THE MIDWEEK MULL
The minimum read for the maximum knowledge.
If you read my last email and thought I'd be sending another one in a few days, that was a lie. It was an outright lie.
Now that I've that off my chest - welcome to Part B, aka, The Midweek Mull - an email that I send far too infrequently to a very forgiving readership.
This one is packed full of international goodness, so time to get reading!
If you can think of a friend that may enjoy the Midweek Mull, by all means, forward it on to them or have them sign up here. I am striving for it truly to be a weekly occurrence, but it may be a bit interrupted over the next month or forever.
Also, if you have any feedback or would like more of something (words?) and less of something (blatant opinions?) shoot me a line.
Let's jump in!
Jess xo
1. Hun Sen wins the recent Cambodian election
Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who has been in power for 33 years, has been voted in again in a resounding victory. The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) announced on Sunday evening that they had won about 75% of the vote in a resounding turnout.
But was it? And is it even a clean, democratic, election?
Truth be told, no.
There were several factors that made this a totalitarian election - one that many are calling 'the death of democracy' in Cambodia. In short:
The only realistic opposition party, the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved last year by the Supreme Court. Although 20 parties vied for victory in this election, many of them were linked to the CPP and most were only a few months old.
Although voter turnout was high - 80% as opposed to 68% in 2013, this is thought to be because of intimidation tactics rather than legitimate willingness to vote. Most rural Cambodians, who make up the majority of the population, were met by threats by civic officials if they did not sport an inked finger - the sign of having placed a vote.
Another sign that voter turnout may have been manipulated: several countries - including the US, Australia, Japan and some Western European nations - did not send poll-watching groups, boycotting because they knew that the election would not be credible. Although there were a few Cambodian companies that did manage poll-watching, the largest of these was run by Hun Sen's son, who openly campaigned for him.
So what does this re-election mean for the Cambodian people - and for the world? Well, in Australia there have been reports of Cambodians being threatened if they come out against the CPP. The US has, since the election, instigated sanctions against the Hun Sen government but Australia has yet to do so. In fact, in October last year, Australia strengthened ties with the CPP to create new Senior Official Talks. This came after the $40M in aid that Australia provided to Cambodia in exchange for them being a third nation of resettlement for asylum seekers that came by boat. To date, just three of the seven asylum seekers that moved to Cambodia remain, with over 500 still in Manus or Nauru.
I have not yet been to Cambodia, although I would love to go and it was next on my list (maaaaybe behind Africa again...), but what part do we as tourists play in this regime? And what part do we as democratic Australians play when our government seemingly supports authoritarians?
Keeping the peace in South East Asia is important, especially with the rise of China - but I'm not sure what the cost should be.
2. Let's talk about African Australians
If this is a bit TLDR, watch Barrie Cassidy talking about diversity in our community, and how sport and politicans react. (And what the real issue should be in the upcoming State Election).
If you are Australian, then unless you have been living under a rock, you will have heard about the scourage of 'African Gang' violence in Australia, particularly Melbourne, over the last few years. It has an interesting backstory:
This all started when Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (resident Queenslander) said back in January that Victorians were "scared to go out to restaurants because of African gangs". What this really was though, was an attack on the Labor State Government by a Liberal Federal Government in the lead up to a Victorian State Election, to be held in November of 2018.
Crime decreased in Victoria by 6.0% last year, the largest amount in 12 years, but the Opposition has made law and order one of their key platforms coming into the November election.
Dutton's comments were followed by Minister for Health (my local, and very disappointing MP) Greg Hunt saying that African crime was "out of control". To be fair, he represents the Flinders electorate (The Mornington Peninsula, Bass Shire and Philip Island) and I don't think that I saw a non-anglo person until I moved to the city when I was 18 - so I hardly think he knows much about African immigration in Victoria.
Unfortunately, this was followed by PM Malcolm Turnbull - who should know better - saying that he was "very concerned about the growing gang violence and lawlessness in Victoria". But let's stop cutting this man slack - he has been the leader of an unforgivable immigration policy, increases to emissions from big business, unforgivable action from the Big 4 Banks, a questionable (at best) grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation AND has incited racial hatred.
There was a lull in reporting from Dutton's comments (which received the mocking that they deserved) - excepting The Australian articles - until Channel 7 aired a horrifically biased and uneducated (editorialised - but also true) segment on African Gangs in the last month.
It is worth noting that back in January Police Commissioner Graham Ashton stated that there was no issue with African Gangs. Although data available until June 2017 shows that migrants from Sudan are overrepresented in crime data for serious assaults and aggravated burglary, they were responsible for far fewer incidents than Australian-born offenders. Let's also have a moment here to acknowledge that men (and women) of non-anglo appearance are more likely to be charged with crimes than their anglo equivalents, which no doubt accounts for some of the increase in numbers.
