Page 84 - Cultural Studies Volume 11

78 CULTURAL STUDIES

nor any mention of the militarization of the region. In one very short passage, the
encounter between foreign military personnel and local Cambodians is briefly
mentioned as follows:

A United Nations peace settlement reached late last year, ended
Cambodia’s isolation and brought a torrent of foreigners and thousands of
United Nations peacekeeping troops. They were met on the streets of
Phnom Penh by hundreds of prostitutes who had left their impoverished
native villages in search of work in the capital.
(Shenon, 1992: A1, my emphasis)

The key linguistic turn in the passage lies in the three simple words They were
met, skilfully suggesting that the encounter between the soldiers and native
Cambodians is initiated by the prostitutes, by which the soldiers are seduced. In a
nine-part series on AIDS in Asia broadcast on National Public Radio in 1994,
which explored a wide range of related subjects, including the economic impact
of AIDS on Thailand and India, the ‘problematic’ local sexual customs, the
educational efforts to curb the spread of HIV, the tragic plight of young women
sold to prostitution, and so on, again did not once mention the prevailing
presence of foreign military forces in those countries.

If you were to write a storybook about contemporary Southeast Asia, you
may consider telling the story of a brothel:
Outside the brothel, there would be a big red sign with only an ‘A
written on it. The bar down the street with the ‘Off-limits’ sign issued by
the local Social Hygiene Clinic backed by the military authority would
look deserted. But here, there would be navy officers interacting with
tourists from their home countries, reminiscing about old times. The owner
of the business would be busy greeting the customers, some of whom are
here for their favorite waitresses, others are looking for their loyal male
servers. The women might be dressed in bright saris and gaudy jewelry, or
simply miniskirts topped with T-shirts with the Coca-Cola or Florida palm
tree prints. The male servers might wear nothing except a G-string, always
smiling.
The story might be illustrated with narratives of the women and men
who describe how they end up in this brothel. They might express their
anger at how their boss cheat on their wages, all the while worrying about
the children, parents, siblings, and lovers whom they try to support with
their meager earnings.
Several of them would tell stories about the sexual practices of these
foreign men, what turns them on, what makes them come back for more. In
these stories, you would hear their subtle analyses of how the American,
British, French, Australian, and United Nations troops, and tourists from