Today is my last day in Koh Rong Sanloem before I make my way to Hanoi, Vietnam. This is one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen that remains mostly untouched by development and is seeing its share of growing pains and environmental issues that are not unique to this part of the world. Unfortunately, there is evidence that the scythes of development has already made its mark on the last bastion of calm and peace across several spots in the quieter, more up-market island of Koh Rong Samloem. It’s something that deserves another voice, so I thought I’d write about it a little bit more than the linked articles are describing.
Every night for the past week I have been awakened by some of the loudest outdoor music I have ever heard coming from The Jin Ding Hotel and Casino until about midnight. A newly opened Chinese hotel and casino on Koh Rong Sanloem. It’s this casino that has been accused of pouring raw sewage into the sea, ruining the beauty of the local beach, island resort owners are telling me. This morning, a guest of the place I have been staying, checked out early to find a more acceptable place to stay for her that might be able to block out the sound better.
Here is an example of how I witnessed corruption working…
I got pulled over on my motorbike in Thailand and was asked for my international drivers license, which I was unaware I would need and where most people do not have. I paid the $15US fine along with so many others… they were pulling over almost everyone on a motorbike directly in front of the police station and was taking money as fast as they could pull people over. I then went to a coffee shop and applied for an international drivers license and in under 2 hours I had one printed out and in my hands. This happened numerous more times to me in Thailand but, I had my license and was let go without a fine. Here in Cambodia I hear it’s much worse than in Thailand where you pay off the police officers as a “gesture” of complicity and generosity to the local economy. When I rented a motorbike in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I was told the locations of where the “sting operations” were and stayed away from them with success. This is only one example of police corruption.
What I find the most fascinating is the corruption that happens in this part of the world. Koh Rong Sanloem and Sihanoukville are prime examples. There are about 30 casinos in Sihanoukville with about 40 more being built by Chinese investors. A lot of the problem is the political corruption. ALL of the development is being completed by Chinese employees and when the casinos open the Chinese are staffing them. The costs of rooms and food at these casinos are even out of the price range of the locals. This is not bringing economic development to the people or the region. It is only padding a few peoples pockets. All of this is happening because the political system is corrupt and people are getting paid off to overlook domestic and environmental programs so only a few individuals can benefit.
This is something similar that is happening with The Jin Ding Hotel and Casino on Koh Rong Sanloem with the loud music. Domestic ordinances are in place saying any hotel that wants to have outdoor loud music events need to apply for a permit. Makes sense, right? So how do these guys get to play loud outdoor music EVERY NIGHT without recourse? Political corruption. Someone is getting paid off to overlook the issue and there isn’t much anyone can do about it… so they say.
It’s not any different than what is going on inside the United States, only it’s on a different scale. A grander scale. We all know that eating too much meat and dairy is not a good thing. And yet the U.S. government still financially subsidizes the mass production of meat/dairy products and other items that have been determined not so good for us anymore. We all know that eating more fresh fruits and vegetables is healthier and it is also what doctors tell us… to stop eating so much meat/dairy products and eat more fresh fruits/vegetables and plants. So… why isn’t our governmental money being channeled differently for the benefit of the whole now that we all realize things need to change? Because there are a few individuals in the meat/dairy industry that are currently benefiting. Something does not make sense to me. We have things backwards right now.
It brings up a question for me about morals and values. What are morals? The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy says the term morality can be used either… “descriptively to refer to some code of conduct put forward by a society or, other group, such as a religion, or accepted by an individual for his/her own behavior or: Normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.” Basically, morality is some code of conduct.
“Morals are necessary because they reflect our values which contribute to the well-being of a society as well as the individual within that society. Conversely, the lack of them can bring about the deterioration of the fabric of a society with ensuing suffering.”, Increasing Moral Development, by Sharon Quinn.
People and their governments cannot legislate or mandate morality, just take a look at the president of the united states and the questions surrounding him and that office and how it is operating right now. We cannot mandate equality or personal values or enforce them as “illegal”. There needs to be a shift in a greater group conscious. A shift in the morals and values in the greater collective that recognizes the unity of the whole, the sameness of each other and the knowing of who we really are.
Let’s take a look at the example of how casinos pop up all over the place… here in Cambodia and also in Maine and other places. There are laws that say gambling is illegal and therefore, not good for the health of the people and for the society. Yet the government says gambling is ok in some parts of the country like Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Presumably, the government says its ok after it says its not, is because gambling has always been around, and people will engage in that activity anyway. The first reason that gambling is outlawed, and the second reason has nothing to do with our health. It has to do with economics. Another way to say that is, power.
What I’m merely suggesting is that our personal agreements, collective operational codes of conduct and governmental laws be based on an ever-greater understanding and an employ a grander definition of what self-interests are and mean. What most laws are doing, is saying the most powerful among us has some sort of a vested personal interest.
I’m not saying a solution is going to be an easy one. Nor am I saying that I know of a solution that would work. I’m only asking myself some questions as I experience and discover more of the world and attempt to make myself part of world consciousness and not just my own self-centered ego driven one.
One of the basic questions I’m asking myself is: Can any of our individual self-interests ever be replaced by the best collective and common interests of humankind and the ecology of the planet? If so, how? By eliminating all separations. By constructing a new model of the world and holding it within the framework of a new collective group consciousness… knowing we are all the same… we are all brothers and sisters in the same family… connected, even if we are on opposite ends of the planet.
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