at least there are still some objective truths in this day and age

You can't just pull tablecloth off a fully set table and expect that nothing will shatter around you.

Per that USAID stakeholder: "The bluntness, extreme speed of the action, while acknowledging that there are no criteria yet even developed for the 'review' of all foreign assistance programs are the key signs that disruption is desired"

Should Cambodia still be this dependent on foreign aid? Should the US use aid for diplomacy? We can debate the many pros and cons forever over 🍺s. But the fact is 🇰🇭 & many others rely on funds they were already given! This has massive consequences all US needs to realize

🇰🇭 is still an aid dependent country, w/ foreign direct investment reaching 9.3% of GDP in 2023 (compared to 4.3% for 🇻🇳& 1.5% for🇹🇭). Even if 🇺🇸is not 🇰🇭's biggest donor anymore, US gave $110M in 2023 - 90% from USAID. foreignassistance.gov

Anecdotally I've met a tuktuk driver in Phnom Penh who spoke fluent English - when I asked where he learned he said used to work for a health NGO funded by 🇺🇸, but the 💸 ran out, long before this new admin. People drive tuktuks when they run out of options, there will be more

(My personal opinion is that it's moronic & insidious that they make a boogeyman out of DEI, & affirmative action & CRT before it. Simply employing complex terms to cover up the fact they're just making racism/homophobia even more codified into the US gov & policy)

It's also worth noting that most grants & funding, from ANYWHERE, have language that mention diversity & inclusion. I (& the USAID person I spoke to) are wondering what programs will shutter nonsensically bc of the standardized development lingo.

NGO jobs in Cambodia, for foreigners & locals alike, aren't just stable full-time employment. It's often tied to a multiyear grant, given at different times. Sometimes they use grants from multiple places, but often its tied to the big grants - & the US (once) had bigger bucks

How do I know? When I was editor at VOD (no longer there), my $650/mo salary came as "contractor" role for 🇰🇭NGO CCIM, paid by DanChurchAid, implementer for a USAID grant. The 💸came from the US, went thru a few hands then to us to do stuff like this vodenglish.news/enslaved/

A reporter participated in an Internews-funded workshop earlier this month & got an email on Jan. 27 that they would not get the story grants they were promised. These workshops target freelancers & story grants are huge for us, it helps us report the ideas news outlets don't see

When I first arrived in 🇰🇭, people were wondering how Trump's policy not to fund abortion aid programs (abortion IS legal here) would affect broader health funding, but even then, impact would be a 1+ year later. This Jan 24 decision is NOW
english.cambodiadaily.com/news/trumps-...

The first big difference is that this is immediate, impacting everything. I spoke to an (unnamed) USAID-funded employee who told me this week is just chaos for them, realizing they can't do anything for the next 90 days - probably longer.
www.devex.com/news/exclusi...