I was in Kratie long ago, stopping there to spend the night, on my way to Laos. The above sign caught my attention as it stands out prominently in the town’s main street. I learned it was put up by the local commune office in Kratie town to call the whole community’s attention and action to clean their surroundings, especially the river.
The main illustration in the signboard shows people cleaning up. On the upper right side box of the signboard, it shows a person throwing a (plastic) bagful of garbage into the river. Underneath that is another person throwing plastic from the window of a moving bus. Such is the practice here and the government, beginning at the lower level, is making efforts to curb this behaviour and practice nationwide.
I’m sorry about the blurry picture. On top of the sign, there is an English translation that says:
Clean environment. Good health. Family has happiness.
And at the bottom, there’s another line and it goes like this:
Together we clean our village.
Kratie town has a small, charming centre with a very pleasant riverside scenery. Most tourists, especially backpackers, arrive here after a gruelling 8-9hours of bus ride, as the last leg of their Cambodia tour and see the Irrawaddy dolphins, or the Mekong River dolphins, before crossing the border to Laos the following day. Behind the sign is the mighty Mekong River that provides a stunning view of the sunset. No wonder this town wanted to protect its beautiful river.
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This billboard reminds me of those 1950s graphics where everyone is clean cut and wearing crisply ironed clothes!I hope it worked in keeping the garbage out of the river and streets.
I like the sign and your photo. The people probably wouldn't understand a plain "no littering" sign.
I agree to this. It's a good way to put a billboard like this so people would be reminded all the time. Nice post!Signs
this resembles a vintage sign from decades ago, and I applaud the message. when I take walks around my city I'm appalled at the garbage and filth. the other day I was thinking of just this very subject and wondering why the local government doesn't promote messages of community pride. I see shopping carts in ditches, plastic grocery bags hanging from tree branches, and old tires along river beds. it's disgusting. these messages are a good thing. thanks for sharing.
It's sometimes hard to draw the line between propaganda and education. But living in Asia, I do welcome signs like this that begin the awareness-raising process. I am very eager to return to this area!