Cambodia’s Golden Rule

One of the great commandments of Cambodia is: "Thou shalt build higher than thy neighbor!" Church homes we built fifteen years ago in remote areas of their prospective cities have seen development surround them. Even though when we built the homes more than a meter of fill was hauled in to raise them above flood grade, everyone in the area who built always adds at lest half a meter more fill than the neighbor. Even though Cambodian roads are rife with signs explaining that it is illegal to build higher than the roadway, it is the most thoroughly ignored law in the Kingdom. Roads that were built high enough to provide safety from floods now have become prospective canals when the next rains come.

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