Border Trouble 3 - The Telethon

You can't help but be plugged into the recent issues at the border. Everyone is talking about it, and they have lots of news stories. I'm convinced that this is the first real "Nationalist" issue that people have rallied around since before the Khmer Rouge. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is behind the Cambodian government on this issue. Plus, there's a deep seeded rivalry between the two countries. Most local people aren't too fond of their Thai neighbors.

I noticed watching the live kickboxing match (it's the popular thing for the drivers, so I often join in to see what they are chatting about), that the TV station had co-opted about 1/3 of the bottom of the screen with phone numbers. They also would cut away from both the action and the commercials (which is quite significant here), to show pictures of people answering phones.

It turns out they are taking donations for the Cambodian Army. People are giving money to help support their troops at the border. Apparently they are raising over $35,000 a day. That's a monsterous sum for people here. If you earn around $200 a month, you are doing well.

So the politicians are shaking hands and making nice for the cameras. All the while Cambodia is awakening to a new type of pride: Nationalism.

Hopefully the ghosts of the past will remind them how this emotion can turn ugly.