South Korea: Cambodia: Korean Priest: mission brings us closer to the model of Christ

via CAAI

Fr. Paul Cho Hae In, a priest of the Archdiocese of Uijeongbu speaks to AsiaNews about his three years of mission in Cambodia. "A missionary is a bridge between two peoples, the people of the missionary territory and his own Church which is enriched by his mission".

Saturday, October 09, 2010

By Asia News

Seoul - With over 690 missionaries worldwide, 313 in Asia alone, the Korean Church is now a point of reference for many of the small and young Catholic communities of the continent. Marking the Day for Korean missionaries abroad, on 1 October in Seoul, AsiaNews interviewed Fr Paul Cho Hae In, a priest of the Diocese of Uijeongbu, for three years a missionary in Cambodia.

Ordained in 1994, Fr. Cho asked in 2001 to go on a mission. His request was accepted by the Congregation of Maryknoll missionaries and in 2002 he left for Cambodia. Until 2005 he worked together with lay priests and nuns in the village of Kan An Long An, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Returning to his homeland, Fr. Cho now manages the Diocese of Uijeongbu consultation center for foreign workers in Korea.

As a diocesan priest, how do you see your experience as a foreign missionary?

After 6 years as a diocesan priest, I felt the need to renew my priestly life, so the desire to experience an overseas missionary was born in me.

My three years in Cambodia were very helpful for my life. I understand that a priest can grow in his vocation, accepting the challenge of the mission in an environment different from his.

Is there a particular reason that drove you to choose Cambodia as a missionary territory?

I asked to go to an Asian country, also because being Asian I thought I'd give a better contribution to the culture and people with feelings similar to mine.

With the help of Fr. Gerard Hammond of the Congregation of Maryknoll missionaries, I arrived in Phnom Penh in 2002. Here I spent the first six months studying the Khmer language in a private school in the capital and I began to become involved in missionary activities.

What were your missionary activities during your stay?

I lent a hand in the management of educational programs for school children in the village of An Long Kang An. The area was very poor and had a high rate of illiteracy. We taught children the Cambodian alphabet, so as to enable them to continue their studies. Not knowing the language well I was in administration and ran the school library and organized play activities for the children.

What struck you most about the Cambodian people?

The children's eyes, which are truly pure, I will never forget them. The Cambodian people are still marked by the Pol Pot regime, in which over 2 million people died in death camps, considered enemies of the people. People are very suspicious and often tell lies to each other. Lying is a tendency that people acquired to survive the Khmer Rouge regime and, unfortunately, the wound is still open. I once visited a family where the father had been persecuted by the men of Pol Pot. Years later, he still mutters senselessly, numbed by the trauma.

What difficulties did you experience as a missionary?

Upon arriving in Cambodia, I wanted to become one with the Cambodians. But over time I realized that I would never be like them, because I was born and raised in a different environment. I understand however that I must recognize this diversity and accept it with serenity. The same happened to me with the idea of total poverty. Although they desire to be one with the poor, it is often difficult for missionaries to live a radical poverty in a concrete way, because they live in a structure that can not be deprived of everything.

What advice would you give to diocesan priests involved in missions?

Although my experience of three years is very little, I tell them that it's worth it. Being in Cambodia, I was able to see my priestly vocation with new eyes, thanks to the challenges and tensions that I experienced. The Korean Catholic Church is stable and prosperous, in a way that offers few opportunities for this type of experience to the diocesan priests. If we want to be more vigilant in our vocation, we should try to jump into these challenges, even going abroad as missionaries. Living as a priest means not only living the sacraments, but also trying to draw closer to the model of Jesus, who has lived for the people and with the people, especially the poor. A missionary is a bridge between two peoples, the people of the missionary territory and his own Church which is enriched by his mission.

Cambodia's only biofuel plant delays reopening

via CAAI

PHNOM PHEN, Oct 9 (Commodity Online): The only biofuel factory in Cambodia remained closed owing to lack of raw materials.

MH Bio-Energy plant, a Kandal province factory owned by South Korea pushed back its reopening to December 2010 as the price of cassava remains high.

The factory uses cassava to produce ethanol for sale on EU markets, first opened in November 2008 with an initial investment of $30 million. However, its doors have been closed since May because of rising crop prices.

