Australian Society of Archivists
1999 Conference
Archives at Risk in Cambodia:
The National Archives of Cambodia and the Role of the Foreign Advisor
Peter Arfanis
Introduction
Cambodia has a history of foreign domination, war, and social
upheavals. It is also a society that has never placed considerable
emphasis on history or the written word. Cambodia has a National
Archives holding more than 2000 linear metres of documents. A creation
from the French Colonial period, the majority of records, created by
French Administrators reflect French activity. Following independence
in 1953 the National Archives of Cambodia (NAC) had the opportunity to
develop archives for its own purposes, to record Cambodian activities.
However, international politics saw Cambodia head towards a path of
destruction, to the point where society was smashed and memory
virtually obliterated. Moncef Fakhfakh, states, “the situation of
archives in every country is determined by a series of historical,
political, economic, and social factors”.(1)
This is certainly true of Cambodia.
This decade has seen Cambodia, with the assistance of the
international community, begin a process of rapid redevelopment and
reconstruction. On the fringes of this development the National
Archives of Cambodia (NAC), with foreign aid, is doing work in
describing and preserving its holdings. However, as is characteristic
of many development projects in Cambodia, the impetus for aid largely
is motivated by individual economic gain and the international aid
community. There is very little collective will from within the
country for preserving or using their nation's archives. In general,
they do not perceive a risk to archives - it is you and I, archivists
on the outside, who perceive this risk.
The preamble for this conference, in particular the session
concerning risk, states;
Archives are at risk intellectually, physically and culturally.
The challenges of economic rationalism and demands for accountability
have underpinned the international process of re-defining and
re-articulating archives, the profession, place and object.
This international RE-defining and RE-articulating poses the
question of whether countries like Cambodia are part of this current
international re-defining and re-articulating of archives, or are they
only just starting to define and articulate? Have Cambodians ever in
fact defined what archives means to them let alone how the rest of the
world perceives archives?
As a foreigner working at the NAC, I was faced with the quandary of
amalgamating my experiences and perceptions of archives in Australia
into the Cambodian cultural context. I wasn't sure how Cambodians
perceived archives and the risk to archives, and whether my belief in
the purpose and cause of keeping archives and the archives profession
was applicable in Cambodia. If Cambodians don't perceive the risk or
indeed have yet to develop a definition of archives, why is this so?
What factors in Cambodian society and history have contributed to
archives being committed to such an insignificant status? What is my
role as a foreign advisor in the development of the NAC?
Before dealing with these questions it is important to be aware of
major periods of change in Cambodian history, which have influenced
the development of archives and record keeping in Cambodia.
Unfortunately, because of time and space, some of these issues and
questions will be considered in detail more than others. I will spend
most of the allocated time on present-day Cambodia and the development
of archives and the profession in the context of international aid and
development.
Historical Background
Foreign domination, war, destruction, and crimes against humanity
have characterized Cambodia’s history.
It begins from Cambodia’s demise during the 14th Century of the
Khmer Empire. The Khmer Empire, at its peak, extended across present
day Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Following a series of invasions and
wars with its neighbors, Cambodia, by the middle of the 19th century,
was in danger of being totally annexed by its neighbors. It had been
reduced to a vassal state of Thailand and Vietnam. Records created
during the Khmer Empire and its demise, consist mainly of Sanskrit and
Khmer inscriptions, Royal Chronicles, which record major events
concerning the Royal family, and palm leaf manuscripts containing
religious texts. Early scholars, such as Moura, Coedes, and Aymonier
considered these records to be poor instruments of information, in one
case being described as “arid, dry and indigestible compilation,
where abounds hiatuses, obscurities, and incoherence”.(2)
The same scholars described Cambodians as having little chronological
sense or a memory for dates.(3) The only
other sources of early Cambodian history consist of Chinese and
missionary travel accounts. There was no concept of private property,
common people did not record their dates of births, deaths or
marriage. The written word was limited to the Royal court and
religion. Cambodia could not be seen as society of extensive
literature, science and education and thus the written record is not
culturally inherent within Cambodia. Poor recording continued and the
Khmer empire and it's monuments faded from Khmer consciousness until
the arrival of the French.