To put it into figures, for the year to June 2017 45 serious assaults were allegedly committed by Sudanese-born offenders, compared to 1,462 Australian-born offenders. BUT media reporting is incredibly biased against minorities. To quote lawyer Nyadol Nyuon, "How often do you come across a headline such as: “Caucasian man kidnapped and raped 11-year-old in Queensland"; “White man shot and killed his two children"; or "A white man raped and killed a woman"?" - despite all of these incidents occuring in recent weeks. Race is only reported on when it is a minority in order to create an 'us vs them' mentality.
So - where does this leave us?
Well, the Victorian Police have been repetitively stating that Victoria does not have a gang problem, and has been reiterating that there is no issue with Sudanese immigrants.
Laa Chol, 19, died at a house party in Melbourne at the end of July. Dutton immediately politicised her death, blaming it on warring African gangs, despite the Victorian Police denying the fact. It was the most attention any politicians have paid towards a death of a woman at the hands of a man all year. Instead of a sympathetic - or productive - response though, even Turnbull again spoke of the African Gang crisis. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews cited violence of men against women, rather than African on African crime.
There was no memorial for Laa Chol as per Eurydice Dixon. No national mourning. Perhaps that was because she was like the other 37 other women in Australia killed by men so far this year and no one cares. Perhaps it was because she was black. I suspect it was a combination of the two.
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If you're in Melbourne, have a conversation - perhaps a difficult one - with people you know that vote Liberal, to remind them that our country has been built on the shoulders of immigrants and that the South Sudanese are yet another wave - much like the Italians and Greeks after WWII, who are now so much of our proud society. If you are not indigenous, then you came here by boat - it would do us all well to remember that.
3. Zimbabwean Elections
Only a two months ago (already two months ago?!) I was in Zimbabwe, where locals were no longer afraid to speak about politics and there was hope regarding the forthcoming elections. The population was optimistic that this election would be different. That this time the government would be held to account.
Well, those elections have been and gone, and it is with a heavy heart that I report they were not the democratic examples the Zimbabwean people were hoping for. This was the first election since 1980 - 38 years - that Robert Mugabe was not on the voter's slip. But it was still the Zanu-PF Party, that of Mugabe, that won the election and voted in his former apprentice Emmerson Mnangagwa.
When I was in Zimbabwe, no money was available. I withdrew Botswanan Pula and converted it to US Dollars before crossing the border. When shopping for food, I was greeted by desperate people who wanted to pay for my groceries on card so they could have my cash. Banks allowed a maximum withdrawal of $20USD and they were all out of cash by 7 am at the latest. I purchased souvenirs of long-disposed Zimbabwean currency - notes of 200 billion that were worth only a dime. It was as though I was in an economics class, but this time it was real people who were affected by government decisions.
So what does the voting in an authoritarian regime mean for the people?
Well, Already at least six people have been declared dead from protests held on the day of the election. Even after observers from the US and the EU have raised issues, Mnangagwa will still claim power and he is backed by the British who have supported him for three-plus years.
Zimbabwe needs help to restore their economy, but the investment will be slow from democratic countries - quite rightly. In order to invest and assist, continuing violence and political games need to be overlooked. But is that the right thing to do in order to help a population out of poverty?
The more I learn about the real world - the more I realise that classroom lessons are nothing but theory.
It is probably right to continue sanctions and hold the government to account. But at what cost - what endorsement of a corrupt government - do democracies draw the line?
Recommendations
Just quickly - I have started writing about China Vs The Rest of The World (specifically Japan, US and Australia), but I thought I would send this out sooner rather than later, and that topic requires some Deep Thought. I love a bit of Deep Thought.
But it has me thinking - what other topics would you like to hear about? Is there too much Australian content - not enough Australian content? Too editorial? Not editorial enough? Feedback, people. Give me your thoughts!
But! Now on to fun things!
To read:
Ages ago I wrote Some of the Things I Have Learnt from Travelling around the world for the last two years. Give it a read.
I also loved this article from Romelu Lukaku, Belgian soccer star, released last month during the World Cup. Talking about the moment he knew - knew - he was going to make it in sport and look after his family.
To watch:
Graffiti in Warrnambool bringing two unlikely friends together. This is the most hilarious and beautiful video you'll watch all week. It's also #classicaussie.
Also to read/look at:
The Mekong Delta
As of August 7th 2018, 39 women in Australia have been killed due to domestic violence.
That is one death every 5.6 days.