WHEN THE WATER RISES... (2005)
When the water rises

‘When the water rises, the fish eats the ant; when the water recedes, the ant eats the fish’ (2005). According to Remissa Mak, this Khmer proverb, as old as it is popular, sums up the situation in Cambodia well. Eighty percent of the population is farmer. Anyone plagued by drought has an enormous problem. The proverb is also true in a symbolic sense. The part of the population for whom the circumstances are the most favorable is dominant in Cambodia. Previously that translated into war and oppression; now they control the division of work, food, power and medical care.