The French took advantage of Cambodia’s vulnerable position in
the 19th century to make Cambodia a protectorate of France. A
protectorate treaty was signed in 1863 ensuring that Cambodia would be
defended from its ambitious neighbors. Within 25 years of the signing
of this treaty, Cambodia, although officially a protectorate,
resembled a colony, with the full administration of the country in the
hands of the French Resident Superior. The whole administrative system
was structured and managed by the French, with the Cambodian
administration situated at a subordinate level. The French drafted new
laws and judicial systems, introduced the concept of private property,
created elaborate tax and financial procedures and, with it, the
arrival of a method of recording information and records management in
Cambodia. The NAC, first proposed in an Order issued on 19 October
1911, was established to deal with the growing volume of documents
produced by the French bureaucracy. This order was not honored and the
problem of dealing with the accumulation of records continued until
the arrival of French Archivist Paul Boudet in 1917. Boudet devised a
system for keeping archives and in 1918 structured archives and
libraries in Indochina, to form a Central Archives and Library based
in Hanoi, with the Cambodian Archives and Library service designated
the role of collecting documents of the administration in Cambodia.
It was not until the final months of the Second World War, in March
1945, when Japan ousted the French Vichy government, that the first
Cambodian was appointed to run the National Archives and Library.
Conservator, Mak Ok was entrusted with this job until January 1946
when the French returned.(4) In 1951
control of the NAC reverted to the Cambodian director, Pach Choeun. Up
until then the NAC was controlled and developed by French personnel.
It was a foreign concept to a society that had a vastly different
notion of how a government operated, how a country was defined. A
major exception in this colonial development of Cambodia was that
traditional education in pagodas continued. The education system
received little attention from the French. Only an elite group was
able to benefit from higher education. The French portrayed Cambodia
as an exotic destination defined by Angkor, Cambodia's religious
structures. Very little Khmer literature was produced; Khmer
historical works were virtually non existent; and only a handful of
Khmer journals and newspapers titles were produced and these were
monitored by French "Press Police".
Cambodia achieved full independence in 1953. King Norodom Sihanouk
abdicated to become the Prime Minister of Cambodia. Later, with the
Vietnam War in progress on Cambodia’s border, Cambodia adopted a
position of neutrality, struggling to ward off US attempts to
influence Cambodia to take its side in the war effort. Eventually, the
Prime Minister was ousted in a coup to be replaced by the US backed
leader, Lon Nol, but this did not stop the carpet bombing of Cambodia
by US B52 bombers.
The NAC continued to operate but was struggling. As occurred in many
other former colonies, government administration had not adapted to
independence smoothly. The staff at the NAC had not been prepared
enough to take over the responsibilities of managing the nation’s
archives. A ministerial circular, released on 4 May, 1954, which
provided basic instructions for preparing documents to be sent to the
NAC declared that the NAC was experiencing difficulties and lack
trained staff. The noticeable paucity of records transferred from the
ministries, despite the issuing of the circular, to the NAC was
further proof that the NAC did not have the strength or support to
fulfil its duties. Until 1975, judging by what few records were
classified, there appears to have been little attempt to revise the
classification used during the French period. A law establishing a
legal depository, enacted on 21 June 1956, seemed to have been more
effective with a steady stream of material deposited at the National
Library. Milton Osborne's account of using the archives in 1966, is
also less than flattering. He recounts the difficulty he had in
finding documents and how he eventually resorted to looking through
the files on the desks of the staff and opening boxes randomly with
the hope of finding what he wanted.(5)
Cambodia's independent identity was only beginning to emerge when
the Vietnam War destabilized Cambodia. The US bombings of Cambodia
contributed to the rise of the Khmer Rouge (Red Khmer) which conducted
a three and half year period of genocide and crimes against humanity.
