As we were leaving the temple of Angkor Wat a boy who looked to be about ten years old sidled up alongside us. It’s hard to guess someone’s age in Cambodia, where the people are slight, even by Asian standards. His little legs matched our stride as he walked with us and offered to sell 10 postcards for a dollar.
After touring Asia for two months we’ve grown accustomed to aggressive hawkers, so we usually put on our game face and stoically work our way through the throngs selling everything from t-shirts to ginseng to who knows what else. But we hadn’t been approached by a child vendor before.
We had heard stories of child beggars and seen a few in Bali, where they congregate at major intersections pressing their imploring faces up to the windows of taxis at red lights. Our driver there shook his head sadly and said to ignore them, that it’s organized begging controlled by local criminal groups, that some parents even hire their children out for the day.
In the streets of Siem Reap, the local town for Angkor Wat, a meal at a sidewalk café is often interrupted a few times by children, some looking as young as 6 or 7, selling postcards and souvenirs. Both restaurant owners and diners treat them as another nuisance to swat away, just like the mosquitoes borne on the humid air. Everything we had read advised us not to give handouts on the street but to make donations through approved groups instead, pretty much the same advice we get back home.
Back at the temple though, something about the pint-sized postcard vendor made us hesitate. He wasn’t begging, he was offering something in return. Caught off guard, we somehow didn’t associate what he was doing with large corporations employing child laborers in sweatshops.
We thought we were pretty street-savvy but this kid was even more so and could sense our ambivalence. He tried to engage Michael in conversation and asked if he was from England.
“England?” Michael responded, “No way.”
The child replied, “If I can guess where you from buy some postcards.”
He ran through an impressive list of countries before finally settling on the United States. As Michael nodded his head the child eagerly continued, “US, capital Washington.” The kid certainly knew his geography.
Michael bought the postcards and we went on our way. After we slid into our taxi Michael asked our guide if it was okay to buy the cards. He said it was. But as we drove away we couldn’t help thinking, “Shouldn’t that kid be in school right now?”
Travel creates moral dilemmas that are amplified by vast cultural and economic differences. We still don’t know if we did the right thing or not.
What would you have done?
This article originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on April 22, 2012.
Click the link for more stories about our travel to Cambodia.
With Little Rocky's help, Larissa stops traffic in Saigon.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I feel bad reading about these child hawkers. I can’t say what I would do until I am in the situation. I would go on feeling. This child sounded sweet and incredibly smart. I imagine the luxury that schooling is in Cambodia…
Peace to you.
Barbara recently posted..35 amazing animals(link) and some cheer
School is available but from what we understand books may have to be paid for. Either way it’s a difficult situation.
I confess, we bought the cards too. These kids are quite something though, their knowledge of facts and figures from around the world and their ability to sell you items in at least 6 different languages is amazing. (you can’t get out of it even if you pretend to be German
For such young kids without formal schooling their language skills are pretty incredible. How wonderful it would be if they had some real opportunities in life.
What a sad sight. I honestly don’t know what I would have done.
It’s a dilemma all right.
Thanks for sharing this dilemma. When I was at Angkor Wat I never bought a thing from the child vendors because of all that I’d read about how many of the kids are forced to hawk the goods. The more you buy, the more it’s encouraged in the adults to exploit the kids.
Lillie – @WorldLillie recently posted..Unexpected International Flair in Newport, Rhode Island
You’re totally right Lillie. In the moment it’s hard to remember that.
It is so hard not to buy from these kids. I have a rule that I either have to buy something from everyone or no one. Usually, I opt for no one and instead try and donate money to a local charity or support an individual from a country I’ve visited through Kiva.
Bethaney – Flashpacker Family recently posted..Ten Tips for Tackling Jet Lag in Children
I find it so hard to even do anything, when confronted with this – trying to remember what we should do, while looking at needy kids, is really difficult.
wandering educators recently posted..Fox Glacier: An Adventure on Ice
Typical guidance from NGOs as regards child beggars and organised child labour is not to buy from them: when we were at Angkor Wat, we saw the man who was running some of these kids, and they were scared of him.
The problem with buying is that these children pass their cute sales peak at some point in their teens, and are then uneducated and unemployed. That said, I talked to one at Banteay Srei (?sp?) and she did her sunrise shift before going off to school at 7am — we watched a series of them trot off, their work done, to make their 7-1 morning shift at school — so it’s not an unmixed picture.
Theodora recently posted..Skiing at Sun Mountain Yabuli
How unnerving to see that Fagin is alive and well in Angkor Wat.
Terry at Overnight New York recently posted..Conrad New York: In the LEED
Unfortunately this is the situation in much of the world.
In 1998 when I visited Angkor Wat, I do not recall any child vendors – instead, these sweet children would follow you around telling you the most amazing stories about the areas within while speaking in excellent English. Their smiles and joy were contagious. They spent two hours with us and we realized about five minutes into our ‘tour’ what was going on. Some of my favourite photos of this trip are of that group of girls and other children we met there. And, yes, we did tip them some Riel as a thank you for a very enjoyable afternoon.
Hi Melinda,
Interesting to hear how Angkor Wat was before it became overrun with visitors.
Thanks for sharing.
Such a struggle. It is so sad to imagine what is going on behind closed doors with all of this.
For Angkor Wat..
First, don’t believe this children are poor. All they go to school; real poor children don’t go school and don’t speak fluent english. Siem Reap province is the richest province in Cambodia.
Second, I always buy to adult. If I want buy something, I always looking for adult and never buy to children.
Third, yes it look kind that a child ask you something with fun, but he learn his trick and do the same to everybody.. already small, he learn for be malignant. Not so good.
Please stop to buy from child.
Cambodia recently posted..Magic Flip Flop Tree
the children of Angkor were different then the streets to myself also. I also met a brilliant child that not only knew the capital city of my country Canada but also our Prime Minister and the population. I didn’t buy from this fellow regardless of his “tourist smarts”. a much more difficult memory for me is the little children of the Floating village of the Tonle Sap Lake (11 km west of Siem Reap) asking for ‘one dolla’ while floating in a cooking wok or a Styrofoam cooler. knowledge that these children do this everyday haunts my memory…