Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Whether the Cambodian opposition can be a more effective vehicle for people's hopes
than Funcinpec was in the early 1990s remains an open question. But technology and
global economic integration mean that regardless of the day-to-day progress of the Cam-
bodian political dance, the country has crossed a threshold. No longer is Cambodia its
own island, inward-looking and isolated from the world. Slowly, a young population is
growing less afraid to stand up and demand change. It all points the way to a better fu-
ture—maybe not a fully democratic one, but something at least more accountable and re-
sponsive to the needs of ordinary people.
Cambodia's march toward democracy has never been inevitable. History and culture
continue to exercise their strong gravitational pull. But there is some hope that the Cam-
bodian mirage might one day flicker and fade, revealing a social landscape that is fairer
and more just. After so many dark times, the Cambodian people would deserve nothing
less.