During the Khmer rouge period society was obliterated, its
infrastructure demolished, knowledge and intelligence bludgeoned from
sight. The holdings of the National Archives and Library were thrown
into disorder. The catalogue cards were dislodged and some destroyed,
books and files scattered around the premises. However, contrary to
popular belief, the holdings were not targeted for deliberate
destruction and a large percentage of the holdings managed to survive.
The same could not be said for files kept in the ministries. The
majority were lost during the Khmer Rouge period, and perhaps after
it, creating a large gap in Cambodia’s archives for the period
1950-1974. Strangely, this cruel regime were meticulous record
keepers, to the point that they recorded details of, and photographed
the victims they tortured and executed. They set out to establish a
new order and rewrite history, using their documents to record and
justify their activities.(6)
In 1979 the Vietnamese intervened to oust the Khmer Rouge and occupy
Cambodia. For the next 10 years, Cambodia, with the assistance of
eastern block countries, attempted to restore some order back to their
shattered country. Cambodia, because of its relationship with these
countries, was isolated by the west. The west instead, preferred to
support the coalition guerilla group that included the Khmer Rouge,
which was waging a civil war against the Cambodian Government on the
Thai-Cambodian border.
Only two of the original staff from the National Archives and
Library returned to work.(7) The new
socialist government of Cambodia appointed new staff, none with
archives or library experience, to the NAC. With some technical
support from Vietnamese archivists and material support from the
Soviet Union, the staff attempted the mammoth task of putting the
National Archives and Library back on its feet. The support from their
new allies was minimal and progress was slow. However, during this
period a considerable number of Government circulars and orders,
inspired by Vietnamese officials and shrouded in communist phrases and
terminology, were issued about preserving documents and cultural
artifacts for the development of Cambodia's national identity. There
had never before been such strongly worded statements regarding the
importance of Archives for Cambodia. For example, the introduction to
the directive from the Cambodian People's Revolutionary Party, issued
on 15th May 1986, declared,
"All records and files created during the movement of the
Party and State reflect the situations, experiences, and activities of
the revolution... All used files and documents must be kept because
they are invaluable and very important to review experiences in all
areas of each revolutionary era.....
....we have a shortage of experts, material and means of caring for
all records. We have to raise the spirit of caring for archives. In
this meaning the care of letters and documents is a serious and urgent
duty"
The Vietnamese withdrew from Cambodia in 1989, a new constitution
was enacted, and private ownership of land reinstated. A person's or
family's place of abode at the time the law was changed became their
own property. No claims to ownership of property owned prior to 1979
could be made. Cambodia prepared itself to become an open market
economy. In 1991 the United Nations with 22,000 personnel from around
the world came marching into Cambodia to bring peace and install
democracy in Cambodia and put it on the path of rapid redevelopment in
order that it take its place amongst the open market economies of the
world. Elections were held in 1993, under the auspices of the United
Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), and another new
constitution enacted.
Cambodia is now the recipient of millions of dollars worth of aid
each year. Over two hundred international Non Government Organizations
(NGO), with personnel from around the world applying a myriad of
development theories, are attempting to change Cambodia to fit a
vision the developed world can see as being acceptable. This involves
work in sectors ranging from rural development to the trafficking in
women and children, and incorporates concepts such as democracy, good
governance, gender, and human rights.
The written word is still given little importance in Cambodia,
although the situation is slowing changing. Currently, the written law
in Cambodia has little meaning to the individual or to the state. It
does not ensure the people of their rights, nor does it make them
accountable for their actions. It is rarely used as evidence in a
Cambodian court of law. “The very notion of rule of law largely
escapes a people who have generalized the patron-client relationship
to such an extent as to create a system of which nepotism, favoritism
and misappropriation of public funds are the principle characteristics”(8).
