health for the sake of a single family’s legacy and the strengthening of a one-party state dynasty.

 

 

 

 

Note: This piece has been refined with the help of AI to enhance content flow, clarity, and readability. The insights and perspectives expressed, however, are entirely my own. 

 

Sources:

 

តើគ្រួសារនិយមក្នុងជួរថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ រារាំង ដល់ការពង្រឹងវិស័យការពារជាតិបែបណា?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVhyiq8jU6w

 

Hun Manet: In His Father’s Long Shadow

https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/in-his-fathers-long-shadow/

 

Hun Sen’s Cambodian Succession Plan Slides Into Chaos

https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/hun-sens-cambodian-succession-plan-slides-into-chaos/

 

In His Father’s Long Shadow: Hun Manet’s First Year as Cambodian Prime Minister

https://blog.bti-project.org/2024/08/15/in-his-fathers-long-shadow-hun-manets-first-year-as-cambodian-prime-minister/

 

Can Hun Sen Pass Power to His Children

https://www.cfr.org/articles/can-hun-sen-pass-power-his-children