Chinese Eternity!
Chinese Eternity! LINH DINH [Phnom Penh, 11/17/23] In Sihanoukville , I was surprised to see so many Indonesian restaurants. Surely, they weren’t just there to serve tourists? It turned out many Indonesians had arrived to work for the Chinese. As employees, they’re preferred over Cambodians, just as, a century earlier, the French had to bring in Vietnamese to do both white and blue collar jobs. No two groups are equally competent or willing at any task. Somebody has to be better, if only slightly, at accounting, dishwashing, fishing, fighting, sweeping the floor, brain surgery or shooting a jump shot with a hand in one’s face. Eighteen years ago at a literary festival in Berlin, I met Indonesian writers who were very impressive and well-prepared. The Thais, too, were similarly professional. By contrast, the lone Cambodian was only interested in shopping, and she even asked our German hosts to put her up for a few more days. That’s just not done. She was at least half Chines...