Those few laws that have been passed in Cambodia recently have been
formulated and passed as a precondition for receiving financial and
technical aid from foreign donors. The laws tend to be poorly
formulated and not applied once passed. They become just words on
paper. This of course weakens the importance of archives to society
and they remain simply sources of history to an interested few.
The supreme written text of most countries is their constitution.
There have been six different constitutions enacted in Cambodia since
1953 - not amendments, but entirely new constitutions. These
constitutions do not act as the guiding principles of Khmer society.
There is no equivalent to the French declaration of Human Rights, the
British Magna Carta, or the American Constitution and where there has
been a struggle to uphold the words that those documents contain.
There has never been a corresponding commitment on the part of
Cambodians to uphold the rights embodied in their own constitutions.(9)
This is the context in which the NAC operates and the foreign
advisor must understand.
The Role of the Foreign Advisor/Expert
I arrived in Cambodia to work at the NAC in July 1995. I went as a
volunteer to work alongside my new colleagues. My colleagues saw me as
the expert. I never considered myself as an expert and still don't,
but by placing this title on me they indicated to me what they
perceived my presence in Cambodia to be. For me I was there as much to
receive experience as I was to impart it in what I envisaged to be a
sort of cultural exchange, a collaborative effort to improve archives
administration in Cambodia.
At the time of my arrival the NAC had only two typewriters - one
French and the other Khmer, no electricity, no running water, low
staff moral, high absenteeism. There was no archive legislation and
only a few dozen boxes of documents had been transferred to the
archives since 1979. Fifteen years of work amounted to about 20% of
the French period documents being listed, but not appraised, nor
classified. Most of these documents are financial documents used to
prepare annual budgets and will probably be disposed of later.
Documents of value from the same period had been left untouched to
gather dust, on the third floor, an area where staff ventured only
when necessary. Carefully typed lists had been prepared of official
journals, magazines and other printed material, including a large
quantity of books, with no relevance to Cambodia, that were donated to
the National Archives and Library during the 1960s and later in the
1980s. Very few people used the archives.
My first year at the NAC was spent sitting on the third floor of the
repository alone, or sometimes with one of the staff, or outside the
building wondering if anyone would turn up to work. Being patient is
extremely important. To rush in and try to change things quickly would
have only distanced myself further from the staff, some of who, at the
beginning, were suspicious of my intentions. It did provide me with
the time to develop a relationship and gain trust, and to learn from
my Cambodian colleagues. Also, to understand the Khmer decision making
process, the hierarchical system, the patron-client relationships, the
language, and, in particular, recognizing the difficulty in finding
the Khmer words to express concepts that we have created our own
specific vocabulary for. Looking back I think that this was the most
important step in my role as advisor and to try to understand the
situation of the NAC, the staff, and decide how I should deal with
this situation.
Reforming archives and records management in Cambodia is not simply
a matter of attempting to prove that archives develops national
identity, or improves efficiency in government administration,
especially when inefficiency is the norm, and the civil servant has
little reason to be efficient. Nor is it only about writing proposals
to receive funding from outside institutions to purchase materials and
equipment, or to conduct short workshops on the principles of archives
management to staff. These processes have little value if time is not
made to understand the context in which you work. There are other
issues that need to be dealt with. The reality is that the NAC staff
is paid $10-15 dollars a month. It isn’t enough to live on, and
therefore they must take on other work, preventing them dedicating
their time to their government positions. Staff are not promoted on
merit, but on loyalty to their patron and party. Lower level staff can
not show initiative or take responsibilities otherwise they embarrass
their superiors. Consequently, there is little motivation or incentive
to do more than is absolutely needed. Compounding this problem is the
fact that the NAC staff did not choose to be archivists. They were
placed in the NAC during the 1980s under the socialist regime. In our
countries we can decide to be archivists, we are stimulated by the
work, we have a profession which we see as being important, and the
result is we advocate and create awareness of issues concerning
archives.
