Accession Number | P03258.452 |
---|---|
Collection type | Photograph |
Object type | Negative |
Maker |
Smith, Heide |
Place made | Cambodia |
Date made | 1993 |
Conflict |
Period 1990-1999 Cambodia (UNTAC), 1992-1993 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
Two young Khmer girls gather more stock of worthless pre-Khmer Rouge era Cambodian riel from ...
Description
Two young Khmer girls gather more stock of worthless pre-Khmer Rouge era Cambodian riel from their dealer, which they then offer for sale as a souvenir item to tourists at the O'Russei Markets, located near the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. So useless that it is valued by weight, the paper currency is being measured by the dealer on a set of scales. In the background, shoppers browse other stalls. Unfortunately the arrival of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) mission in Cambodia brought with it an inflation rate which devalued the riel from five to the US dollar in the late eighties to 500 riel in 1991, to 6,000 riel in 1994.