During the holiday in July, I went to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for a 2-weeks trip. As part of the trip, I visited Ang Kor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia). As it is one of the world’s Seven Wonders, there were many tourists and, of course, many Cambodians who were trying to make a living. There were many little Cambodian kids who were trying to sell their handmade jewelleries and tourist guidebooks to the tourists. Over there, I met a very interesting little girl.
While my friend and I were resting at a drink stall, this little Cambodian girl approached us with a small pile of tourist guidebooks. She suggested us to buy a few guidebooks about Cambodia and Ang Kor Wat. (She could speak quite fluent English. In fact, the Cambodian kids that we had encountered were very capable and some could even speak a few languages so as to communicate with tourists of different nationalities.) However, we already had a guidebook (lonely planet!). My friend showed our book to her to indicate that we need not buy from her. She did not give up, and went on promoting other guidebooks to us. We insisted that we did not wish to buy and she started to question us. The little girl said demandingly, “Do you know the capital of Madagascar? If you don’t know, you must buy from me.” My friend replied, “Sorry, but we don’t need the books. We already have one.” The little girl showed anger and frustration, and said haughtily, “So you don’t know!” And, she stumped off. The truth was we really did not know the capital of Madagascar (Antananarivo, found using Google.), and we did not wish to buy any guidebooks in the first place.
It is a very common cultural norm for the children in Cambodia to sell things to tourists in order to make a living. I believe most of them are instructed to do so by the adults in their families as I had seen a mother pushing her child forward to speak to the tourist and promote the things that the child was carrying in her basket. This is their means of survival, and maybe also a form of burden on them.
However, I was kind of shocked when the little girl, that I met, reacted in the way that she had. I would not consider the above scenario as a conflict since my friend and I did not feel any displeasure. I felt that communication-wise, it was the best that we could have dealt it with. Observing the little girl showed her anger and frustration, I could guess that she was very anxious to get the business; either because she needed to account to her family or she had not managed to get any deal for a long period of time. It was a situation that, most likely, would not happen to any child in Singapore. In comparison, children in Singapore are fortunate enough to be able to live life without worrying about the money needed to survive. It is a fact that we should be appreciative of but I feel it is also a fact that many people take for granted. This could possibly be one of the greatest differences between the two cultures.
4 comments:
Thank you, Angeline, for recounting this "intercultural" experience. (I think you and your friend acted wisely.) More so even than intercultural though, maybe this could be considered "economic." Your critical analysis seems apt when you add that kids like this little girl are probably sent out by adults to sell goods and collect money. I guess it's a question of survival, as you astutely mention.
It reminds me of similar experiences, in India, Vietnam, Laos. But once, while traveling by rent-a-car with friends in Morocco, I had an experience like this "go bad." (So "beware" in your future travels!)
We drove into a small yet famous town in the mountains not far from Tangier. As soon as I pulled into a parking spot, some young boys asked me for money to "guard" the car. My friends and I hesitated. Did we really want to pay for guards? No. So I said "no thanks" and drove just down the street and parked directly in front of a place marked Police Station. That should have been okay, right?
We got out and toured the town, eventually finding a small hotel that we would stay in for several days.
We thought all was fine, then got back to the car: Ouch! We discovered that all four of the tires were flat! Then we realized that we had needed to be guarded, from our would-be protectors!
I apologize for going on with my own anecdote, but you can see how even the innocent can become less so in these situations. Be careful in the future!
Dear Angeline,
Your encounter is very interesting! Recall if you ever had the experience, when we took part in flag day, how we moaned and groaned and grumbled when people refused to donate or when the brochures we were supposed to give out are not handed out by the end of the day. We were volunteering our services, imagine if we had to do that for a living! I think not many Singaporean youngsters can withstand the pressure of not able to finish the designated task. We are so fortunate!
I have heard of many stories of young children being forced to work instead of study in order to make ends meet. I even saw such cases in Singapore!
whenever I went marketing with my parents during the weekends, I will see this particular boy aged around 10 years old sitting at a corner with a spread of raw vegetables infront of him. Pitying his plight, my parents will always buy some vegetables from him.
There was also another boy around the same age selling newspapers every morning. Sometimes, I will see his mother(dressed in latest fashion) taking money from the small boy! Since I do not know what exactly happened, I shall not make any comments on it, just that we should cherish and be contented with what we have!
Hi Brad,
Ya! All kind of situations can happen when overseas, I guess I met quite a few. Which is why, guidebooks can be useful! It works as a provider of background information of the place, people and certain behaviours. (Maybe the guidebook would have provided information on 'guarding' your rented car. :)) Sounds like I'm a promoter of guidebooks! Hahaa. Anyway, thanks for sharing your travelling story! I can't wait to travel to more places to see all the different cultures but Honours Year is a terribly busy year. I shall look forward to my graduation trip! :)
Hi Pei Rong,
Yes, I agree with you. It is important to know how to cherish what we have. As always, after returning to Singapore from my trips, I learn to cherish Singapore as a very comfortable and clean home to live in. You can't imagine my distress when I was in Phnom Penh because I think I am too spoilt in Singapore and am not able to really tolerate not-as-clean environment. It was a real cultural shock for me, indeed!
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