An Awkward Interaction

Time for one more blog post before I head to my gate…

One will often find young children panhandling on the streets in Cambodia. Our local Foursquare missionary and tour guide during our time in Siem Reap (Shannon) warned us in advance not to give them money or buy the little trinkets they will try to sell us because…

1. It will create the culture of begging;
2. Often they are being ‘trafficked’ by parents or non-related adults.

So, on our last night together as a team, we ventured down for dinner on Pub Street and then wandered around, perusing the various vendors, and the musicians that were there. I chose to get some rolled ice cream to try while we strolled through the ‘hood. Before long, I saw a little girl approach Riley, team logistician. He must’ve missed Shannon’s do-not-buy message, as he proceeded to buy two or three little trinkets for a dollar each from one young girl. Within moments, he was surrounded by 3 to 4 other little girls, each hoping for a quick sale like their counterpart. He tried telling them no several times, but they are PERSISTENT😣. One of them drifted over my way, probably thinking I would be an easy target. I kept repeating ‘ot te’, which is ‘no’ in Kamher. No matter which direction I turned, she remained directly in front of me. I finally held out my cup of the rolled ice cream and offered it. The young girl shook her head and went onto the next potential customer. She was quickly replaced by another young girl who held out the various items she was selling (they are all the same trinkets) saying ‘one dollar’. It hadn’t been the first time this had happened to me, so I was adamant not to buy anything from them. For Riley, it was the first time. One young girl in front of him, who must’ve only been about six or seven, began to cry. The second young girl, now in front of me, wouldn’t leave, so again, I offered my ice cream cup. She gratefully nodded her head and took it, and fortunately meandered off to eat it. By this time, the young girl in front of Riley is sobbing. It was uncomfortable because he just couldn’t get away from her. Shannon stepped into intervene at this time, and spoke firmly to her in Khmer. It did no good. Shannon told us to walk away to at least try to get out of the girl’s ‘territory’. She followed Riley for some time, until Shannon finally moved between the two of them and told her again firmly that she knew what she was doing, and it was not acceptable, and she was to leave immediately. Still sobbing loudly, the girl walked away. By then we decided we’d had enough of Pub Street, and so we headed back to the safety of the hotel.

Along with the little panhandlers, there are also multiple tuk-tuk drivers dotting the roads, offering tuk-tuk rides and tours the moment you wander near them, or out your hotel door. The gentleman who so graciously drove us to the airport on our last day in Siem Reap, was explaining that Cambodia predominantly relied on tourism dollars, and after the country’s lengthy COVID shut down that tourism rate was only up to about 45% of their normal. 😣 A sad situation for all.