Given this context what is the role of the foreign advisor in
Cambodia and how can she/he be most effective? While foreign dollars
have enabled some good to be done in the areas of library, archives,
and museum development, they are only short term. A "cargo cult"
mentality is beginning to develop in Cambodia where the recipients
expect more than just a foreign advisor. They expect salary
supplements, computers, mobile phones and other status symbols .
Development projects tend not to be sustainable. When the foreign
organizations or personnel pull out the project stops, equipment is
not maintained, key staff look for better paying jobs outside the
public sector, and eventually the work that was done collapses. This
is a possible scenario for the NAC and it has happened at the National
Library. Furthermore, any reforms to the government, in particular
public administration, usually are initiated by an aid organization
that is looking for quick results using concepts from their own
countries, and lack participation and consultation with their
counterparts.
Here are three examples to illustrate some of the problems that can
arise.
The National Library of Cambodia (NLC)
The NLC has been the recipient of technical, material, and financial
assistance since the late 1980s. Predominant amongst these has been
technical training for staff and book donations from abroad. Well
intentioned donations of tonnes of books from Australia, the U.S. and
other countries has only served to slow down the progress of the NLC.
Nearly, every book is printed in a language other than Khmer, and
would not be considered a priority even in our own libraries let alone
the NLC. Unfortunately, many of the books are out of date, country
specific, and useless. People send books to Cambodia that they no
longer need themselves. The cataloguing of books by staff is extremely
slow and in many cases inaccurate, because of language difficulties.
Thousands of books and magazines are piled up on the floors of the
library, untouched because the staff cannot prioritize nor remove them
from the library since these books are gifts from abroad. Large sums
of money had been spent to ship those books to Cambodia, and little
effort was made between the donor and the recipient to ascertain what
the NLC actually needed. The donor did not understand the context in
which the NLC operated, and the NLC did not have the experience or
power to inform the donor.
To add to the problems of the NLC, four of the most experienced
staff, including the director (the only one with a recognized library
qualification) have left the NLC to take up better paying jobs with
NGOs. With little ministerial support, low salaries and families to
take care of, they were forced to leave. There have been a number of
overseas volunteers who have worked at the NLC. All made great
contributions but their length of time was too short, there had been
no continuity between each placement. Each person bought with them a
different approach.
In 1995 the French Embassy funded a project to renovate a wing of
the NLC to store rare books from the French period. Windows were
sealed, a mezzanine level built, and air-conditioners installed. The
NLC building was originally designed for maximum air circulation.
Closing the windows and adding the mezzanine level created an
unsuitable environment for storing books, consequently, creating a
need for expensive artificial environmental control. The donors had
been warned by an experienced conservator not to go ahead with the
project. The project went ahead and for the last three years these
books have been stored in hot conditions because the NLC does not have
the money to run or maintain their air-conditioners. The project was
based on a number of false assumptions and was not sustainable.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Public Administration Reform
Eight million dollars was set aside for this program in which a
small component involved creating a records management system. It was
implemented through the Council of Ministers, under which the NAC
operates. The solution put forward by the highly paid consultant, who
was flown in especially to set up the system, was to put in place an
electronic, centralized records management system to be tested at the
Council of Ministers.
Information technology and communications, is a very recent
introduction to Cambodia. Its growth has been extremely rapid, largely
because it is promoted by the international community, which has had
long exposure to it and has seen it at work in other societies.
Cambodians have had little time to fully understand the scope of this
technology, and the implications it has for themselves and society. As
a result they accept what is thrown up before them.
The majority of computers used by civil servants run either English
or French language versions of Microsoft programs. So for those who
cannot read or speak these languages it is very difficult to learn to
use a computer, but to their credit many manage to get a grip of the
basics. Khmer language fonts are installed on these computers in order
that documents can be typed in Khmer. There are a number of different
versions of Khmer fonts, none compatible with each other. If a
document is created using one version and then opened on a computer
using a font devised by a different company there will be errors in
the document. A standardized font for Khmer has yet to be developed.
