Yong's shabby hut is situated beside a large drain. Photo courtesy: Cambodian Sin Chew Daily.
Some of the pigs he keeps at his backyard. Photo courtesy: Cambodian Sin Chew Daily.
He repairs bicycles on the outside his house. Photo courtesy: Cambodian Sin Chew Daily.
When he has a little bit of time, he would sit on a chair and wait for customers. Photo courtesy: Cambodian Sin Chew Daily.Cambodian Sin Chew Daily
2008-10-04
"I've never asked a single cent from friends or relatives. Their school fees have been financed entirely from my meagre income accumulated bit by bit over the years."
Having gone through years of wars and turbulence, Cambodia has lost millions of its citizens.
While some might have been lucky enough to keep their lives, they have nevertheless lost their limbs or been permanently disabled.
The heinous wars might have been over for some time now, yet the landmines which have since remained have generated countless of tragedies up to this day.
According to statistics, about 200,000 Cambodians, or approximately 2% of the country's population, are disabled--some were born disabled, while the disability of others has been caused by illnesses, wars, or landmines.
55-year-old Yong Lincang has served in the army for more than a decade.
In 1995, he accidentally stepped on a landmine in Koh Kong province near the Thai border, and lost his right leg. His life has since been changed for good.
All that is left of his right leg is but a meaty lump, and he needs a pair of clutches to help him walk around.
He and his wife and three grown-up daughters are living in a dilapidated hut beside a drain in the village, on a land that belongs to someone else.
There are a few holes on the wall, which cannot shield them from the scorching sunlight or the storm.
When the reporter reached out to Yong, he looked squarely gloomy, as if he had a lot of dissatisfaction with his life.
He earns a living by repairing motorcycles and bicycles, a skill which he picked up at the disabled centre in 1996, and which he has been living on since 1997.
Other than this livelihood, Yong is also keeping ten pigs at his backyard, and the money he gets from selling the animal allows him to lessen the burden of his children's school fees.
He said his three daughters are still schooling--the eldest daughter pursuing a master's degree in marketing in Phnom Penh, the second daughter doing a course in banking, while the youngest still in a high school.
The reporter was curious how he had managed to raise the school fees for his three children. Yong reacted in an unexpectedly exaggerated manner, "If not fighting hard on your own, are you going to wait for the money to fall from the sky?
"I've never asked a single cent from friends or relatives, their school fees have been financed entirely from my meagre income accumulated bit by bit over the years."
His two eldest daughters are currently working part-time to pay for their school fees, and this has helped reduce the family's burden a little.
Yong said, "Life is like a duel. We must persist in our fight through the toughest times, and work hard to explore a world that belongs to ourselves.
"Our life will only become more glorious and meaningful if we have experienced life ourselves."
(Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Cambodia Sin Chew Daily)
2008-10-04
"I've never asked a single cent from friends or relatives. Their school fees have been financed entirely from my meagre income accumulated bit by bit over the years."
Having gone through years of wars and turbulence, Cambodia has lost millions of its citizens.
While some might have been lucky enough to keep their lives, they have nevertheless lost their limbs or been permanently disabled.
The heinous wars might have been over for some time now, yet the landmines which have since remained have generated countless of tragedies up to this day.
According to statistics, about 200,000 Cambodians, or approximately 2% of the country's population, are disabled--some were born disabled, while the disability of others has been caused by illnesses, wars, or landmines.
55-year-old Yong Lincang has served in the army for more than a decade.
In 1995, he accidentally stepped on a landmine in Koh Kong province near the Thai border, and lost his right leg. His life has since been changed for good.
All that is left of his right leg is but a meaty lump, and he needs a pair of clutches to help him walk around.
He and his wife and three grown-up daughters are living in a dilapidated hut beside a drain in the village, on a land that belongs to someone else.
There are a few holes on the wall, which cannot shield them from the scorching sunlight or the storm.
When the reporter reached out to Yong, he looked squarely gloomy, as if he had a lot of dissatisfaction with his life.
He earns a living by repairing motorcycles and bicycles, a skill which he picked up at the disabled centre in 1996, and which he has been living on since 1997.
Other than this livelihood, Yong is also keeping ten pigs at his backyard, and the money he gets from selling the animal allows him to lessen the burden of his children's school fees.
He said his three daughters are still schooling--the eldest daughter pursuing a master's degree in marketing in Phnom Penh, the second daughter doing a course in banking, while the youngest still in a high school.
The reporter was curious how he had managed to raise the school fees for his three children. Yong reacted in an unexpectedly exaggerated manner, "If not fighting hard on your own, are you going to wait for the money to fall from the sky?
"I've never asked a single cent from friends or relatives, their school fees have been financed entirely from my meagre income accumulated bit by bit over the years."
His two eldest daughters are currently working part-time to pay for their school fees, and this has helped reduce the family's burden a little.
Yong said, "Life is like a duel. We must persist in our fight through the toughest times, and work hard to explore a world that belongs to ourselves.
"Our life will only become more glorious and meaningful if we have experienced life ourselves."
(Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Cambodia Sin Chew Daily)
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