Prices of the main raw material used Dry-chip cassava, were fetching $230 per tone, and compared $178 to $181 per tone early this year.

Analysts said the situation was about to change. By November, the firm would be able harvest its own cassava from Kampong Speu province, where it had planted on 8,000 hectares of land, enabling it to bypass market prices.

The current price is about 2,250 baht about $74.40 per tone. Thailand banned imports of Cambodia cassava in 2009, which meant that few farmers planted the crop, but that this year more than 1,000 local families had backed it as their crop of choice. Middlemen were already in place to aid exports.

Confronting Cambodia's past at the Killing Fields

via CAAI

Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2010
By Thomas Huang

Photo: McClatchy Newspapers

Hundreds of mug shots line the walls at Tuol Sleng, the school where people were interrogated and tortured before being executed. Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, is now the Museum of Genocide in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- I wander the fields, tracing the gentle slopes where the mass graves were. I want to hear the voices of those who died here. I want to hear their stories. That might be a way of honoring them.

Instead, silence enshrouds me. And perhaps that's not a bad thing.Silence allows me to pray.

Silence helps me hold back the tears.

I've come to the Killing Fields to pay respect to the dead. And I've come to remember Dith Pran.

Pran was a wise soul. He persevered through a great horror, but you wouldn't have known it from his quiet demeanor.

I met him through the Asian American Journalists Association about 15 years ago. Every year at our national convention, I taught and mentored college students on a newspaper project. Every year, Pran, a small man who always carried a camera, entered the room and offered words of encouragement.

"Do you know who this man is?" I would ask my students. No, they would say.

And so I would tell them Pran's story. He'd been a photojournalist and translator working with a New York Times reporter in Cambodia in the mid-1970s. He stayed to cover the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge.

He survived four years of hard labor under that regime, pretending to be uneducated and hiding his American ties. Finally, Pran escaped to Thailand. He eventually came to the United States and became a Times photographer.

In a way, I knew Pran even before I met him. His story was the subject of the film "The Killing Fields." I was in college when the movie came out, and when I learned about Pran's courage, something stirred inside me. I began to think about becoming a journalist.

I remove my shoes and walk up the steps to the Buddhist stupa, a towering shrine built two decades ago next to the fields. I pass an altar of figs, flowers and incense sticks. I'm joined by a few other tourists, but no one says a word.

The sign at the entrance says: "Would you please kindly show your respect to many million people who were killed under the genocidal Pol Pot regime."

From 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians. In these fields, known as Choeung Ek, the Khmer Rouge executed and disposed of several thousand people.

Many of them had been interrogated, tortured and brought to the fields from Tuol Sleng, known as S-21, an old school that's now a museum a few miles away. Many of them were killed with farm tools -- hoes, knives, shovels and hatchets.

I enter the memorial. Before me, on several levels, lie piles of human skulls. They stare back at me, some discolored, others showing the damage inflicted upon them during the executions.

At first, I am overwhelmed with sorrow and revulsion.But then I ask myself: How else should we remember the genocide and memorialize the dead?

The Cambodians still are struggling with the best way to bring those responsible to justice. (In July, a United Nations tribunal convicted the first Khmer Rouge official of war crimes and sentenced him to 19 years in prison. Four other former leaders await trial.)

But, at least at this memorial, the Cambodians have decided to confront the terrible past and resist erasing history.

Pran died in March 2008 after battling pancreatic cancer. He had worked hard to educate us about the Cambodian genocide. He had worked hard to encourage younger journalists like me.

So, as I leave the memorial, I say a prayer for Dith Pran, hoping he finally has found some measure of peace.

I say another prayer for his country. Despite Cambodia's beauty, I know it's one of the world's poorest countries, devastated by the killings.

As I leave the fields and walk out onto the city street, a girl approaches me. "Papa," she says in rehearsed English. "Give me one dollar, and I go away."

Then a man nudges his 2-year-old daughter, who is completely naked, toward me. She holds up her tiny hands in prayer, beseeching me. I turn away; I fear that if I give her money, more people will approach me.

She is silent, and in that silence, I hold back my tears. It isn't until I write these words a few months later that I begin to weep.

