On the road in the People's Republic

Thousands of people are currently taking to the streets in Germany to fight for democracy. Meanwhile, we have been traveling in the socialist People's Republics of Vietnam and Laos, and the de facto one-party state of Cambodia for four months.

During this time, we have not been able to perceive any dissatisfaction, as often expressed towards the respective government in Western democracies and specifically in Germany, neither during our attentive immersion into normal life, nor during confidential and critical conversations with the local people.

However, this does not make us doubt for a moment that democracy is not worth fighting for. Because the advantages of democratically governed states quickly become apparent here in conversation as well: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of travel, better opportunities for participation, education and advancement, to name just a few.

The central concept here is freedom. However, freedom also needs to be utilized. If we increasingly rely on "those up there" to solve all our problems instead of addressing them ourselves, we give up that very freedom. In the quasi-authoritarian governed states of Southeast Asia, people take advantage of the room to take matters into their own hands, where governments often lack the financial means, thus shaping their communities: schools and temples are renovated, rice farmers create new irrigation channels around the entire village, and for every festival, whether it is a wedding, honor, or funeral ceremony, half the village is a guest.

Even in the rice fields, people help each other: if you help me plant today, I owe you a day's work, which you can demand at any time. This is why you often see 20 people working on a small field, but at the end of the day, they also see the fruits of their labor. This is how community works: it is celebrated together, but also worked together, for the benefit of all.

These three countries, according to Western understanding, do not yet have democracies. However, we feel the urge to make a concrete impact among the people here all the more.

Robert