Tribalism and war often go hand-in-hand, and last year’s border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand was no exception. Nationalistic rhetoric was amplified on both sides of the frontier and too often rendered any meaningful discourse as heresy.
Those who dared to offer an opinion were and still are getting whacked by the law. On that score, Cambodia’s ruling “elites” have much to answer for, after losing control of strategically important border territory to Thailand.
Licadho, a local human rights group that monitors Cambodia’s courts, has issued dispatches covering at least 20 people who have been detained, charged, and imprisoned after offending the wrong people with Facebook posts. Nearly all were regarding the conflict with Thailand.
Among them were journalists and opposition politicians but also a monk, teachers, street vendors, and salespeople – people from all walks of life who simply questioned the undeclared war.
That’s why Rin (a pseudonym) would prefer to remain anonymous while reaching out to the regional media with his efforts aimed at reducing the nationalistic claptrap that continues to erupt from both sides of the border.
He has established Apology Culture, an English-, Thai-, and Khmer-language website, and published short videos through his YouTube channel with translated subtitles.
“Most media outlets report primarily to one audience,” Rin said. “As a result, people often hear only the mistakes of the other side and rarely reflect on their own.”
Rin told The Diplomat that his purpose was not to shame either nation but to create a culture where difficult questions can be discussed without immediately being dismissed as treason.
“Just like we created sex education to manage our natural instincts, I believe we urgently need a kind of maturity education to manage our tribal instincts. Since schools aren’t teaching it, I’m trying to fill that gap through these pages,” he said.
Rin is of mixed parentage, with a Khmer mother and a Thai father, and states: “As a Cambodian, I am willing to ask: ‘Did we perhaps encroach?’ As a Thai, I am willing to ask: ‘Did we perhaps push too far?’”
From an outsider’s perspective, the answer to both questions is yes.
“Watching both sides of my family blindly consuming propaganda and attacking each other was painful. As someone who consumes narratives from both sides, I couldn’t accept this as inevitable, especially when any future conflict could cost me or my loved ones their lives,” Rin said.
The border conflict was marked by two major military clashes in July and December that ended with a ceasefire on December 27 – and there are legitimate fears that a third round of fighting is in the offing.
Online insults like “Claimbodia” – a Thai reference to Cambodian territorial claims – or, “Don’t Thai to me” – a Cambodian shorthand for Thai putdowns – are as common as the accusations and threats by nationalist politicians in Bangkok and Phnom Penh in need of easy votes.
Verbal abuse has been traded over kickboxing, football, and the origins of sticky rice and mango, while a boycott of Thai imports in Cambodia and a strict ban on Khmer workers in Thailand only adds fuel to the bonfire of slurs.
Rin’s approach is a 21st century media campaign that questions both sides while noting mistakes and urging an honest compromise, but he said, “The work is mentally draining when people swear and call me a traitor in the comments.”
Video production began after the second clash, and he says Apology Culture has slowly built a small group of about 50 like-minded Thais and Cambodians who help with production.
“One thing I’ve learned: A Thai apologizing to Cambodians is often far more powerful than a Cambodian lecturing other Cambodians and vice versa. That realization led me to create the hybrid online persona,” he said.
Apology Culture is well worth paying attention to. Neither Thailand nor Cambodia are in great shape, and sensible, senior government officials on both sides of the border have confided in this journalist that the nationalistic rhetoric has only made the situation worse.