If you go

Getting there: Access Phnom Penh on most major airlines, including Korean Air and Delta Airlines, with a connection through Seoul, South Korea. American Airlines has flights with connections through Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

The killing fields: The Killing Fields site, known as Choeung Ek, is about 10 miles south of Phnom Penh, so you'll need to hire a taxi or motorbike to get you there. To enter the memorial, you're asked to donate $3. With that donation, you can get a guide to show you around, but I didn't find that necessary.

It's a small area and easily walkable. Steel yourself before you view the human skulls in the Buddhist stupa. In addition to the memorial, signs indicate where detention areas were located, and a visitors' center provides historical information about the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian genocide. cekillingfield.com.

Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, is the former school where thousands of people were interrogated and tortured. It's now the Museum of Genocide. The most moving, and overwhelming, section contains hundreds of mugshots of the newly arrived. www.tuolsleng.com.

Where to stay, eat: I enjoyed my stay at the colonial-style Raffles Hotel Le Royal (92 Rukhak Vithei Daun Penh; raffles.com). It was built in the late 1920s and has a lot of charm. I also received recommendations for Blue Lime, a more modern hotel with 14 rooms (42 Street 19Z; bluelime.asia).

The Foreign Correspondents Club (363 Sisowath Quay) has become a bit of a tourist draw, a multilevel complex with a cafe, restaurant, bar and shops. I had a decent chicken sandwich for lunch and an Angkor beer while looking out upon the Tonle Sap River, trying to do my best foreign correspondent impression.

Where to shop: Phnom Penh was evacuated during the Khmer Rouge regime and became a ghost town. When people moved back, it became a city of drugs, prostitution and violence. Those problems have largely subsided in recent years -- or at least are less than evident to the tourist. Still, it's odd to think there'd be good shopping here. Street 240 is known for its antique shops and boutiques. I liked Couleurs D'Asia (33 Street 240), which sells beautiful, traditional Khmer cotton scarves.

More to do: The National Museum (just north of the Royal Palace) is a gem. You'll find hundreds of artifacts and statuary from across Cambodia, as well as a courtyard with fountains full of koi. It's a good place to relax after viewing the horrors of the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng. www.cambodiamuseum.info.

Resources:

Tourist information: gocambodia.com and visit-mekong.com.

Getting an electronic visa to Cambodia is easy and costs $25. Apply online at evisa.mfaic.gov.kh.

The Big Six: Mekong river retreats

via CAAI

By Lucy Gillmore
Saturday, 9 October 2010

The Quay Hotel, Cambodia: Sister hotel to the French colonial FCC Phnom Penh, the Quay Hotel is a 16-room hideaway beside the river. It?s minimal and contemporary: think Arne Jacobsen Swan chairs, plasma screen TVs and ergonomic design. The hotel also provides local communities with coal-free cookers and was built using natural and recycled materials: environmentally aware and slick and stylish to boot.

The Quay Hotel, Cambodia

Sister hotel to the French colonial FCC Phnom Penh, the Quay Hotel is a 16-room hideaway beside the river. It's minimal and contemporary: think Arne Jacobsen Swan chairs, plasma screen TVs and ergonomic design. The hotel also provides local communities with coal-free cookers and was built using natural and recycled materials: environmentally aware and slick and stylish to boot.

The Quay Hotel, Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (00 855 23 224 894; thequayhotel.com). Double rooms start at US$90 (£60), excluding breakfast.

Victoria Can Tho Resort, Vietnam

This colonial-style hotel is in the heart of the Mekong Delta on the banks of the Hau River. The picture is one of dark wood flooring, crisp white linens and languid river views. And if seduced by the water, guests can take a cruise on the hotel's wooden rice barge.

Victoria Can Tho Resort, Cai Khe Ward, Can Tho City, Vietnam (00 84 710 3810 111; victoriahotels-asia.com). B&B starts at US$147 (£98).

Four Seasons, Thailand

This luxury camp overlooking the Mekong in the "Golden Triangle" on the border of Thailand, Laos and Burma, is accessible only by river boat. Cradled by the bamboo jungle, the 15 safari-style tented rooms come complete with king-size beds, roll-top copper baths and panoramic views. You can learn how to be a mahout trekking through the trees with the camp's elephants, go on nature walks, boat trips along the river or simply indulge in a spa treatment.

