Profiling in Cambodia

I was away from my village for two weeks, a long time by rural Cambodia standards. As I was walking back from breakfast, I saw a woman and a man pushing a two-wheeled cart piled high with green bananas. I didn’t know them well, but as pretty much the only Westerner in my village – there are some creepy old guys too, but more on that later- everyone knows me.

The woman pushing the cart said she hadn’t seen me in a while and asked where I had been. I told her I was in Vietnam and Phnom Penh. She asked me if I was happy there (direct translation) then commented that I was darker than before. I responded with my usual bit about how in America, we like dark skin (I really meant being tan, but in the Khmer language you are pretty much either black or white). Like most Cambodians, she was shocked by this. She started talking about how white is so much better, then pointed to the man pushing the cart with her and said that he is not pretty because he is so dark.

My generic morning conversation embodies a broader theme in Cambodian culture: Cambodians say what they see and interpret it based on widely-held stereotypes.

Even though Cambodia is a homogeneous society (95% of the population is Khmer Buddhists) profiling is common and tears apart Cambodia’s social fabric. My friend told me that some of the darker people don’t like being in crowds because they are embarrassed about their skin.

I believe a major reason Cambodians value light skin is because it means you are not out in the fields all day. My Cambodian friend also said it is because whiter people are part Chinese and Vietnamese, so are believed to be smarter and better at business. Because of these sentiments, Cambodians like to cover their heads with scarves, wear hats and even use whitening cream.

Some of the profiling is a result of poverty and lack of education. Also, a lot of people have never learned about issues related to difference among people.

However, the culture of generalizing presents dangers to Cambodia as it develops. Cambodia has a large gap between the rich and poor for this stage in its development (wider than Thailand and Vietnam when they were at the same level). As the gap continues to widen and the rich get richer, profiling could further stratify the society, resulting in strife and a breakdown of services.

For example, skin color can increase the likelihood of being pulled over, like in America. Poor farmers, who generally have darker skin, are the ones pulled over on their motobikes for not wearing a helmet. Helmets are required by law, but the law is not well enforced outside of Phnom Penh. In the countryside, the police pull people over for not wearing a helmet, but just ask for a small bribe. They prefer to target poor people because poor people are not influential, so can be exploited. Pulling over a powerful person could mean trouble for the police officer. Skin color is probably one identifying factor in identifying the powerless.

Generalizing also affects Cambodians’ relationships with foreigners. Cambodians profile foreigners based on their appearance and it has offended a lot of people I know.

Although children yell “hello” to me as I ride my bike, until proven otherwise, I am a borang (French person). Sometimes they refer to me as boo borang, directly translated as ‘uncle Frenchy.’ They usually know that America and France are different countries, but some people have been surprised by this information.

If the villagers have met an American before, they assume I must be exactly like that American. The first time I went to have breakfast at a place the volunteer who lived in my village before me liked to go, they started giving me the food and drinks she liked before I even ordered. And if they haven’t met an American before, they assume everything I do is what all Americans like to do. It’s ironic that part of my job as a Peace Corps Volunteer is to represent diverse America in a foreign culture. Yet, a lot of them think everything I do is what all Americans like to do.

Locals also assume foreigners are rich. This makes some sense because travelers who are able to come all the way to a country like Cambodia you must have some money (and Cambodians are usually poor, so when they say rich, it’s relative). In Cambodian culture, it is not rude to ask about money. Some of the first questions I’m always asked when I meet someone is my rent, salary, parents’ salaries and how much money I spend in a month. No matter what answer I give, the questioner thinks I’m rich and that everyone in America is rich. When I go to buy something, the seller gives me a high initial price (usually double what they give Khmer people) and I have to bargain it down. In my village, they know me, so they give me the real price.

I’m almost used to the money conversation at this point. And other observations and assumptions aren’t too brutal because I’m lean and white. Usually, I’m considered handsome, but have been called fat a few times. And, despite being short in America, I’m “big” here.

It’s much more difficult for volunteers from other backgrounds. Cambodians doubt Asian-American and black volunteers are actually Americans. Some minority volunteers have even been accused by their Cambodian co-English teachers of not really knowing English. And black volunteers get told they are not pretty all the time.

Another serious problem here related to generalizing is what my American friends here term “sex-pats” (sex expatriates). These are western men, typically past their prime, who come here to pursue young Cambodian women. These men sometimes hire prostitutes or spend a lot of money to take a typical young Cambodian woman out. If couple marries, the family of the woman usually benefits financially. Two Western men men in their 50’s with wives in their 20’s live in my district. My host-dad jokes that when one of the old men dies, the Cambodian family will get all his money.

I guess we are guilty of profiling as well because we assume all old white guys with scantily clad young Cambodian girls are sex-pats. What’s worse, Cambodians not only assume the same thing, but assume that this is normal behavior in the West. Even some of my more educated, urban Cambodian friends thought this was common practice!

In the end, profiling in Cambodia affects not only their relationships with foreigners but also with each other. However, I've encountered so many friendly Cambodians that I'm confident they can overcome issues with foreigners as they become more educated and meet more foreigners. But within Cambodian society, there are values and status issues that are beyond my comprehension as an outsider. These run deep and are never openly discussed. Because of that, these issues will be more difficult to take on, but I believe education and economic development would go a long way to solve it.