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Welcome to the page where you get to meet some of the people I've met in the last few months, here in Phnom Penh. This
page will feature some of my favourite people, and I give them a chance to say a little about themselves. This could be really
boring or be a success but i am certain will evolve in time. I will add to it as I meet more interesting people...so
here goes.
The first profile is that of a man who calls himself Ramon, not a very Cambodian name but his Khmer name sounds
similar and he adopted it. Ramon works as a motodup driver at a guesthouse I stayed at from Januaury - March 2005. He
is in his mid forties and therefore missed most of his education when the Khmer Rouge came to power. Ramon is one of the sweetest,
humble and most gentle people you could wish to meet and also one of the safest drivers I know. It was he who found the
contact for me to move to my current apartment. Sadly, his work as a driver doesn't really earn enough for him to treat his
three young children to much and just about pays for them to eat. He dreams of winning the lottery so he can also look after
his extended family. I don't see a great deal of him these days but am always guaranteed a warm welcome and a big hug.
As if his life wasn't tough enough, I recently gave him an old West Ham shirt, which as you can see, fits his athletic frame
very well.
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| Ramon - a lovely man and new West Ham supporter |
The next person I would like you to meet is 33 year old Hang, also a motodup driver. He takes me to work and picks
me up everyday, though he is not as good a driver as Ramon - he often completely forgets to look anywhere else but
in front of him, much to my consternation. Amazingly, just three years old when the KR came to power, he survived - and tough
times in refugee camps for years after. As a result of having absoloutely no education, driving is one of the few options
open to him but hardly guarantees a steady income. Some days he will earn just a few thousand Riel, maybe $1.25 or so. He
also has an annoying habit of trying to teach me Khmer as he drives along, which means that he takes his eyes off the road!
Still, its the thought that counts? If you ever come to PP, you will find him outside La Croisette, along the riverside...with
several other drivers desperate to find work. Like many people here, he doesnt think so far ahead ín his life - very hard
to when you are so poor. Taking care of today takes all his energy.
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| Hang - motodup driver and part time teacher of Khmer! |
This young man is 20 years old, though he looks far younger and calls himself Michael. I first met him four years ago
selling newspapers and magazines to tourists along the riverside. Disabled from a young age, he is partially paralysed on
his right side and has a speech impediment. Despite a poor education he taught himself English and has proven to be a sharp
operator! I referred to him in an email earlier this year, as the young man with a sparkle in his eyes. He is very protective
of some of his younger street friends and a well known charicter around here. Occasionally he spots and joins me for
dinner and tries to sell me copies of outdated TIME magazine - which I do, most of the time. He sleeps on the same street
along the riverside where he has slept for years, washing at a municipal hosepipe, keeping his clothes at the local laundry.
When you look in the dictionary for the definition of 'triumphing over adversity', it should feature Michael. A true survivor.
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| Michael - newspaper seller and occasional dinner guest! |
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