Four Seasons Tented Camp, Chiang Rai, Thailand (00 66 53 910 200; fourseasons.com/goldentriangle). Doubles start at 64,790 baht (£1,352), all-inclusive.

La Folie Lodge, Laos

On Dong Daeng island in the middle of the Mekong, this cluster of cottages has views of the Wat Phou Khmer temple. The island's palm-fringed gardens and pool offer a relaxing retreat. Rooms have private balconies from where you can watch the sun set over the temple ruins.

La Folie Lodge, Dong Daeng, Champasak, Laos (00 856 30 534 7603; lafolie-laos.com). Doubles start at US$95 (£63), including breakfast.

Alila Luang Prabang, Laos

Opening this coming Thursday is Alila's second hotel in the Unesco World Heritage-listed city of Luang Prabang. Sister to the bijou 3 Nagas hotel, the new all-suite design hotel and spa overlooks the meeting point of the churning cafe au lait waters of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. A mix of contemporary and French colonial style – some of the buildings date back a century – the 23 suites surround a central courtyard with landscaped gardens, a pool and outdoor fire pits to gather around on chilly nights.

Alila Luang Prabang, Old Prison Road, Luang Prabang, Laos (00 856 71 260 777; alilahotels.com/luangprabang). Double rooms start at US$204 (£136), excluding breakfast.

Vat Phou Rice Barge, Laos

This gracious old riverboat plies the Mekong in the southern part of Laos. There are a dozen simple wooden cabins, while the open-air upper deck is scattered with wicker chairs, day beds and a bar. Drift past water buffalo and fishermen en route to the archipelago known as 4,000 islands.

Vat Phou Mekong Cruises, Laos (00 856 71 252 553; vatphou.com). Two-night cruises from €528 per person.

Volunteering with a Difference: Teach in Floating School, Cambodia

via CAAI

Friday, 8 October 2010

There’s volunteering. There’s volunteer teaching. Then there’s volunteer teaching afloat. Real Gap is calling for volunteers who like their travel with a twist, with a new project teaching Cambodian kids in a school that floats on Ton Le Sap Lake, moving according to the seasons.

With land in short supply, Cambodians have established floating villages on the lake: collections of houses that move as the lake fills and drains with the monsoon rains. With no available or affordable land on the foreshore, the school buildings were constructed atop three separate barges, which are tethered to the homes of the local fishermen and their families. Most of the students attending the school arrive daily by boat.

Until five years ago, the village children had no access to education. The school is still under-resourced and volunteers are needed to help the six full-time teachers teach basic English, computer skills and sport to the 86 students. No previous experience is required, and volunteers have the option of undertaking a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course before leaving home.

For diversity, while half of each day will be spent at the floating school, the other half will be spent with a different group of students at a nearby school, housed in a Buddhist pagoda.

Traditionally – prior to French colonisation - temples were centres of education. With lack of government funding to build new schools, communities are reverting to the old ways. The pagoda school is attended by around 20 children between six and 12 years of age, and volunteers are needed in a similar capacity to the floating school.

The daily routine will see volunteers working from around 08:00 until 11:00 at the pagoda school and 14:00 to 16:30 at the floating school. Weekends are free to explore the local Siem Reap area, which is close to the temple complex at Angkor Wat. Further afield, volunteers can visit Phnom Penh or relax on the beaches of Sihanoukville. There is also excellent walking n the Kirirom National Park.

The Cambodia Floating School near Angkor Wat project can be undertaken for between two and 12 weeks. Two weeks costs $1529 per person, while 12 weeks costs $4829. The price covers airport transfer; air-conditioned, shared-room hotel accommodation; access to swimming pool; 24-hour emergency support and back-up; orientation, and breakfast daily. The project commences on the first Saturday of each month, meeting at Siem Reap airport.

Real Gap Experience is the UK’s largest provider of ‘gap year’ experiences, offering over 500 learning, volunteer and working holiday placements in more than 40 countries.. For more information visit www.realgap.com.au or call 1300 844 270.

