A Haitian Dinner in Phnom Penh

On the 24th February, I was fortunate enough to be a guest at a most splendid dinner party at my friend Reggie’s house. As it turned out, we had a number of things to celebrate!

Before I left to Cambodia, I was given a book called Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait, and Andrew Thomson . At first glance I presumed this book would be an obnoxious rant of ex-pats living it up on UN per diems, however was pleasantly surprised, as I thoroughly enjoyed this story of three UN staffers moving around the world on various assignments. As their stories gradually intertwine and gather depth, the reader is able to appreciate the interconnected nature of many UN missions, while also witnessing the impact this lifestyle can have on individuals.

The book had a particular resonance with me, as the first section is written about the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). It was during this administration in the early 1990s that Cambodia, in particular Phnom Penh, saw an incredible influx of foreign military, administrative and development workers. From all accounts, the town turned almost overnight from a small, basic city, into a place swarming with white land cruisers, US dollars and new bars. It was during this time that the three authors of the book met. After the ‘high’ of the national elections in Cambodia, all three continue to move around the world, from one crisis to another….. and so the story continues.

These first chapters were the only description I had ever read about ex-pat life in Phnom Penh, and when I arrived passages of text would resurface in my mind, as I wondered which houses had held the parties described, where the authors had worked, and whether Andrew, the NZ author, still kept the house he described so beautifully.

When I met my colleague and friend Reggie in my first week in Cambodia, I told him about the book, as part of it takes place in Haiti, his homeland. Since this first conversation he and I had discussed the book a number of times, and I promised to get my copy sent so he could read it. Reggie is a long-term resident here, a doctor and Program Manager at SCA, and very much a part of the Francophone community. One afternoon, while visiting friends, he became part of a conversation about a book one of the guests had written ‘Il faut sauver la planète: trois idéalistes dans l’enfer humanitaire’. After a few moments trying to figure out why this sounded familiar, he realized ‘ohhh, Emergency Sex, That is your book!’.

So to cut a long story a little shorter. Reggie told Andrew about my comments on the book, and after seeing him a number of times at various parties and drinks, he and Andrew decided the three of us needed to have dinner together.

As Andrew spent time in Haiti, Reggie’s brother Laurent was planning on cooking a Haitian feast for us all. As we made plans for dinner, it turned out the only time we had, in between my trip to Vietnam, and Andrew’s trip to Australia, was the day of my Mum’s arrival in Phnom Penh. This day also happened to be the start of Romy’s last weekend before returning to Germany.

So, there we all gathered, Reggie, Laurent, Andrew, Suzanne and their daughter, myself, my mum and Romy.

Laurent cooked the most incredible meal, with banana cakes and chilli sauce, roast pork with jus, Haitian black rice with dried mushrooms and grilled prawns and baked chayote mash with cheese. It was truly one of the tastiest meals I have ever had. Washed down with some good Aussie wine (direct from mum’s suitcase). It was the perfect meal.

Getting to sit with Andrew and discuss his book, and the ramifications it has caused, was an amazing experience. It turned out we had a lot to talk about, and he and his wife both gave me some of the best advice I have heard about working in this field. Who would have thought that as I read this book sitting on the Belgrave-City Loop train that in six months time I would be sitting down to a Haitian meal in Phnom Penh with one of the authors!