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29 Aug 2002 |
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The
rains have come late to many parts of Cambodia this year, causing widespread
drought and failure of the rice crops. It is predicted that many people
will be short of food soon. It's hard to believe that some areas are still
dry when we see the swollen waters of the Mekong - far higher than when
we arrived last October. Since many houses are surrounded by water every
year, the word "flood" is not much used, but many people have been made
homeless this last week or so as the waters have continued to rise. We can
see that the water has reached some houses, despite their being built on
stilts; small makeshift bamboo shelters have appeared along the sides of
the road to house the displaced occupants. A dozen or more such shelters
have also appeared in the playground of one of the schools we pass, and
our own Chay Voloman school has acquired its first family, complete with
herd of cows. We wonder just how official this "squatting" is and whether
anyone is making a quick buck out of others' misfortune. Although neither
the drought nor the floods are a major disaster, they are additional hardships
for the poorest people to bear . |
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