Aviv Palti reports from Cambodia

08 Oct 2010

"News from Cambodia"

You know, sometimes we get so caught-up in life that we lose perspective... We spend time on so many issues that are in reality trivial and unimportant - things that with the passage of time will be forgotten, or scoffed at as irrelevant...

Making tye died T-Shirts with the kids

A year ago we travelled to Cambodia to volunteer at a rural school and orphanage. Those 2 weeks changed our perspective on life - of what life is all about, how much we take for-granted and how blessed we all are!! Isn't life strange...

We went to Cambodia to bring change to those kids' lives, but they changed our lives so profoundly that we feel so so blessed...

We're back in Cambodia for the 3rd time. You may say we are addicted. Here is some of what we've been doing...

If you would like to discuss ways you can assist the Palti family contact Aviv at avivp@ur1.com

You can read more and follow us on our blog at http://www.steph-cambodia.blogspot.com/

Making photo cards with the children.

Ice making machines supplied by UR1 were a huge hit

Cambodians hold buffalo race to honour the dead

A Cambodian villager rides a buffalo during the Pchum Ben festival or Ancestors' Day

via CAAI

VIHEAR SOUR, Cambodia — Thousands of Cambodians descended on a small village northeast of the capital Friday to cheer on the annual water buffalo race that marks the end of the 15-day festival for the ancestors.

"We hold the race to ask the Neakta Preah Srok (pagoda spirit) to protect us and to keep the people and animals in the village from illnesses," said farmer Sam Sen, who was also a judge in the race.

Around 20 villagers rode their buffaloes up and down a short stretch of road leading to the pagoda, to huge cheers from the crowd.

The buffaloes were adorned with colourful masks, their horns carefully bandaged to keep them from injuring anyone.

"I am happy, it was fun," said 23-year-old contestant Chan Ny after the race, still sitting on his buffalo. "I will be back next year."

The number of buffaloes taking part in the race has steadily declined over the last few years.

Sam Sen said this was because "many big buffaloes have been sold off" by families struggling to make ends meet.

Some of the village's buffaloes had also been struck by disease, organisers said.

Cambodians believe their dead ancestors emerge to walk the earth during the Pchum Ben festival, and they honour and remember them with prayers and food offerings at Buddhist pagodas.

Vihear Sour village, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, began holding the race more than 70 years ago. It is followed by a traditional wrestling match.

Co-firing of bio-oil and biogas for power generation in Cambodia

Seeds of Jatropha curcas

via CAAI

Oct. 08, 2010

TOKYO --The Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc. has started the testing of co-firing power generation using bio-oil and biogas at the campus of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia. The test uses refined bio-oil extracted from Jatropha curcas seeds and biogas produced from residues generated after oil is extracted from the seeds.

The test is being conducted by Chugoku Electric Power jointly with a Japanese research institute. The utility began a power generation test using bio-oil fuel in December last year, and recently started the testing of co-firing of biogas with bio-oil after pieces of new equipment have been added to process seed residues after oil extraction and produce biogas from the residues. It plans to continue trial operation until February next year and examine methods to achieve stable operation.

Cambodian efforts to promote silk weavers

via CAAI

October 08, 2010 (Cambodia)

Cambodian handmade silk remained the centre of attraction at a conference organized by the National Silk Centre on the outskirts of Siem Reap at Pouk District, with funding from the European Union.

The main aim behind organizing the Silk Day was to foster the quality of handmade silk items, while giving an idea about the industry and the issues confronting it. The occasion also commemorated conclusion of a project for establishment and promotion of silk sector in Siem Reap and Bantey Meanchey districts.

The project that came along with the EU funding was executed by the Khmer Silk Villages and Chantiers-Ecoles de Formation Professionelle.

Experts at the conference informed that, Khmer silk all in all produces 19 different items for exports.

Also that, the US $25 million worth Cambodian silk industry, provided employment to around 20,500 weavers, this year.

Experts even said that, visitors get drawn towards the Cambodian silk items as it is handwoven.

The silk industry in the country is a vital source of employment for women in Cambodia, and even helps to scale down poverty in rural provinces. Customarily, the silk production task is being carried out by women weavers, who constitute 99.54 percent of the workforce.

