In the recent months following the Covid-19 February 20 Community Event in Cambodia, people throughout the country have glued themselves to their smartphones or televisions every morning as a source of both news and entertainment.
Many Cambodians have closely followed the conflict between Israel and Palestine as their first choice of international events.
Khmer Times has talked to some ordinary Cambodians and scholars of international affairs about their views on the cross-border war between the two Middle East nations some 7,400 kilometers northwest of Cambodia.
Moeun Pov, a 58-year-old Phnom Penh resident, says he has been so worried about the spread of Covid-19 in the capital he has not paid too much attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, he says he took pity on civilian people of both sides.
"During the war in Cambodia, we could run to escape from the shelling by the Khmer Rouge guerillas," he recalls. "But, the city people in Israel and Palestine are trapped inside when shells are fired on them by both sides."
Tum Chita, a 40-year-old local journalist, says she does not know who is right and who is wrong in the bloody conflict between Israel and Palestine. However, she says she is concerned about the deaths and suffering of ordinary people.
"When two elephants fight, the ants suffer," she says. "So, both sides in the conflict must think of the safety of the civilian people first."
Chita says though Cambodia is a poor country she hopes the Cambodian government will try to send some humanitarian aid to the poor Palestinian people.
"During the war in Cambodia, we were so happy to receive food aid when we were very hungry," she says. "So, I think the Palestinian people will feel the same to receive any assistance."
Kaing Chheng Korn, a 45-year-old school teacher, says she feels very sad about the news of the war happening in a faraway land in the Middle East.
"My father was killed in the war in Cambodia during the 1970s and I became an orphan when I was just a baby," she says. "So, I do not want women in other countries to become widows and children to become orphans."
Son Sarath, a 68-year-old retired teacher, says foreign powers should not interfere in the internal affairs of the people of Israel and Palestine.
"The civil war in Cambodia in the 1970s was partly caused by the superpowers," he says. "Superpowers should help end the conflicts and not inflame the conflicts."
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