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By
: Prak Chan Thul, Picture by : Chan Thul & T. Sinath.
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Most people have
to struggle a bit in life - it's unavoidable. Both poor
and wealthy people have their own difficulties to deal
with.
But it's not hard to see that the problems facing rich
people are not quite as grave as the ones the poor have
to deal with. Few wealthy people moan about how much money
they have, or say " Oh, I am very rich and lead a
very arduous life." Well, maybe they do, as we all
know money is not a source of happiness.
Anyway, the poor have some pretty heavy things to deal
with. This was made clear to me when I chatted with some
fishermen on the Tonle Sap Lake - it revealed how many
difficulties fishermen in Cambodia have to deal with.
Taking the ferry across the Tonle Sap Lake only costs
1000 riel for a return ticket, and the ride is enjoyable,
especially with the waves gently lapping against the side
of the boat. But the weather was a little bit hot; foreigners
would enjoy this kind of belting sunshine, but most Cambodians
would be keen to get to the other shore and under some
shade.
After just a few minutes out on the water, I met a fisherman
who seemed quite excited and |
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55 year-old Soh Min returning to shore
with a miserable catch for that morning and his son
at the stern.
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enthusiastic about
talking to me. We began to chat, while I perched on the
prow of his fishing boat under the very nice sunshine
that the fisherman has to work in every day.
"Oh, it's boring to be here every day," said
the fisherman, a 57-year-old Muslim called Sman Seles.
"But four children are waiting for me to bring home
food," he added.
Fish is a very important source of nourishment for Cambodian
people, but the people who catch and sell fish do not
earn a good wage, and so are not very highly thought of.
Many fishermen are poor. Some take the job of fishing
because they have no choice; their ancestors gave them
their career as a fisherman. Few are well enough educated
to do any other job.
Well, I think the truth is, people shouldn't just take
a job because their ancestors told them to. People do
have choices in life - how can you survive on 5000 riel
a day? Of course, people do survive, but they live trapped
in poverty, like many people in this country.
"I want all my children to be at school instead of
following me to fish, but I don't have enough |
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A fisherman’s entire family helping
to clean the boat.
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money to send them,"
Seles said.
Another problem facing the fishermen here is the breeding
season, when fishing is forbidden in certain areas of
the lake. "The fishing season is closed from June
till October every year," said Soh Min, a 55 year-old
Muslim fisherman.
The closed area begins in Kampong Chhnang province and
carries on up to the Tonle Bassac River in Phnom Penh.
Anyone who tries to fish this area during the breeding
season will be fined or jailed. Many fishermen face a
crisis during these months, as they are left with no source
of food or income.
Fishery officials banned fishing during the months in
which fish breed, in order to protect young fish from
being caught. Fish stocks in Cambodia are declining rapidly
because of illegal fishing and environmental pollution
around the lake.
But this doesn't mean much to Soh Min - all he knows is
that his children go hungry during the breeding season.
"Fishermen should be allowed to fish regardless of
open or closed season, |
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Sman Seles mending a fish trap.
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because they depend
on fishing," he complained.
Fishermen can get between 1500 and 2000 riels per kilogram
of fish. Sometimes fishermen take their fish to sell at
the market themselves - it depends on the quantity of
fish they get. If they have caught a lot of fish, they
normally sell it themselves.
The Tonle Sap Lake is well known as a very valuable life-source
for Cambodian people. It provides not only fish, but water
to irrigation a large part of the country too. It is divided
into three areas: the muddy area, and the big and small
lakes. During the dry season, the lake covers an area
3,000 kilometers-square and 1-2 meters deep. During the
rainy season, the water rises up to 10 meters deep and
covers 10,000 square kilometers. The lake is filled by
the waters of several different rivers; the longest is
the Stung Sen River, which flows across Kampong Thom province.
The Tonle Sap Lake has fed Cambodian people for thousands
of years, and it also plays an important role in Cambodia's
economy. The government earns important tax revenue from
fishing activities, like the sale of fishing lots and
fish exports. The amount of fish taken from the lake is
not supposed to be more than 100,000 tons per year.
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The morning’s catch for that
one lucky fisherman.
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There are more
than one million people living around the Tonle Sap Lake,
and about 280 different kinds of fish living in its waters.
One Cambodian eats approximately 67 kilograms of fish
per year.
People who live around the lake have to be flexible: when
the water declines in the dry season, they move their
houseboats or floating houses near the shore of the lake.
They can feed their animals from the young fresh grass
growing on the shoreline, and grow vegetables too. When
the water rises, people return to their fishing work as
usual, letting their homes drift out in the wide waters.
Being a fisherman is not a relaxing job, like growing
rice. Rice-farmers only have to harvest once or twice
a year, and then have enough food to live off for the
whole year. Fishermen need to fish every day, since they
can only catch one day's food at a time. If they don't
go fishing one day, they will have nothing to eat.
Fishermen have to face not only economic crises, but life-crises
as well. They spend all day and all night on the sea,
or lake, or river, for just a small amount of fish. Some
die when big |
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A satisfied fisherman setting aside
and cleaning a few fish for his own lunch.
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storms blow their
boats over - although statistics show that work-related
deaths among fishermen are not as common as among robbers
or criminals.
Being a fisherman is sometimes pleasant, since at least
people perceive them to be good citizens. People have
different views about careers: some people don't like
hard work, but prefer a job that gives them easy money
- like robbery or destroying other people's property and
happiness. Our Lord Buddha said, "Do good, receive
good." No matter how menial your job may be, the
main thing is that you are creating good karma. The lives
of Sman Seles and Soh Mean are good models for all of
us to follow. Their families lead peaceful lives, and
their minds are calm because they have not committed any
sins.
Being a less-respected worker is a hard feeling to bear,
but life is a struggle for everybody - just in different
ways.
Just take the two fishermen, Sman Seles and Soh Min. They
both agreed: "We do have the |
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Selling the catch to a buyer waiting
at the shore.
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the choice to do
something instead of fishing, but what else we can do?
Our education is considerably low."
These two fishermen show the Cambodian spirit well: their
lives are a struggle, but they live without complaining
about nature or society. Each is successful in life because
of his own accomplishments and commitments. |
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A fisherman keeping his net.
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B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
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