Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE POLITICS OF DISASTER RELIEF
The Cambodian famine became a new front in the Cold War, as Washington and Moscow jostled for
influence from afar. As hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled to Thailand, a massive internation-
al famine relief effort, sponsored by the UN, was launched. The international community wanted to
deliver aid across a land bridge at Poipet, while the new Vietnamese-backed Phnom Penh government
wanted all supplies to come through the capital via Kompong Som (Sihanoukville) or the Mekong
River. Both sides had their reasons - the new government did not want aid to fall into the hands of its
Khmer Rouge enemies, while the international community didn't believe the new government had the
infrastructure to distribute the aid - and both fears were right.
Some agencies distributed aid the slow way through Phnom Penh, and others set up camps in Thail-
and. The camps became a magnet for half of Cambodia, as many Khmers still feared the return of the
Khmer Rouge or were seeking a new life overseas. The Thai military convinced the international com-
munity to distribute all aid through their channels and used this as a cloak to rebuild the shattered Kh-
mer Rouge forces as an effective resistance against the Vietnamese. Thailand demanded that, as a con-
dition for allowing international food aid for Cambodia to pass through its territory, food had to be
supplied to the Khmer Rouge forces encamped in the Thai border region as well. Along with
weaponry supplied by China, this international assistance was essential in enabling the Khmer Rouge
to rebuild its military strength and fight on for another two decades.