Future access to documents created with this software will be
difficult, as these fonts will no doubt become obsolete in the future
when a standardized coding system is created for Khmer.
Besides the technical problems of computerization, installing a
network of computers to run a records management and communications
system requires skilled staff to maintain the system. There are very
few skilled IT people in the government sector. People with good
computer skills tend to find work in the private sector. Computer
hardware is expensive, and the government does not have the funds to
repair and upgrade their equipment when necessary and, as a result,
the system breaks down and is left abandoned.
Not only were none of these issues addressed by the consultant, the
NAC was never even made aware of the project. UNDP officials worked
through the Secretary of State at the Council of Ministers, who is the
very person that the NAC reports to. A link between the NAC and the
public administration program was never made! The absence of long term
technical support and vision, a preference to quick and expensive
solutions, and the lack of communication between individuals and
organizations is a very common occurrence in the area of aid and
development around the world.
The National Museum
The National Museum has also been the recipient of aid since the
late 1980s, and early 1990s when cultural aid was in fashion. One
particular example relates to the UNDP project mentioned above. A
number of volunteers have worked at the Museum to develop a database
of the Museum collection using an English version of the Microsoft
program, Access. The descriptions were done in French, English, and
Khmer (using an early version of a Khmer font). In 1998, a French
group donated and installed three computers, running French versions
of Access, and installed with a different Khmer font. When the staff
loaded their database onto the new computers they found the spelling
in the Khmer descriptions had changed. They didn’t understand
what the problem was or how to rectify it. When I last visited the
Museum, the staff had gone back to using their old slow running
computer to retrieve information from their database.
I should point out that there has been good work done by dedicated
people, Khmer and foreign. However, I have selected some negative
points that have long term implications for these projects.
The advisor must be aware of these issues and take them into
consideration before establishing any programs. Also, it isn’t
possible to develop the full scope of responsibilities expected of the
NAC until the government takes public sector reform seriously,
eliminating corruption, improving salaries and conditions and
upholding the letter of the law.
The NAC instead has taken a “bottom up” approach, which
involves working at very basic tasks, putting it’s house in order
before taking on the broader responsibilities required of the NAC.
This is contrary to what UNESCO recommended, in a report done in 1993
by Axel Plathe on library development in Cambodia.(10)
The report recommended a National information policy be implemented;
establish a recognized professional status for information workers;
and, to create awareness on the importance of libraries, records and
archives. Such a policy requires motivation and vision generated from
within Cambodia, people who can manage such a program, coordination
among different ministries and individuals, and supported by law that
will be respected. This scenario is some time away. What we have done
at the NAC is to set up a base from which we can grow and improve in
hope of reaching the point where an appreciation for their profession
and work, and a desire for an information policy, will be
self-generated, organizations and individuals better prepared and
trained to implement it.
The NAC received small amounts of funding from sources such as the
Australian and Swiss embassies to purchase equipment It received
essential supplies of boxes from the National Archives of Australia.
Staff are enrolled in computer courses, some are learning English and
others French. Those already possessing language skills attend, short
courses, workshops, and conferences overseas. The French Embassy has
given a small amount of money to supplement the salaries of key
personnel. Income generation schemes have been established to raise
funds to help the other staff. Our focus is to arrange and describe
the entire holdings of the NAC starting with the French period
archives. Those staff that do not possess adequate French language
skills work on Khmer language material and conducted basic
conservation tasks, such as repairing early Khmer language newspapers,
maps and plans.
I spend most of my time working on the French material, and
designing and improving the database. This involved resurrecting and
improving the Manual de l'Archiviste, which contained the
instructions and classifications for arranging documents created in
Indochina. The other role I have is to be the fundraiser and link to
the international donor community. Mainly because I speak English
well, can write the proposals needed to persuade organizations to
support our activities. Many donors in turn, prefer to give money
where there is a foreigner working.
