Svay Rieng - Cambodia’s Border Town

I was all ready to digest Sebastian Strangio’s book titled “Hun Sen’s Cambodia”. The introduction to the book starts with a story about the region of Svay Rieng in Cambodia, the Manhattan Special Economic Zone and the protest in 2012. That was the first few pages of the book and I’ve been stuck there ever since!

I’ve not heard about Svay Rieng, and the more I searched into this region, the more that kept me away from my original intent of completing my 266-page book. (Strangio, 2014, P. vii)

Since we have landed here, let me share FIVE interesting facts about Svay Rieng, Cambodia.

1. Cambodia’s Capital Svay Rieng sits at the border of Cambodia and Vietnam. It’s about an hour’s drive from the main town to the Bavet Border checkpoint, and three hours to Vietnam’s Saigon Port - Tan Thuan Terminal.
2. Manhattan Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Svay Rieng This is the first and largest SEZ in Cambodia. The SEZ was officially launched by Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2005. Fashion and clothing companies using this SEZ include Adidas, CAT, Puma and Uniqlo. Also, Chinese companies such as bicycle manufacturer Evergrande, shutters, blinds supplier San Feng, and Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Speedtech. (Manhattan Special Economic Zone, n.d.)??In Hun Sen’s latest visit to the SEZ in June 2023,? he issued a rally call to state institutions to create more jobs for Cambodians. (Socheata, 2023)
3. Coconut Shell Dance Originated from Svay Rieng, the Robam Kous Trolaok folk or the Coconut shell dance is performed during the Cambodian New Year and weddings (Intocambodia.org, n.d.)You can view the Coconut Shell Dance by clicking on this link. (Traditional Dance Palelai Neadak Tevy, 2022)
4. Education Educating the population has to be the driver of the city and it is good to see that the first university in Svay Rieng, aptly named Svay Rieng University opened its doors in 2005. (Svay Rieng University, n.d.)
5. Casinos Galore In such a small city of 500,000 residents, Svay Rieng sees at least four casinos. These casinos cater to only international guests. (Hello Angkor, 2019)

Well, with Svay Rieng done and dusted for now, I should now dive back into my book, or will I get dragged away by something interesting once again?

Updated on 6 Feb 2024: So, I got dragged away from my book and back to Svay Rieng, but for good reasons. I'd managed to connect with Bill Shields on Linkedin and he just have an amazing story to tell.

Hailed from New Zealand, Bill has called the town of Svay Rieng home for the last 12 years. He teaches in Svay Rieng University and concurrently runs the University's Scholarship Scheme. This Scheme gives young women from poor families a chance to study in the university and so far, 70 women have benefitted from this effort.

Bill also shared that many families in the town are farmers and each of them had received one hectare of land from the government. But farming has become harder due to climate change and weather patterns are now very unpredictable.

An interesting fact that Bill shared was that University semesters in Svay Rieng coincides with the harvesting season so that undergraduates can go back home to lend a hand.

References

Hello Angkor. (2019, November 25). The Casinos of Svay Rieng. Hello Angkor. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://helloangkor.com/attractions/the-casinos-of-svay-rieng/

Intocambodia.org. (n.d.). Cambodia Robam Kous Traloak (Coconut Dance). IntoCambodia.org. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://intocambodia.org/content/robam-kuos-traloak-coconut-dance

Manhattan Special Economic Zone. (n.d.). Investment Guide - Manhattan Special Economic Zone | MSEZ. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://www.manhattansez.com/en/entry-guideline/

Socheata, V. (2023, June 25). PM describes ambitious job plans for next five-year term. The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/pm-describes-ambitious-job-plans-next-five-year-term

Strangio, S. (2014). Hun Sen's Cambodia. Yale University Press.

Svay Rieng University. (n.d.). History – Svay Rieng University. Svay Rieng University. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://sru.edu.kh/about-sru-2/history/

Traditional Dance Palelai Neadak Tevy. (2022, February 15). Khmer Coconut Dance | Robam Kouoh Tro Lok. YouTube. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx51dyAlPLw