This country profile explores the rich cultural heritage of Cambodia, while also showing a nation in rapid change as it prepares to claim its place in the advanced economies of South East Asia. A continuing theme through the book is how Cambodia can balance the demands for social equity and a sustainable civil society with its rapid economic growth. It focuses on campaigns to preserve traditional livelihoods, on efforts to deal with landmines and AIDS-related illness and initiatives to rebuild trust and to break with the nation's violent past. There are personal testimonies from six Cambodian families whose lives have been shaped by the past thirty years of conflict. This book is one of a series of introductions to developing countries, focusing on the real lives of ordinary people and the major development issues that affect them.
Learning to Trust; Cambodia today: a world of change; The history of Cambodia; Rural livelihoods at risk; Urban poverty; Women's lives; Living with landmines; Health care and education: empty promises?; Breaking the cycle of violence and mistrust; Elements of Cambodian culture; Cambodia at the crossroads; Facts and figures; Dates and events; Sources and further reading; Acknowledgements; Oxfam in Cambodia; Index