Another important function is the promotion of the NAC amongst
foreigners in Cambodia and abroad. By writing articles in local
newspapers using material from the NAC and creating a home-page
providing information about the NAC and its holdings, the NAC has
managed to attract the interest of the foreign community.
After three years the NAC has arranged and reclassified about 60% of
its holdings and is now in a position where it can promote its
holdings and activities in order to encourage more researchers to use
the archives. The results are that the staff actually see that their
work does have meaning, especially when they help a researcher locate
information and then see how it is used. Attracting researchers to the
archives, and providing a service for them, has generated extra
income, which can be used to supplement salaries and to maintain
equipment and purchase basic supplies.
As the NAC takes control of its immediate problems, and the
confidence and the skills of the staff improve, then it can begin to
take on wider responsibilities. Staff, with the financial support of
Banque Internationale d'Information sur les États
Francophones (BIEF), a program of the Agence
intergouvernementale de la Francophonie (AIF) have, on their own
initiative, begun surveys of the situation of provincial archives.
During these visits they conduct short workshops with provincial
officials, providing advice on keeping and managing their documents.
The NAC is now attempting to broaden the awareness of archives as a
tool of research by introducing university students to the holdings.
Conclusion
The recognition of archives as being important instruments in the
democratic process, holding people accountable for their actions, as
well as a tool for research, is still some time away in Cambodia.
Cambodia's history of social upheaval and it's limited recognition of
the written word have been the major obstacles to a high priority
being accorded to archives. This situation will have to change as
Cambodia is put on the rapid path to being part of the global
community.
The NAC has made impressive progress, using only small amounts of
funding and taking on basic tasks that have long term benefits.
However, the development of the NAC is still susceptible to stalling
since it is still dependent on technical and financial assistance from
abroad. Assistance should be long term, in pace with the development
of the Government. As the Government strengthens the amount of aid
should decrease.
Foreign advisors or organizations have a role to play in assisting
countries like Cambodia. The advisor imparts knowledge to their
Cambodian colleagues based on their experiences, education, and
training. Usually these involve concepts, interpretations, and
analysis that have taken a lifetime to learn and which are foreign in
the Cambodian cultural context. We cannot expect to be able to
transfer this to Cambodians in the space of a few months when many
have been deprived of good education and social stability.
Additionally, the advisor must take the time to develop a relationship
and gain trust, and to learn from their Cambodian colleagues - to
understand the Khmer decision-making processes the hierarchical
system, the patron-client relationships, and the language. The aim is
to achieve a participatory decision making process where the advisor
is not saying, “this is how it must be done.” The recipients
must feel they are part of the process and not excluded. The advisor
has the added role of linking the recipient to donors and ensuring
that there is understanding and commitment on both sides. This is when
the advisor is most effective.
Endnotes
(1) Fakhfakh, Moncef. Emergency Plan for
Dealing with Accumulations of Records and Archives in Government
Services: A RAMP Study. UNESCO, Paris. 1995. P1
(2) Coedes, George. Essai de Classification des
Documents Historiques Cambodgiens Conservés à la
Bibliothèque de l’École Française d’Extreme-Orient.
Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extreme-Orient.
XVVIII, 1918. P1-28.
(3) Coedes, George.
(4) Jarvis, Helen. The National Library of
Cambodia: Surviving for Seventy Years. Libraries and Culture,
30. No. 4. Fall 1995. P391-408.
(5) Osborne, Milton. Before Kampuchea:
preludes to tragedy. George Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1979.
(6) Adam, Dawne. The Tuol Sleng Archives and the
Cambodian Genocide. Archivaria, 45, Spring 1998.
P5-26.
(7) Jarvis, Helen.
(8) Jennar. Raoul. M. P.2
(9) Jennar, Raoul. M. The Cambodian
Constitutions (1953-1993). White Lotus, Bangkok. 1995. P.2
(10) Plathe, Axel. Library Development in
Cambodia. (FMR/CII/PGI/93/102) UNESCO, Paris. 1993. See also, Van
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