The
Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly Kampuchea, is still one of the poorest countries in Asia, but following decades of instability and intense suffering, it is developing rapidly. Population
Religion
Buddhism has been the national religion
since the 15th century. The Khmer Rouge sought to eradicate all religion; 90% of Christians and most Buddhist monks perished. Since 1979 there have
been periods of greater tolerance. Christians have been allowed to worship
openly only since 1990. LanguageThe official national language is
Khmer, or Cambodian, which is related to ancient Indian languages. French,
formerly an important second language, is being discouraged and English is in
great demand. Geography Cambodia (13 00 N, 105 00 E) is on the Mekong River in south-west Indochina, covering a total area of 181,040 square kilometres. It is an extremely fertile, alluvial plain. Massive logging has reduced the rainforests which once covered much of the country. ClimateCambodia has a tropical monsoon
climate. Average temperatures are 22-28°C. A rainy season extends from May to
November. HistoryFrom the seventh to 15th centuries, the Angkor priest-kings built up the country, built great temples and controlled much of South-East Asia. Cambodians today are nostalgic for this golden age when they were an independent and powerful people. There followed 500 years of regional and global conflicts with Thai, Vietnamese, French, Japanese and US invasions or occupations, before the Vietnam War spilled over to Cambodia in 1970-75. This opened the way for the extreme Marxist Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975. The Khmer Rouge tried to isolate Cambodia from all foreign influence. In bloody raids on neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, they also tried to restore it to the glory and size of the Angkor Period. The Vietnamese army ousted the Khmer Rouge in 1979, but civil war between four contending armies raged with superpower support until 1991. UN–supervised elections in 1993 were held despite opposition by the Khmer Rouge. Since the election of July 1998, a form of democratic government has been established, though its work is severely hampered by corruption, civil service over-manning, little income and lawlessness. Millions of land mines remain, killing and maiming every day. 40% of villages have a mine problem and one person in every 290 is an amputee. In 2004, King Sihamoni took over from his father, Sihanouk. Economy and Development
Cambodia's per capita income is rapidly increasing, but is low compared with other countries in the region. Most rural households depend on agriculture and its related sub-sectors. Rice, fish, timber, garments and rubber are Cambodia's major exports. The older population often lacks education, particularly in the countryside, which suffers from a lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid, although there has been significant assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. From 2004 to 2007, the economy grew about 10% per year, driven largely by an expansion in the garment sector, construction, agriculture, and tourism. Growth dropped to below 7% in 2008 as a result of the global economic slowdown.
International rankings (2010)
Christianity in Cambodia
The gospel came late to Cambodia. The first Protestant missionary arrived in 1923, translated the New Testament in 1933 and published the whole Bible in 1953. Its message was not welcome and few believed or obeyed it. In 1965 the government’s anti-American crusade forced the missionaries to withdraw. After 40 years of work they left the Khmer Evangelical Church with less than one thousand members. In 1970, with the rise of the pro-American regime, the return of the missionaries, and the beginning of the war with the Khmer Rouge, there was freedom and growth for the Church. Many turned to God. There were large evangelistic crusades and Christians laboured with a sense of urgency. When war broke out there were three congregations in Phnom Penh. By 1975 this had increased to 30. In response to urgent requests, OMF sent five members to Phnom Penh in 1974 to work alongside the Church. But a year later all missionaries were forced to make a ‘reluctant exodus’, leaving a Church of around 10,000 members. The Khmer Rouge assumed control of the country in 1975. The persecution was savage; 90 per cent of Christians and all Christian leaders were martyred or fled the country. From 1975, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled to Thailand, where they were housed in refugee camps. OMF workers previously expelled from the country went to the camps with the message of hope, and over the following years several thousand Cambodians were baptised. Despite Pol Pot’s attempt to crush the Church and the pressures on it during the next decades, the small remnant has grown from a few hundred Christians to approximately 350,000 today. There are now around 3,500 churches. By 1991 OMF and other missions once again had members resident in Cambodia, learning Khmer. In 1994 the government gave permission for OMF to work in Cambodia as a church-planting mission, but also required OMF personnel to fulfil this in humanitarian terms. Therefore at least one half of the OMF team membership are involved with development work as their principal ministry. The OMF team has grown rapidly in the last few years, though the opportunities grow even faster. It is a relatively young team and welcomes short-term workers. In the aftermath of the war and
oppression, many were open to the gospel, and church growth has been rapid. But young churches need
support and prayer. Many leaders are young and lack Bible
training. In some quarters, there are therefore extremes of teaching due to a dearth of
biblical understanding, and sadly there are still divisions between groups. Christian Khmer literature is in short supply, especially outside the cities.
OMFers work in partnership with Cambodian Christians, seeking to build biblically-mature,
self-supporting and self-propagating congregations. (Data sources: CDRI Annual Development Review 2010-11; CIA World Factbook, 2011; OMF International) For further information about Cambodia and its people, visit the Cambodia Wikipedia entry, or the official Tourism of Cambodia site. Recommended reading£3 An introduction to the social and ethnic diversity in Cambodia
 Including basic information, history and belief for 19 ethnic groups and 8 social segments. £8.99 An unfinished portrait of the Cambodian Church - the Church that would not die. Updated for 2009 Killing Fields, Living Fields tells this complex story through the lives and testimonies of a handful of strategic Christians. Don Cormack, who has himself spent over 20 years among the Cambodian people, adds the background of Cambodian life, history and culture. |
