Photojournalism 22 «Ø−◊ Jarai «Ø−◊ Jarai
According to the UN there are six main indigenous communities in Cambodia all with their own rituals and beliefs. In February 2010 the UN completed a project called The Access to Justice Project, documenting the customary rules of the indigenous communities to assist the Government in acknowledging the traditional dispute resolution mechanisms and customary rules. The UN issued a set of 6 books, one to cover the customary rules of each indigenous community. It is hoped that the UN’s work will help reconcile local tradition with national and international norms, recognising there will need to be compromise on both sides. The documents legitimise the practices of the indigenous communities and by releasing an official document it is hoped that these will be recognised in future Government legislation. These documents have come at a poignant time, as currently several of the indigenious communities are under threat from mining and deforestation. One such group are the Jarai, an indigenous community based in Rattanakiri Province, Cambodia. These photographs where taken in Lei Village in Ou Ya Da district. The village consists of 80 to 85 families on a 150-hector plot. The images are combined with short interviews where the individuals talked about their concerns and hopes for their culture. The way the images where taken is also a reflection on development in Cambodia, using a medium format film camera to evoke previous experience of photography. The Jarai however questioned this practice. Although interested in the camera for its size they deemed it as old technology and questioned, “why not use a digital camera?” which they where far more familiar with. Like many developments in Cambodia there is often a leap to the next stage. This is evident in the use of the mobile phone, which like any developed country is ubiquitous. The landline was almost entirely skipped in most parts of the country. Cambodia's development was fragmented by the Khmer Rouge, whilst that regime controlled the country in the late 70's locking it way from the outside world. Years of unrest and fighting followed until 1992 when stability was deemed to arrive. This relationship with development is similar in many areas of technology in Cambodia and the developing world.
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Row Chom Yeah is 52 years old. He is the village chief. He was elected by the community in January 1996 to represent them. His role includes meeting with NGO’s and going to Government workshops. His job as the village chief only pays $10 a month, which is funded by the Government. He is also a farmer. He farms for cashew nuts and taps rubber trees. In the rainy season he plants rice, this is the most important crop for the community. The Jarai speak a different language and they believe in spirit worship, not Buddha. The centre of the community is the meeting house and after its construction they slaughtered a buffalo to pay thanks to the spirits, during this sacrificial period no one can enter the village. Before TV and video, the culture was safe from outside influence from other cultures. In celebrations they used to use traditional music but this is dieing, now they use CD music and only perform traditional music for a small part of the celebration. He has 8 children two of whom are married. He lost his arm in a gun fight in 1979 against the Khmer Rouge. He believes the future for the culture is strong. Many NGO’s come to them and tell them, “please you must preserve your culture”. The village now has a new road and such development helps but does not effect the culture.
¦º Rom Mam Nang is 35 years old. He worksFOR an Environmental Committee. Member of the village, this role is voluntary and he works on protecting the forest from illegal loggers and protecting the land. He is a farmer of cashew nuts and rice. There are 8 people in his family including his father-in-law, wife and their children. He is happy with his culture, and feels that it is important to respect the spirits. If someone is sick the spirit makes them well again, but he recognises the difference between the type of sickness that requires a doctor and the sickness that requires a sacrifice to appease the spirits. ø˛ Karlan Dout aged 32. He is a Farmer and border control Police Officer. He says: “When outsiders from the town come to the Jarai Village they look down on us. When someone from any culture comes from the outside to the village looking to have intercourse with the women they don’t understand the correct channels to go through, they must respect the traditional channels otherwise we will report them to the police. We are indigenous people but we go to Khmer school and then we have to teach our children our own culture. We learn many things but people still look down on us. Our children need education in English and Khmer to be able to communicate with the outside world. For indigenous people our earnings are very low so how can we educate our children and better our community? Before we had police if there was a problem in the community we would have a village meeting, the community would decide the payment, maybe a buffalo or a cow, but we don’t really do this anymore.”