ABSTRACT
Noreaksey Pheakdei was born right before the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. As an adult, in the early 1990s, Pheakdei became politically active in the taxi driver union. Moving to Preah Go after marrying, Pheakedi was convinced in the mid-2000s to run for local government. He won a seat on the commune council as a member of an opposition party. His life story offers a window into the politics of opposition inside Preah Go. Pheakdei shows exactly where corruption emerges in the structures of government as well as schools, implicating the role of NGOs in largess disguised as development aid. He shows the limitations of ethnical choices that may improve society.
