About 90% of Cambodians are Buddhist. Of about 14 million Cambodians, about 2 million are Vietnamese (and increasing by the minute) 2 million are Chinese, and many are from Thailand and Laos.
We were under the impression before coming to Cambodia that it was a peaceful and progressive nation since the series of wars ending with Pol Pot. How wrong we were. There is much increasing tension here with the greatest fear that Vietnam is taking over Cambodia by stealth. The country is run by a Vietnamese backed Leader who has imported several million Vietnamese into this country and has done many deals with outside countries to sell the natural resources with no profit for the Cambodian people. He and his Ministers have been accused by the general public of corruption. In fact the Cambodian Government is now ranked at the top for corruption world wide !
We travelled on a partly constructed road with a 1 metre drop on either side. Our guide explained that the budget was $US 280 million funded by the World Bank, but only $US 90 million has been spent and the remainder of the funds has disappeared. Many top level officials and businessmen can be seen driving around in Range Rovers and other expensive vehicles.
Understandably, local people are quite angry about the corruption, particularly given that many people are not only poor but actually starving.
If you are interested in the strained relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia, and some facts which we do not hear about in Australia, then google the following site.
Global Witness-Cambodia
This site will give you more facts and perhaps a balanced view.
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