Compare that to Sihanoukville with a population of 278,259 and no up-to-date data on how many people live in poverty. The last I could find on it was from 1997 when there were half as many people and an illegible map of income per capita.
But here's some math: Sihanouk Province is 868 square kilometers, or 320.6 people per square kilometer. Siem Reap, on the other hand, is 10,299 square kilometers, or 87 people per square kilometer. It's safe to assume that Sihanoukville has at least the same percentage of people in poverty, but probably more, since most workers here are migrants from the countryside working in the factories (which account for 655,000 jobs, nationally) or in unskilled labor like construction. I've always said that Sihanoukville is like the Wild West of Cambodia. It's a kingdom of its own, within the Kingdom of Wonder.
As far as I know, we can count the number of active, registered nonprofits in Sihanoukville on one hand. In the last two years, I've always wondered why there's such a disparity in charitable work between the two provinces. Here's my professional and scientific hypothesis: Siem Reap is a better place to live.
Numbers are moot. You can just visit the two towns and see how different they are. The booming tourist economy that surrounds the Angkor Temples has turned Siem Reap, a small town, into the most cosmopolitan town in the country, after Phnom Penh. When we were there last week, I saw the road to the airport had a bike lane. A BIKE LANE. There are also 5 star hotels that contribute to a hospitality industry rivaling any First World holiday town. And don't forget the air-conditioned coffee shops. Oh, the air-conditioned coffee shops! Coffee shops as far as the eye can see!
Ask any random tourist what they think about Siem Reap. When I was visiting with a friend at Under Construction in Siem Reap's Wat Bo area, I met a middle-aged woman from Washington. She had only spent 3 days in Siem Reap, but had adamantly decided it was her favorite town in all of South East Asia. And this is AFTER visiting Saigon and Hoi An. She said the people are smiley and polite, there are lovely shops, and OH MY, the CULTURE!
I told her it's a good thing she didn't have time for Sihanoukville. She would've left with a bad taste in her mouth. In fact, a long-time Siem Reap ex-pat told me he was sad his ex-boyfriend wants to move back to Sihanoukville. Because, and I quote, "He deserves better than that town."
Back to my original point, Siem Reap's 300 NGOs aren't necessarily placed where they're most needed. They're not "being the change" -- a phrase that if I see one more time on Facebook, I'll throw my computer against a wall. They're following the change created by travel books, magazine articles, and TV shows that say everyone needs to see Angkor before they die.
Sihanoukville NEEDS change makers. We don't have ancient ruins and our beaches aren't near as nice as Thailand's to attract tourists who demand the air-conditioned coffee shops. But with the exception of a few extraordinary, patient people, charity workers who will commit a year or more of their life in the Wild Wild West are few and far between.
Sadly, with the discovery of oil near our shores, Sihnaoukville is on path to being a boomtown. But, roughnecks on oil rigs aren't usually followed by bike lanes and 5 star hotels. Instead, we'll get more human and drug trafficking, as well as corruption within our self-contained government. What do-gooder in their right mind would want to move here?
But here's some math: Sihanouk Province is 868 square kilometers, or 320.6 people per square kilometer. Siem Reap, on the other hand, is 10,299 square kilometers, or 87 people per square kilometer. It's safe to assume that Sihanoukville has at least the same percentage of people in poverty, but probably more, since most workers here are migrants from the countryside working in the factories (which account for 655,000 jobs, nationally) or in unskilled labor like construction. I've always said that Sihanoukville is like the Wild West of Cambodia. It's a kingdom of its own, within the Kingdom of Wonder.
As far as I know, we can count the number of active, registered nonprofits in Sihanoukville on one hand. In the last two years, I've always wondered why there's such a disparity in charitable work between the two provinces. Here's my professional and scientific hypothesis: Siem Reap is a better place to live.
Numbers are moot. You can just visit the two towns and see how different they are. The booming tourist economy that surrounds the Angkor Temples has turned Siem Reap, a small town, into the most cosmopolitan town in the country, after Phnom Penh. When we were there last week, I saw the road to the airport had a bike lane. A BIKE LANE. There are also 5 star hotels that contribute to a hospitality industry rivaling any First World holiday town. And don't forget the air-conditioned coffee shops. Oh, the air-conditioned coffee shops! Coffee shops as far as the eye can see!
Ask any random tourist what they think about Siem Reap. When I was visiting with a friend at Under Construction in Siem Reap's Wat Bo area, I met a middle-aged woman from Washington. She had only spent 3 days in Siem Reap, but had adamantly decided it was her favorite town in all of South East Asia. And this is AFTER visiting Saigon and Hoi An. She said the people are smiley and polite, there are lovely shops, and OH MY, the CULTURE!
I told her it's a good thing she didn't have time for Sihanoukville. She would've left with a bad taste in her mouth. In fact, a long-time Siem Reap ex-pat told me he was sad his ex-boyfriend wants to move back to Sihanoukville. Because, and I quote, "He deserves better than that town."
Back to my original point, Siem Reap's 300 NGOs aren't necessarily placed where they're most needed. They're not "being the change" -- a phrase that if I see one more time on Facebook, I'll throw my computer against a wall. They're following the change created by travel books, magazine articles, and TV shows that say everyone needs to see Angkor before they die.
Sihanoukville NEEDS change makers. We don't have ancient ruins and our beaches aren't near as nice as Thailand's to attract tourists who demand the air-conditioned coffee shops. But with the exception of a few extraordinary, patient people, charity workers who will commit a year or more of their life in the Wild Wild West are few and far between.
Sadly, with the discovery of oil near our shores, Sihnaoukville is on path to being a boomtown. But, roughnecks on oil rigs aren't usually followed by bike lanes and 5 star hotels. Instead, we'll get more human and drug trafficking, as well as corruption within our self-contained government. What do-gooder in their right mind would want to move here?
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