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Friendship Highway binds US, Cambodia
By James Borton
Unlike the
bumpy and broken history between Cambodia and the United
States, National Highway 4 is smooth and paved with
concrete goodwill.
Stretching more than 220
kilometers, and formerly called the "Khmer-American
Friendship Highway", it has withstood numerous bombings,
Khmer Rouge attacks, landmines, and now the regular
buildup of increased traffic, including an occasional
water buffalo or two, and the daily pounding of fully
loaded, brightly colored Sokimex petro-container convoys
careering along the highway between the Port of
Sihanoukville and the capital city, Phnom Penh.
"I can recall working on that road as a young,
strong laborer back in the early 1960s," said Cambodia's
senior minister of finance, Keat Chhon, from his
comfortable office in Phnom Penh.
The road
project was the single largest and most lasting
cooperative aid project undertaken between the US and
Cambodia at a time when the countryside was briefly at
peace and the living was easy under sugar-palm trees,
bamboo thickets, mangrove forests and a lush jungle
offering a profusion of lianas and orchids.
The
sunny and pollution-free seaside town of Sihanoukville
was founded by King Sihanouk in 1964 and underwent a
name change under the infamous Khmer Rouge to Kompong
Som before reverting to its original name upon the
return of the king to the country.
Almost 30
years ago, under an official United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) program, the
historical road was widened and repaved. As a result,
the National Road is the key corridor for transporting
goods and services through the region. This
reconstruction at a cost of a little less than US$30
million was a major and significant contribution to
Cambodia's reconstruction efforts since the signing of
the Paris Peace Accords in 1991.
According to a
US Embassy official, "improvement in National Highway 4
is a prerequisite for raising the standard of living in
the countryside and the economic development of the
country". Senior government officials seem quite proud
of the legacy of the US involvement in the construction
of the road from the late 1950s through the road's
renovation.
During the highway construction,
American engineers trained Cambodians to operate cranes,
graders, and bulldozers. At the time, the new road and
the Port of Sihanoukville opened up Cambodia to world
markets and provided access to areas of previously
unpopulated dense jungle and low-lying fertile rice
lands.
It was King Sihanouk who had broken off
all US military and economic aid efforts by the end of
November 1963. His actions were largely attributed to
keeping Cambodia independent as the Vietnam War widened.
By the late '60s and into the early '70s, the same
"friendship road" was used as a central transit point
for weapons delivery to enemy troops.
Not
surprisingly, between 1960 and 1962, US aid accounted
for almost 15 percent of Cambodia's revenue and
contributed to the balancing of the country's overall
budget.
In Andre Malraux's novel The Royal
Way, the character Perkin says, "I wish to leave a
scar on the landscape here." This was written almost 40
years before the United States turned these words into
reality.
After more than half a million tons of
bombs were dropped during the Vietnam War, the US
decided, perhaps facing up to some moral responsibility,
to renovate more than a road. This US aid surfaced after
Washington's repeated failure to transform the Mekong
into a river of peace, rather than the inevitable
torrent of blood.
It was an opportunity to use
US engineering to cement an old friendship, and
thousands of tons of cement were poured for to repair
destroyed or damaged bridges.
Hy Phos is a
54-year-old mother supporting her family by selling
fruits and vegetables at her roadside stand near
Sihanoukville. "This road really helps my business and
there are not as many traffic accidents," she said.
Most locals agree with her that the road is safe
- no more rebels, no more landmines, no military
checkpoints, just an occasional expat barreling down the
road back to Phnom Penh after a glorious sun-splashed
weekend holiday in the mushrooming resorts and bungalows
situated along the clean sandy beaches.
"I am
happy to return to my home country and invest in these
comfortable and charming traditional Khmer-style
bungalows in Sihanoukville," said Lina Le Winn, a
California Cambodian entrepreneur, who fled her native
country barefooted in 1975 and calls her new Khmer
resort "Malibu".
Additionally, the local roads
in Sihanoukville have been renovated and lead directly
to beach access. Most Khmers are hopeful these
infrastructure improvements will bring more tourists and
money to their small sleepy seaside village.
In
addition to Sokimex's lavish $10 million investment in a
five-star hotel and resort with a Thai partner in
Sihanoukville, the port is also gaining a much-needed
facelift thanks to Japanese investment from Marubeni
Corp. In partnership with Cambodia's Sokimex, the two
corporations are investing in the expansion of the jetty
at the port to receive 30,000-ton tankers.
"Japan has a long-term history in the region and
we are committed to providing continued support to
Cambodia," said Takashi Nakamura, Japan Bank for
International Cooperation's senior representative in
Washington.
Japan plays a constructive role in
Cambodia in line with its active economic growth and
increasing diplomatic profile. It is, after all, the
largest aid donor to Cambodia, pledging more than $138
million in 2001.
The Japanese, like the
Americans, have a moral responsibility toward the
devastated region precipitated by their occupation
during World War II. Today, the government of Cambodia
recognizes the enormous contribution made by Japan. This
includes Japan's extension of a $40 million loan last
year for the rehabilitation of the country's strategic
gateway, the Sihanoukville Port.
But despite all
the highway modernization, newly built bungalows and
resorts, and port renovation, most Sihanoukville locals
still take more solace in legend and tradition, offering
bananas and incense to Ya-Mao, the revered deity still
watching out over Cambodia's southern coast - and its
future.
(©2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
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