Cambodia People's Party HQ. Although Cambodia has a King who's final endorsement is required for important issues, the country still has a democratic system with several political parties but largely controlled by the CPP
Published June 1, 2014, last updated on June 3, 2020 under Voices of DGHI
I'd been preparing for this for a long time so I was more than excited to disembark from my plane only to be greeted by a sneering immigration official who quickly ushered me to an aisle different from my fellow passengers.
"Oh boy!" I thought.
What followed was a series of interrogations by different officials who made no efforts to feign their suspicions of the purpose of my visit. They couldn't quite take in that my passport was Kenyan yet I claimed to be a student from a US institution. They challenged my claims and at that point I was glad that I had prepared very well for such an eventuality. I handed them my I-20, student ID and my local supervisor's contact information. They then proceeded to call him to verify my information while I sat on the side -in basically no man's land for I was neither inside nor outside Cambodia- waiting for my supervisor to come.
The officers confirmed my identity and intentions for visiting Cambodia but soon notified me that they would only let me stay in the country for four weeks. At this point I was nearing defeat. I'd been traveling for 30+ hours and was exhausted. Even more irksome was the fact that I couldn't communicate very clearly yet I knew I couldn't just sit there. I began to negotiate a longer stay in as clear and as respectful a way as I could muster. They wouldn't budge. So I sat down again- hoping and praying things would pan out well. They had to! I had 12 weeks worth of data to collect!
About an hour or so later my supervisor arrived. He spoke in Khmer to the officials, negotiating a longer stay and signing an affidavit of support that was delivered to the police station next door and before long we were in our way.To say that I was relieved would be an understatement! I was finally IN Cambodia!
Outside the airport, it was raining heavily and the streets were flooded. People were knee-deep in murky brown water, making their way through chaotic traffic populated by a sea of motorbikes, scooters, tuk tuks and trucks. At one point our tuk tuk made a sharp turn to avoid another speeding motorists and almost turned over! It was quite the scare! Despite the chaos, I eagerly took in the sights and sounds of Phnom Penh. Pedestrians milled about not minding the rain or the flooded streets, little children played in overflowing drains, shop owners and peddlers continued with their work as if the rain were a mere nuisance. Buildings were nestled close to each other with power lines sagging dangerously between less-than-vertical electric posts. I counted many golden temples as we drove past until I could count no more. I took a deep waft of the air- it smelled of fried fish. I nodded and smiled at surprised Khmer faces. I was finally in Cambodia!
At the hotel, I spent a few hours reflecting on my Cambodia welcome. Those first few hours made me realize that not many Africans travel to Cambodia and when they do they are regarded with suspicion. I thought about how many others like me had travelled the same road. Were there many others? I thought about my future in a global health after I graduate from the Master of Science in Global Health program. I thought about the cultural, social, political and perhaps even diplomatic hurdles that I would have to overcome. I allowed myself to accept that some of my challenges would be racially motivated. I allowed myself to be angry about that fact for a minute or two because at the airport I had stayed very calm and pleasant to ensure that the negotiation did not go south. I allowed myself to remember, "Why Global Health?" Then I reminded myself why I had made the decision to come to Cambodia:
