Winnipegger's latrines help poor go where no one has gone before

via Khmer NZ News Media

By: Kevin Rollason
30/06/2010

IDE Canada produces latrines for the poor in Cambodia and has won best-in-show at IDEA, the International Design Excellence Awards program. (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

CAMBODIANS living in rural areas without toilets can now buy a cheap and efficient latrine -- thanks to Winnipeggers.

Not only is Winnipeg native Cordell Jacks quickly becoming the latrine king in the Asian country, the development organization pushing it -- IDE (International Development Enterprises) Canada, co-founded by local businessman Art DeFehr -- just won a prestigious international award for the latrine.

Stuart Taylor, IDE Canada's executive director, admits that, yes, they are flush with success.

"We're not inventing something from scratch," Taylor said on Tuesday. "We're scaling it down to the customers we deal with."

Jacks, in a statement, said "it's really changed how simply people can install a latrine.

"They can do it themselves now."

Called the Easy Latrine and designed for IDE by a designer on sabbatical, it consists of a concrete box under a toilet, a length of pipe and three concrete rings stacked on each other to create a holding pit. It can be installed in a day. The latrine costs $25 and holds a year's worth of a family's excrement.

When it is full, the pipe can be diverted to another stacked pit which is purchased for about $10 and by the time that one is full, the original one has composted and its contents can be spread on agricultural fields.

More than 3,000 have been sold already. The design won best in show at the IDEA, International Design Excellence Awards program.

It's a far cry from the US$150 latrines for sale in Cambodia. That price puts them out of reach for most of the country's poor rural people.

Taylor said without the latrines, the population is forced to do their business in the great outdoors, which encourages water-borne diseases that kill more people than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

"There's no question that with the latrines, you see a drop in disease," he said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

'Investment agreement between ASEAN and China to benefit both sides'

via Khmer NZ News Media

July 01, 2010

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - The investment agreement between ASEAN and China will benefit both sides, Cheam Yeap, chairman of Cambodian National Assembly's Commission on economy, finance, banking and audit, said on Wednesday.

Cheam Yeap made the remarks before the National Assembly will, on Thursday, give ratification to the two investment agreements of ASEAN-China and ASEAN-South Korea.

He said that the investment agreements are the legal framework to expand investments among ASEAN-China and ASEAN-South Korea." Investors from all sides--ASEAN, China and South Korea would benefit from the agreements,"he added.

He said the agreements would ensure the protection of investors from discriminative measures by local governments and guarantee their fair and equitable investment.

"For Cambodia, the agreement is in the interest of the nation because China has the population of more than 1 billion, so through the agreement, it could attract more investors to Cambodia to manufacture for exports,"said Cheam Yeap.

ASEAN signed the investment agreements in the comprehensive economic cooperation with South Korea and China in June and August last year respectively.

ASEAN makes up of ten countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Wage Negotiations for Garment Workers Falter

Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Wednesday, 30 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: AP
Cambodian garment factory workers in Phnom Penh.

“It is not possible to increase it that much, since this is still a hard time.”

Worker unions and garment factory managers have failed repeatedly since the beginning of the year to reach an agreement over an increase in salaries, leading to worries of more strikes in an industry hit hard by the financial crisis.

Workers say they need more than the $50 minimum wage agreed on in 2006 to meet rising costs of living. Managers say they are not in a position to increase salaries at a time when the sector needs to be competitive.

The textile industry is Cambodia’s largest, with some 300 companies providing jobs for an estimated 300,000 workers.

Workers say they need at least $70 to $90 a month to sustain a minimum standard of living.

“It is not possible to increase it that much, since this is still a hard time,” Van Sou Ieng, president of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, told VOA Khmer.

Investors worry such increases will harm their businesses when orders have only now begun to recover from a drastic slide in the 2008 crisis. The industry has rebounded to an export value of $603 million in the first quarter of the year, up from $562 million from the same period a year earlier.

And not all unions agree on what would be the best salary.

A minimum that is too high could hurt small factories, which could put some people out of work, said Chuon Mom Thol, president of the Cambodia Worker Federation.

“Then at least half of our workers will be laid off,” he said.

However, economists say there is room for a wage increase, despite the economic downturn, especially because the scale of profits here is much wider than in places like Vietnam and China.

This “allows investors to increase the wage for workers without making them lose or increase production costs,” said Kang Chandararoth, president of the Cambodia Institute for Development Study.

He dismissed concerns that investors could turn to countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh, because most companies want to diversify into several countries to hedge against disasters or upsets.

“Even if there were to be reasonable wage increases, I think Cambodia could continue to be competitive,” said Tuomo Poutiainen, chief technical adviser for the International Labor Organization’s Better Factories program. “What continues to be good about Cambodia is the fact that there is an abundant labor force, the wage level continues to be relatively reasonable, and there are still other competitive advantages, such as physical allowances that allow investors to continue to gain profits.”

A wage decision could be made at the end of the year, based on inflation, worker welfare and competitiveness, he said.

Meanwhile, the nation’s largest union, the Free Trade Union, is calling for a three day strike starting from July 13 in a bid to build pressure for a wage increase.

Government labor officials were not immediately available for comment, but Labor Minister Vong Soth has in the past urged patience among unions.

Computer Game Saves Children From Landmine Scourge

Robert Carmichael, VOA | Phnom Penh
Wednesday, 30 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: VOA-R. Carmichael
Allen Tan, a former US bomb disposal expert and now regional head of the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, helps one of the children at a Phnom Penh orphanage get to grips with the landmine game.

"Cambodia is a very key and critical case. This is our first test area and so we're hoping to debug various aspects of the game in this environment, because I think it represents a good representative environment of the kinds of challenges we might have in other countries as well."

Decades of war have left Cambodia with millions of landmines and unexploded ordnance that kill and injure hundreds each year. A new approach to educating children about mines was tested last week in Phnom Penh, and is likely to be rolled out to other nations in the coming years.

There is nothing unusual about children clustered around a computer screen, one of them playing a game, the others giving suggestions.

But at this Phnom Penh orphanage, the game they are playing is unique.

This is what its developers call a "serious" game - one that is designed to educate. The children are having fun while learning how to recognize the danger signs for landmines and bombs in a typically Cambodian landscape.

In a country where last year nearly 250 people - one-third of them children - were killed or injured by mines and unexploded bombs, educating the next generation on how to avoid the detritus of war is vital.

Twelve-year-old Sin, who is helping to test the game, explains that he needs to find food for his on-screen dog while avoiding the red landmine warning signs that you see around Cambodia. They aren't always easy to spot.

He says, we walk straight and if we see the red sign then we turn around and come back. Or we can turn left or right to avoid the landmine.

Professor Frank Biocca is from Michigan State University, where the game was developed as part of one of the university's undergraduate programs. Why test it here?

"Cambodia is a very key and critical case. This is our first test area and so we're hoping to debug various aspects of the game in this environment, because I think it represents a good representative environment of the kinds of challenges we might have in other countries as well. So if it works here, hopefully similar versions of the game will work - at least definitely through southeast Asia possibly into Africa as well - once of course we adapt to local conditions as well," he said.

Biocca says the game works on most computer platforms: PCs, Macs, Linux, the Web - even on mobile phones, which he reckons will become the cheap computers for developing nations.

Assisting with the testing is Allen Tan, the country head of the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation. It's a U.S.-based charity that provides technical advice to demining organizations.

It was Golden West that approached Michigan State University two years ago and suggested that its students write a game to educate children about mines and unexploded ordnance.

Tan, a former bomb disposal expert with the U.S. Army, says the game has potential to benefit children in dozens of countries.

"Any of these post-conflict zones are going to be targets for this kind of education, especially with young populations that might not have been around when the conflict happened, and a lot of these hazards are legacy hazards. Certainly any post-conflict zone could be a target for this type of training," said Allen.

In short, the game, which received funding from the U.S. State Department, has a potentially vast audience.

The small Cambodian audience testing the game this month certainly enjoyed playing it. Quite how much they learned using this rather than traditional methods - such as leaflets and presentations - is something the developers will assess.

Like all of the children, 12-year-old Minea says he loved it. That is not too surprising, given that Cambodian children get very few chances to play a computer game.

Did he learn anything? If he was in the countryside and saw signposts warning of landmines, what would he do?

He says he would walk far away from that place and he wouldn't touch anything there, and wouldn't play near there.

If the game can succeed in transmitting that message to children in other post-conflict countries, then it should go some way to reducing the deaths and injuries suffered by children from this 20th century problem.

Hun Sen, Cabinet Members Down With Swine Flu

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: AP
Chea Sim, center, president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, Heng Samring, rear left, the party honorary president, Hun Sen, foreground, the party's vice president and the prime minister of the Cambodian government.

“After receiving the best medical treatment from expert Cambodian doctors, [Hun Sen’s] health has returned to normalcy.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen and five of his cabinet have fallen ill with the H1N1 virus, health officials said Wednesday.

Hun Sen required “urgent measures” for treatment after he showed signs of the illness, sometimes called swine flu, at a meeting on June 25, Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in a statement.

The illness prevented Hun Sen from attending a number of meetings, including the 59th anniversary of the Cambodian People’s Party on Monday.

“After receiving the best medical treatment from expert Cambodian doctors, [Hun Sen’s] health has returned to normalcy,” Mam Bunheng said.

All senior officials who attended the June 25 meeting have been tested for bird flu. Five tested positive: Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly, Senior Minister Chhay Thorn, Senior Minister Tao Seng Hour, Kim Ith and Ith Mith.

How the officials contracted the virus is unknown. Top health officials declined to comment further Wednesday.

Opposition Press Struggling in New Environment

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Wednesday, 30 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: AP
Cambodian Buddhist monks read local newspapers, Khmer Machas Srok, at a ceremony in Phnom Penh.

“I feel concerned that one day we can’t support it and are facing hardship to proceed with publication.”

Opposition journalists say threats, censorship and the financial crisis have all taken a heavy toll on their newspapers, even as they struggle to keep readers and present the views of both sides.

Two opposition editors have been jailed since 2008 for publishing reports critical of the government. A third was murdered in July 2008 ahead of national elections. Since then, readership has fallen by as much as a half at some opposition-aligned papers.

And where there were once hundreds of smaller papers supporting various political parties and viewpoints, there are now less than 30.

Dam Sith, editor in chief of Moneaksekar Khmer, who was jailed in 2008 for publishing remarks critical of a senior minister, said he no longer “dares” to attack the government for fear of arrest.

“Before, when we did a story, we did not need to interview or seek any reaction from the other side,” he told VOA Khmer. “But now we find other reaction to round out [the story], so the readers are confused [and think] that what we write is weak. That has made our market fall. That’s now a problem.”

He has only been able to sell about half of the 4,000 papers he prints for the past four or five months, Dam Sith said.

“I feel concerned that one day we can’t support it and are facing hardship to proceed with publication,” he said.

Hang Chakra, editor in chief of Khmer Machas Srok, who was released in April after nearly a year in jail on defamation charges, said he has cut his paper’s publication from six to three days a week. He blamed the economic crisis for reducing reader spending.

“If there is no more money than this, we will keep it three days per week,” he said. “We will do that to the end. Whenever it collapses, that’s the time to finish.”

Bun Tha, editor in chief of the Khmer Amata paper, which has moved away from its support of royalist parties, said he is only selling about half of his 1,000 printed copies.

The opposition newspapers are now operating in a country labeled “not free” in 2009 by the international media monitor Freedom House, due in part to the July 2008 shooting of Khim Sambor, a journalist for Dam Sith’s Moneaksekar Khmer. Twelve journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1994.

The current environment includes journalist lawsuits under criminal defamation and disinformation—rather than the press law—creating self-censorship on sensitive issues like corruption, border disputes and land-grabbing, said Moeun Chhean Narridh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies.

His group continues to push for constitutional freedoms and “the covenants and conventions related to human rights,” he said. “So we want full freedom of expression and press freedom.”

On the other hand, he said, journalists must ensure they are professional and check with editors and even lawyers to prevent defaming articles.

Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, acknowledged a decline in the opposition press, blaming it in part on the persecution of journalists and their jailing under the new criminal law.

Meanwhile, the dissemination of news must be part of the country’s development, said Hang Chhaya, executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy.

“But on the contrary, we have seen that there is a small group of newspapers that keeps shrinking,” he said. “When the opposition and voice of the government’s opponents disappears and there is no criticism, I believe that a government will become a dictatorship.”

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, rejected claims that intimidation was hurting the opposition press. Instead, the papers have not been able to adapt to current economic pressures, he said. Journalists facing defamation charges are those who fail to do research, he said.

“Questioning whether there is a disappearing voice required by a democratic society—I understand that there is not too much worry,” he said. “Because the life of our nation will have additions to replace it, especially as the government prepares spokesmen and information researchers to receive any criticism [so that] the information corrects itself.”

For some African soccer players, road to World Cup starts in Cambodia

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Africans, primarily from Nigeria and Ghana, have flocked to Cambodia to play in the kingdom's professional soccer league. It's seen as a steppingstone to the European leagues, or even the World Cup.

An African soccer player waits to play in Phnom Penh.
Nick Sells/Special to the Christian Science Monitor

By Julie Masis, Correspondent / June 30, 2010

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

• A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.

Every day, a few hours before sunset, when shadows become longer and the heat less intense, black men in bright red and yellow jerseys gather near the Olympic Stadium to play soccer. The men are from Africa – mostly Nigeria and Ghana – and they have formed their own team in Cambodia’s capital.

The number of soccer players from Africa here has skyrocketed in the past three years, says May Tola, the spokesman for the Football Federation of Cambodia. While the reasons behind the spike are unclear, Mr. Tola says it took place around the time the Football Federation started charging for tickets, and athletes’ salaries were raised from $20 to $30 per month to between $70 and $300 per month.

In the past, most aspiring African soccer players went to Europe. With that market now saturated, players are chasing opportunities across Southeast Asia. “Cambodia is like a steppingstone for African players,” Tola says.

Jeff Emeka-Eke, from Ghana, makes $450 per month – enough to send some money to his mother. But for others, the situation is different. Recruited from Africa by agents, the number of aspiring African players in Cambodia now far exceeds the spots available on professional teams, which set quotas for non-Cambodians.

In order to keep their ball skills sharp, the Africans formed their own amateur team. But besides no pay, there are other risks. In May, Nigerian Wilson Mene collapsed during a game and died. His death brought much needed regulatory reforms to the fore.

“Many clubs take advantage [of the fact] that they can get these African players for close to nothing,” says Gabriel Ken Gadaffi, the president of Cambodia’s Nigerian Community Association. “It is not fair.”

In response, the federation will require medical certificates and formal contracts, starting next season, in order to play in the league.

SCC plans entry into Vietnam, Cambodia

via Khmer NZ News Media

By Azlan Abu Bakar
Published: 2010/07/01

Animal health product manufacturer SCC Holdings Bhd, en route for a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on August 3, plans to expand its business to Vietnam and Cambodia by 2011.

Its managing director Francis Cher Sew Seng said the company is in talks with several parties in the two countries to market its products in efforts to boost its presence in the international market.

At present, SCC's products are marketed locally.

"We are aggressively pushing towards the expansion and may enter Vietnam and Cambodia through strategic collaborations with parties there," he told reporters after launching the company's listing prospectus in Petaling Jaya, Selangor yesterday.

Also present was SCC executive chairman Ben Cher Hwee Seng.

Cher said SCC also plans to set up a manufacturing plant in either Vietnam or Cambodia to produce animal health products and market its food service equipment.

It also plans to penetrate the Indonesian market in the near future.

"The Malaysian animal feed additives market faces a bright outlook, with an expected compounded annual gross return of 5.9 per cent over the next five years to RM270.8 million in 2014," he said.

He added that it will be influenced by the growing local livestock production and changing preference of livestock farmers towards the usage of non-antibiotic feed additives.

"In light of this, we intend to expand our animal health products by introducing green solutions and also expand into the aquaculture market," Cher said.

The local food service equipment is also expected to grow by 8.3 per cent in five years to RM434.5 million.

This is backed by the growth of full- and quick-service restaurants and expansion of hypermarkets.

On its initial public offering (IPO), Cher said SCC expects to raise RM8.67 million from the exercise that will be used for capital expenditure, programme development, working capital and listing expenses.

The company is offering 11.117 million new shares worth 78 sen apiece.

Of the new shares issued, two million shares are for public subscription, 4.3 million for eligible employees, business associates and people who have contributed to the success of the group, while 4.81 million will be allocated to identified investors.

"The IPO represents 26 per cent of the group's enlarged share capital of 42.75 million shares," Cher said.

At the IPO price, the market capitalisation of SCC is valued at about RM33.35 million.

Alliance Investment Bank Bhd is the adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the listing exercise.

SCC, formerly known as Syarikat Chang Cheng (M) Sdn Bhd, was set up by Ben Cher in 1974 and started its business by marketing veterinary products from overseas.

Gap year travellers ‘can cruise between Cambodia and Vietnam’

via Khmer NZ News Media

Posted 30 Jun 2010

A cruise along the Mekong River could be the ideal way for a gap year traveller to journey between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Clare Mann described the adventure as fascinating and often surprising.

The reporter noted her cruise began at Siem Reap and was to last around a week as the vessel she was aboard set sail on a 560-mile trip to Saigon.

Before boarding, Ms Mann took time to visit the "wondrous" temples and ruins of Angkor Wat, which also included the Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm structures.

Back on the water, she observed the views included fishermen casting their nets, "picturesque houses" on stilts, new pagodas and even youngsters taking rides on the back of buffalo.

A similar adventure was recently recommended by Daily Mail journalist Amy Watkins, who sailed down the Mekong River on La Marguerite, which transports passengers between Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh.

'Children of Genocide' docu premieres tonight

http://www.twincities.com/

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Pioneer Press

Updated: 06/29/2010

"Children of Genocide: Five Who Survived" is a new documentary featuring five stories of survivors from the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Sudan. The film, made by Twin Cities Public Television and World Without Genocide, will have a public premiere at 7 tonight at Temple Israel, 2324 Emerson Ave. S., Minneapolis. No reservations are necessary.

The documentary focuses on five adults who were children at the time of their particular country's crisis. The survivors recount their childhood experiences with genocide and their adult perspectives on these atrocities. Four of the survivors in the film now live in Minnesota. They range from a 26-year-old Sudanese to a 76-year-old German, illustrating the half-century of genocides from Darfur to the Holocaust. The evening will include a conversation with the survivors.

Twin Cities Public Television will show the film on the Life and MN channels throughout the state. World Without Genocide will have copies available for use in classrooms and other educational settings. Go to worldwithoutgenocide.org for more information. — Pioneer Press

Vietnam investment takes off in Cambodia; some wary

via Khmer NZ News Media

By Prak Chan Thul

Wed Jun 30, 2010

(Reuters) - Vietnam's biggest commercial bank, Agribank, with assets of $26 billion, opened its first branch in neighbouring Cambodia this week, illustrating the growing economic bonds between the neighbours.

The Cambodian government has consistently promoted ties with Vietnam while relations with Cambodia's other main neighbour, Thailand, have at times over recent years been seriously strained by a decades-old border dispute.

But many Cambodians have traditionally been suspicious of their much bigger neighbour to the east and the booming Vietnamese investment in Cambodia is not without critics, some of whom say Vietnamese companies are taking Cambodians' land.

Le Bien Cuong, a commercial counsellor at the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, said bilateral trade was up nearly 40 percent this year and could reach $2 billion.

"We will try to have $2 billion trade between the countries by this year," Le told Reuters in a recent interview.

"We try to have partnership with Cambodia to supply goods for the people of Cambodia," he said.

Underscoring good ties with Vietnam, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni and his father, former king Norodom Sihanouk, who at times over his long career was hostile towards Vietnam, this month paid a visit to Vietnam.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An hailed ties with Cambodia's "great friend" at this week's bank launch, saying Cambodia would always welcome Vietnamese business.

The value of the bilateral trade between the countries rose 38.6 percent to $717.78 million in the first five months of this year, according to figures from the Vietnamese embassy.

ANGER OVER RUBBER

Vietnam's exports to Cambodia increased 37.3 percent to $598 million while Cambodian exports to Vietnam rose 45.2 percent to $119.74 million, according to the figures.

Vietnam's investments in Cambodia are worth $600 million in areas such as electricity, agriculture, telecommunications, banking and health care, according to Le.

He said there was no Cambodian investment in Vietnam.

But it is Vietnamese involvement in Cambodia's rubber sector that is stirring controversy in a country where traditional suspicion of Vietnamese designs on Cambodian territory lingers.

About 11 Vietnamese companies announced this year they had obtained separate land concessions totalling 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) to grow rubber in Cambodia.

But rights groups and villagers have voiced concern about the concessions saying Cambodians were losing their land.

"Now everything is Vietnamese," said 56-year old villager Dorn Sina, from one of the 1,000 families involved in a land dispute with a Vietnamese rubber company since 2005 in Kompong Thom province, 170 km (110 miles) north of the capital, Phnom Penh.

Dorn Sina said she lives on a government relocation site after being evicted to make way for a Vietnamese investor.

"How we suffer when we have to start with empty hands," she said.

Pen Bonnar, coordinator of the Adhoc rights group in Ratanakkiri province, 600 km (400 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, said villagers there were also in dispute over land for Vietnamese investors' rubber plantations which they believed would bring little benefit in terms of jobs.

Remains at Cambodian grave 'not Errol Flynn's son'

Sean Flynn's fate has been a mystery since 1970 when he and a fellow journalist were captured by Khmer Rouge guerrillas

via Khmer NZ News Media

PHNOM PENH — DNA tests have revealed that human remains found at a Cambodian grave are not those of the son of Hollywood film legend Errol Flynn as had been suspected, a US military official said Wednesday.

In March two amateur Western diggers presented a jaw and a femur bone to US officials, unearthed at a site in eastern Kampong Cham province, saying they believed the parts belonged to war photographer Sean Flynn.

The remains from the site, which some researchers believe is a mass grave for up to a dozen foreign journalists killed by Khmer Rouge fighters during Cambodia's war in the early 1970s, were sent for forensic analysis in Hawaii.

Officials from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated the site in April and found more human remains.

But JPAC spokesman Lt. Colonel Wayne Perry told AFP Wednesday that tests showed the remains were not those of Flynn, who disappeared 40 years ago while covering Cambodia's war.

Perry said there was no match between DNA from the recovered remains and DNA samples they had on file from the Flynn family.

"The remains do not match any known Westerner for whom JPAC has a reference sample," he added.

Flynn, who worked as actor before covering the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia as a photographer, bore a striking resemblance to his father, who starred in swashbuckling roles in The Adventures of Robin Hood and Captain Blood.

The 28-year-old's fate has been a mystery since 1970 when he and fellow journalist Dana Stone were captured by communist Khmer Rouge guerrillas while on assignment in the area, and never heard from again.

Briton Keith Rotheram, one of the team that found the remains, said in March that they based their search on a local villager's claims to have seen regime soldiers kill a prisoner there matching Flynn's description in 1971.

At least 37 journalists were killed or disappeared covering the brutal 1970-75 conflict between the US-backed Lon Nol government and Khmer Rouge guerrillas supported by North Vietnamese fighters.

Pacific Partnership 2010 Collaborates with Cambodian Navy during Medical Exchange

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June 30, 2010 SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia | Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) conducted a subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) with Cambodian navy service members at Ream Naval Training Center as part of Pacific Partnership 2010's visit to Sihanoukville.

For three days, military and non-governmental organization (NGO) volunteers teamed with more than 60 Cambodian naval paramedic students to discuss ideas, medical practices, and to strengthen the partnership between the U.S. and Cambodian navies. Upon completion of the SMEE, student participants received a certificate recognizing their newly acquired skills.

"The purpose of the SMEE was to share information and build a partnership with our host nation," said Cmdr. Laurie Gentene, Mercy directorate for Administration Staff, Education, and Training. "We collaborated on training techniques to familiarize the students with basic paramedic skills. We also conducted 'skills stations' for hands-on training."

Training consisted of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), care for the caregiver, basic concepts in trauma care, primary and secondary assessment, airway management, extremity injuries, shock and hemorrhage, chest trauma, and abdominal trauma.

Of all the skills to be familiar with, Gentene said basic life support was the most important subject.

"Basic life support was the most critical aspect of our training as it saves lives," said Gentene. "The student paramedics who received training will be responsible for the health care of naval personnel and their families, so lifesaving skills shared during the SMEE can be used in all areas."

NGO and partner nation volunteers were on hand, working with U.S. service members to instruct SMEE participants and share their knowledge.

"Sharing knowledge, adapting and determining how to improve medical practices really appealed to me when presented with the opportunity to participate in this SMEE," said Margaret Holt, a Project HOPE volunteer registered nurse. "Working together with Mercy service members, partner, and host nations is a wonderful experience."

For 12 days service members from Mercy, Sailors and embarked medical personnel from JDS Kunisaki (LST 4003), joined with partner nations, non-governmental organizations, and other U.S. government organizations to take part in medical, dental, veterinary, and engineering humanitarian and civic action programs in the provinces of Kampong Cham, Kampong Spue, Kampot, Kandal, Ratanakiri, Sihanouk, and Takeo.

Pacific Partnership 2010 enabled host and partner nations to learn more than just the best medical practices during SMEEs.

"I was amazed at the questions they asked and their knowledge base. They were so appreciative and asked us to come back anytime," said Gentene. "We were all moved by their eagerness to learn, hospitality, and graciousness."

----

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW) Matthew Jackson, Pacific Partnership Public Affairs / NNS

Man released after eight months in Cambodian jail

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

Cambodian authorities have dropped paedophile charges against a Danish man who had allegedly confessed to the crime

A 61-year-old Danish man accused of being a paedophile has been released by Cambodian police after authorities decided to drop the charges against him.

The man’s lawyer Michael Juul Eriksen confirmed his client’s release from Banteay Meanchey Prison near the city of Poipet, located in the northwest part of Cambodia near the Thai border. The man had been held in custody at the prison for the past eight months, and police told media he had already confessed to the crime.

Eriksen said his client is now in Bangkok awaiting a return flight to Denmark.

Earlier this year, Cambodian authorities also released another Dane, 55-year-old Johanne Axelsen, who had been held on drug smuggling charges.

Remains of 83 fallen soldiers repatriated from Cambodia

via Khmer NZ News Media

June 30, 2010

Authorities of Cambodia’s Kongpong Thom and Kongpong Cham provinces on June 29 held a repatriation ceremony for 83 sets of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died on battlefields in Cambodia during the wartime.

The remains, which were found by the search teams K70, K71 and relevant agencies between the two countries, were transferred to the authorities of Vietnam’s Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh provinces.

Addressing the ceremony, Chum Chuan, chairman of Kongpong Cham province and advisor of Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his pleasure at the fine results of co-operation in the search between Vietnam and Cambodia in general and in the province in particular.

He said that the search and reburial for Vietnamese volunteer soldiers are not only obligation but also responsibility of the Cambodian administrations at all levels and people, and this mission will continue until the last remain to be found.

On this occasion, he conveyed profound thanks from Cambodian people to Vietnamese families whose relatives died in Cambodia and shared grief and losses with them.(VNA)

5 die of diarrhea in Cambodia

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English.news.cn

2010-06-30

PHNOM PENH, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Five people have died of diarrhea and 14 others are being hospitalized recently in Cambodia 's northeastern province of Rattanakiri, a health official said Wednesday.

Hoy Sovannara, health official in Rattanakiri province, said five people including two children have died of diarrhea and 14 others are being hospitalized in the province.

He said poor sanitation was the cause of their deaths and those being medically treated.

Hoy Sovannara said that since April this year, several districts in the province reported patients with diarrhea symptoms and it had caused 28 lives.

The latest incident happened on June 27 in O'kating village in Lumphat district, located more than 600 kilometers from Phnom Penh, and preliminary assessment found that they had drunken unclean water, he said.

Last month, Cambodia claimed at least 9 people have died and about 300 others have been medically treated and hospitalized by diarrhea in another province of Kratie, where located about 320 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.

Recently, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has alerted his people to take more precaution on several causes including diarrhea and lightning that are harmful to human lives in recent months.

He also appealed to doctors and health officers around the country to provide more care to the people.

Editor: Lin Zhi

DAP News ; Breaking News by Soy Sopheap

via Khmer NZ News Media

The Ethnic Minority Students in Cambodia to Participate in a Special Camp on English Language

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 11:24 DAP-NEWS/ Tep Piseth

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, JUNE 30, 2010- More than 103 Ethnic Minority students who studied English through an English Access Micro-scholarship Program , which has so far been provided by the U.S embassy in Phnom Penh on Saturday of July 03, 2010 will participate in a one-day special camp on English language in the U.S embassy complex.

In a camping day, all the students will have the opportunity to practice their English language by taking part in playing various games and in other different activities led by an English-teaching expert Mrs. Victoria Cardone and by other volunteers arising from the English Department of the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

An English Access Micro-scholarship Program which provides a possibility to the poor students in Cambodia is willing to help to develop the English Education System for the Ethnic Minority students living in Cambodia through the two-year General English Study Courses.

Since an English Access Micro-scholarship Program was established in 2004, there have been about 44.000 students in 55 countries in the world winning a scholarship from an English Access Micro-scholarship Program.

In Cambodia, an English Access Micro-scholarship Program provided a scholarship to more than 480 Cambodian students, totaling 364,798 U.S dollars and it was implemented in a number of provinces including Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, Ratanakiri, Kampot, Battambang, and Phnom Penh city.

Cambodia’s National Assembly to Pass Agreement of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation with China, South Korea

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 08:54 DAP-NEWS

Cambodia’s national assembly will debate tomorrow on the agreements of the comprehensive economic cooperation of ASEAN with China. And South Korea,” the statement from national assembly said on Wednesday.

It will boost trade and economy and investment from the two countries in country” the letter signed by Leng Penlong, secretary general of the national assembly.

China is the biggest loan providers for Cambodia and South Korea is the good partners in term of helping infrastructure, and grant aid donor and investment.

Cambodian PM Hun Sen and Other Five Government Officials Infected A(H1N1)

Tuesday, 29 June 2010 13:57 DAP-NEWS/ Tep Piseth

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, JUNE 29, 2010-Cambodia’s health ministry announced on Tuesday that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and other five governmental officials infected the A(H1N1).

Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen infected A(H1N1) last week and now he is good health,” the letter signed by Health minister Mum Bunheng said. And health officials are treating other governmental officials.

Prime Minister Hun Sen could not attend the 59th anniversary of Cambodian People Party on June 28. this illness infected about 591 cases in the ocuntry and about ten died of illness.

Lim Kean Hor Not to Pardon Subordinate Officials for Taking Bribes

Tuesday, 29 June 2010 13:38 DAP-NEWS

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, JUNE 29, 2010- Mr. Lim Kean Hor, Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, on Monday of June 28, 2010 said that many newly-built basins in Kampong Thom province are related to the forest areas around Tonle Sap lake, which is mostly covered by much water in the rainy season and they are under the competence of Tonle Sap lake’s local authority.

“He will hold all responsibilities for everything if there are any of subordinate officials taking bribes and trying to prevent these newly-built basins from being destroyed by the Government’s local authorities,” he added.

Mr. Lim Kean Hor talked about this problem at the press conference in Kampong Thom province in order to clarify the reasons for destroying the basins.

He also warned the subordinate officials concerned against taking bribes and against trying to block the newly-built basins from being destroyed by the Government’s local authorities.

Building many new basins around Tonle Sap lake areas will result in a lot of impacts on Cambodia’s environmental issues, and especially on the lives of the fish living in and around Tonle Sap areas which are the fish’s main refuge.

Fall from grace

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 15:00 Heng Chivoan

Defrocked monk Neth Kai, 35, is taken to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday following his arrest on Saturday on suspicion of secretly recording videos of naked women in a public bathroom at Srah Chak pagoda in Daun Penh district. Neth Kai, who is currently in pretrial detention at Prey Sar prison, was charged on Tuesday with producing and distributing pornography, a crime that carries with it a maximum fine of US$480 and up to a year in prison.

Civil pay changes imminent

Photo by: Pha Lina
Students leave an elementary school in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. Observers are worried that pending changes to civil servant pay could harm the education sector.

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 15:03 Irwin Loy and Chhay Channyda

Development groups bemoan lack of details; draft guide hints at complexity

THE government is set to roll out a revamped compensation programme for civil servants on Thursday, officials said this week, amid lingering questions about how it will work and how programmes in a range of sectors might be affected.

Paul Pidou, deputy secretary general of the Council for Administrative Reform, said the new programme, known as Priority Operating Costs (POC), will take effect on July 1, and that council officials met with development partners and Health Ministry officials on Tuesday to discuss it.

“We discussed with health partners and representatives from the Ministry of Health to raise issues and concerns in the new programme, POC,” he said Tuesday.

Many development organisations that use civil servants in key projects have voiced concern about the pending changes since last December, when the government announced plans to terminate existing salary-supplement schemes.

Donor funds have long been used to top up the often-meager pay civil servants receive, and the organisations worried that an abrupt cutoff could prompt civil servants to supplement their incomes elsewhere, thereby hampering the delivery of key services, particularly in the health and education sectors.

In justifying the December decision, officials argued that salary supplements – originally conceived as a merit-based incentive programme among civil servants – could instead become an obstacle to wider civil-service reforms.

Nevertheless, the government agreed to a six-month interim period beginning January 1 in which some supplements would be permitted before the new scheme took effect.

Observers say that few details about the new scheme have been provided during the interim period. Paul Pidou said Tuesday that he was unable to answer questions about it.

‘More complex than we all hoped’

A draft copy of an implementation guide for POC, dated June 21 and seen by the Post on Tuesday, has some observers worried the new scheme might be less effective than the old one.

According to the draft guide, each individual “POC scheme” would require its own director, as well as approval from four separate parties: the government ministry or institution that employs the civil servant, the development partner, the Council for Administrative Reform and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Such arrangements could complicate efforts to deliver money to civil servants, said one source familiar with the draft guide.

“The whole scheme is going to be more complex than we all hoped for,” said the source, who asked not to be named because the topic was considered sensitive.

“It’s going to be a time-consuming exercise.”

Just as concerning are the POC payment levels, which the source said might be too low.

“National level” technical and support staff members are to receive between 504,000 and 756,000 riels per month, roughly US$126 to $189.

“Sub-national/public service delivery” technical and support workers, meanwhile, are to receive between $52 and $73, according to the draft guide.

Though the document does not define either category, it is believed that the “sub-national” category includes staff members at facilities such as rural health centres, where retention is a significant issue, said the source.

“It’s going to cause major, major challenges keeping higher-skilled and thus higher-paid staff,” the source said.

The draft guide defines priority operating costs not as salary supplements, but as “lump-sum payments to public servants who are selected to work in the framework of development cooperation”.

Information scarce

Some observers say the biggest problem at the moment is that so little information exists about the new POC scheme.

The situation has left NGOs that provided supplements under the old system wondering whether the payments will be allowed to continue.

Photo by: Rick Valenzuela

A nurse dispenses medicine at the Cambodian-Russian Friendship Hospital in August 2008. Observers worry that changes to pay schemes for civil servants could hurt health services.

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IF YOU DON’T PAY STAFF A ... LIVING WAGE FOR THE SERVICE THEY DELIVER, THEN THEY WILL NOT DELIVER THAT SERVICE.

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“I have not received any documentation that says what we are and are not allowed to do,” said Sharon Wilkinson, country director for the NGO CARE Cambodia.

“What I don’t want to see are people who need services not getting them.”

Concern is particularly acute among civil servants themselves, Wilkinson added.

“What I am hearing at the field level is that people don’t understand it. There is a lot of work still to be done around the communication of what POC means in terms of individual income,” she said.

“At the moment there is still confusion.”

The uncertainty has already affected some health programmes.

Within days, the Health Ministry is expected to launch a methadone programme for heroin users supported by the World Health Organisation.

Graham Shaw, the WHO’s technical officer on drug use and the project’s architect, said staff members who administer the programme will not be given extra payments for the time being because the project’s proponents are unwilling to offer supplements without governmental approval.

“Until we get a final position from the government, it’s difficult to make these decisions,” Shaw said.

As a result, the methadone clinic where the programme is set to be housed will only be open in the morning for the time being, rather than all day, Shaw said.

He added that this was considered necessary to ensure that the drug is administered correctly.

“It’s an absolutely critical issue,” he said.
“If you don’t pay staff a basic living wage for the service they deliver, then they will not deliver that service.”

Despite the lingering questions, the WHO is supportive of the POC scheme, said the organisation’s country representative, Pieter van Maaren.

“We would like to draw one line and agree with the harmonisation of such support mechanisms,” he said.

“In that sense, the WHO is fully aligned with the partners and supports the government.”

Observers will have to wait until after the programme is implemented before deciding whether it is a success, van Maaren said.

“Time will tell. The intention is to make it a better mechanism than what was in place before,” he said.

“We have no reason to believe that this mechanism is going to fail.”

Govt hopes cleanliness will attract investment

Photo by: Pha Lina
Tourism Minister Thong Khon addresses a conference on clean cities Tuesday at the Phnom Penh Hotel.

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 15:03 Chun Sophal

CAMBODIAN officials have drafted a document to award a “clean city standard” to aspiring towns and villages as a method of boosting international tourism, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Tuesday.

Some 150 officials from the Ministry of Tourism, NGOs, and the private sector, met in Phnom Penh to examine a draft document on the clean city awards – which officials hope will increase development and attractiveness of the Kingdom’s cities and towns.

“We are drafting the document on clean cities not only to attract tourists but also to attract investors,” Thong Khon said.

“Cleanliness is the most important factor tourists want,” added Boris Viallet, head of tourism for the Acting Life Organisation.

In the first five months of this year, 1,054,821 tourists visited the Kingdom, an 11.53 percent increase on last year, according to the Tourism

Minister.

Ministry of Tourism deputy director general Neb Samouth anticipated there would be 29 indicators used to evaluate whether applicants were worthy of the designation.

Cambodia launched a similar clean resort standard in 2009.

Swine flu strikes PM, five other officials

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 15:03 Brooke Lewis and Cheang Sokha

PRIME Minister Hun Sen contracted the A(H1N1) influenza virus late last week, and five other government officials – including a deputy prime minister and two senior ministers – have since exhibited signs of it, according to a statement issued Tuesday by Health Minister Mam Bunheng.

According to the statement, Hun Sen was likely exposed to the virus, commonly known as swine flu, during or immediately after a meeting at the Council of Ministers last Friday.

He has since received treatment from “very professional Cambodian doctors”, and “the health of Samdech is recovering”, the statement reads.

It goes on to say that tests conducted on all officials who attended Friday’s meeting have revealed “the positive sign of AH1N1” in five officials: deputy prime minister Yim Chhai Ly, senior ministers Chhay Than and Tao Seng Hour and officials Kim Ith and Ith Mith.

The virus caused Hun Sen to miss Monday’s celebrations marking the 59th anniversary of the Cambodian People’s Party, and “some programmes of Samdech were also cancelled”, according to the statement.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Tuesday that he could not provide any information beyond what was included in the statement.

Mam Bunheng could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Nima Asgari, public health specialist at the World Health Organisation, said Tuesday that swine flu patients often recover quickly.

“Usually you would be ill for about one week if you don’t develop severe symptoms,” he said. “It is difficult to say how dangerous it is for an individual, but many people have had it, and mortality rates are quite low.”

As of June 24, there had been 591 domestic cases of swine flu resulting in six deaths since the virus was first reported in June 2009, according to Health Ministry statistics.

Border killing leads to row over damages

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 15:03 Cheang Sokha

THAI authorities stationed along the border have offered a compensation payment of 30,000 baht (US$927) to the family of a Cambodian migrant worker shot and killed by Thai soldiers last week, though a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the sum would not make up for the “cruel act”.

Dim Doeun, 44, was shot and killed last Wednesday while returning to his native Sampov Loun district in Battambang province. He was 200 metres from the border when the shooting occurred, Cambodian officials said last week.

Colonel An Saray, commander of the Cambodia-Thai Border Relations Office in Sampov Loun district, said Thai authorities stationed near the border had on Saturday given the family 30,000 baht in compensation.

“Thai authorities did not admit that their army shot the victim, but they claim the case is under investigation,” he said. “They acknowledged that the victim was shot dead in Thailand, so the compensation is a way of taking responsibility for the victim dying in their country.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Tuesday that the compensation payment would not discourage Cambodian officials from raising the case with the Thai government.

“They cannot use this money for totalling the value of the lives of the people,” he said. “They open fire on people like they are shooting animals. They don’t use the law; they use guns and bullets, which we cannot accept.”

He said the ministry was still looking to verify the particulars of the “cruel act” before sending a diplomatic note to Thailand.

Thani Thongpakdi, spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be reached for comment on the case Tuesday, while Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said he was “not in a position to comment”.

The rights group Adhoc reported in February that more than 20 Cambodian civilians – including a 6-year-old child – had been shot by Thai soldiers in the border region in the past two years.

“Thai soldiers have no right to kill Cambodian citizens who cross into Thailand,” said a statement accompanying the report’s release.