Genocides Ignored

[Tal Zaks of Moderna]

After leaving Moon Guesthouse, I kept returning to its café, Kopie, since it’s open 24/7. There now, I just had another chat with Simon. I was surprised to hear he’s only 50-years-old.

“You look a lot older, to be honest. You’ve must have had an energetic youth!”

Simon’s active enough to have three kids by three women. Hearing a friend gush about Cambodia, Simon flew here with just a thousand pounds. A 19-hour layover in Saigon was bad enough, but an 18-hour delay had Simon stuck at the airport for 1 ½ day! Vietnam had no transit visas. There’s nothing for any sensible mate to do but to get well pissed, of course. No sipper, Simon blew through 700 pounds! Luckily, he managed to snag a teaching job within 48 hours of landing in Siem Reap. In Phnom Penh, he’s teaching economics and finance at a highschool.

During Covid, Simon couldn’t work, so lost his room. He just slept on a friend’s couch.

“I was homeless!”

“But you never lay on the sidewalk.”

“No, no, no.”

“Not like that guy down the street.”

“You know, he’s half Cambodian.”

“No way, man. There’s not a trace of it. Look at his nose!”

“That’s what he told me. He’s on meth.”