The country uses around 400 tons of imported industrial white silk yarn, each year to churn out three tons of superior quality handmade golden silk.

Burma, Cambodia & Laos: Juggling trade and diplomacy

via CAAI

Nirmal Ghosh

The Straits Times

Publication Date : 08-10-2010

Heavy Chinese investment in its southern neighbours has been a boon as well as a diplomatic challenge for Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam.

Even as these governments welcome Chinese investments in everything from dams to bauxite mines and rubber plantations, they have also made an effort to roll out the red carpet for other investors.

Laos, for instance, has made a move towards strategic diversification. Earlier this year, it scrapped a plan to let Chinese investors convert farmland and wetlands outside Vientiane into a new city.

The Chinese investors were said to have baulked at the cost of compensation and relocation, but there were other factors at play. Kham Ouane Boupha, the Laotian minister for land management, was quoted as saying the marshland had been designated a protected area.

As senior officials began a two-day meeting yesterday (October 7) in Vientiane to discuss land policies, it was clear that while China was the country's largest foreign investor - having put in US$340 million in the first half of this year alone - other players, such as Viet Nam and Thailand, had entered the field.

Likewise, in Cambodia, a huge investment in water infrastructure has drawn interest not just from China but also from India, Kuwait, Qatar and South Korea.

Governments need to decide whether they want to broker stronger alliances with Japan, Europe and the United States, noted a Laos-based analyst specialising in natural resources who asked not to be named. He pointed out that America's Lower Mekong Initiative - announced last year and aimed at Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam - was clearly meant to counterbalance China.

Burma balances China's influence against that of India, which also has ventures there. Moreover, Burman nationalism provides a natural damper. Nevertheless, the regime is limited by its fraught relations with many Western powers.

Says historian Thant Myint U: "Western sanctions have been China's best friend. Though intended to promote democratic change, the net effect of the embargoes and boycotts has been far greater Chinese economic domination."

China is the country's largest investor, pumping in US$8 billion this fiscal year, according to official Burma data released in August. Still, Myanmar has no problem welcoming Thai, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian and Korean investment. Since 1988, Thailand has invested US$9.6 billion there.

Sierra Leone and Cambodia establish diplomatic relations

http://www.cocorioko.net/

via CAAI

Published on October 8, 2010
by Cocorioko News

By Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu

Sierra Leone’s international stature and outreach under the progressive leadership of President Ernest Bai Koroma continue to broaden. Yesterday, at a colourful ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations in New York, Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Cambodia , about two weeks after the country entered into similar relations with the South American nation of Uruguay.

The Permanent Representatives of the two countries, Ambassador Shekou Momodu Touray of Sierra Leone and Ambassador Kosal Sea of Cambodia signed the joint communique on behalf of their respective nations.

In his remarks, the Cambodian Permanent Representative hailed the new diplomatic relations between the two countries. “We are glad to establish diplomatic ties with Sierra Leone”, he said and expressed optimism that the two nations will establish areas of cooperation that will be fruitful to both countries. He said that he will do everything within his power to ensure that the two countries achieved the highest level of cooperation to the benefit of both countries.

The Permanent Representatives of the two countries, Ambassador Shekou Momodu Touray of Sierra Leone and Ambassador Kosal Sea of Cambodia toasting  the new relations .

The delegations of the two countries pose for this photgraph : From left Minister Kabs-Kanu, DG Soulay Daramy , Counselor Sulimani and Ambassador Touray (Sierra Leone ) and their  Cambodian counterparts.

MINISTER KABS-KANU , COUNSELOR SULIMANI AND DIRECTOR-GENERAL SOULAY DARAMY POSE BEFORE THE START OF THE OCCASION.

In response, Ambassador Touray of Sierra Leone also said that he was also happy with the decision by Sierra Leone and Cambodia to establish bilateral and multilateral relations at the diplomatic level .He stated that both countries share a similar history (Apparent reference to the Khmer Rouge crisis in Cambodia and the Civil War in Sierra Leone ) but he was optimistic that the two countries have many areas where they can cooperate fruitfully. He mentioned some of these areas as the socio-economic sphere, agriculture and ameliorating the adverse effects of Climate Change which is affecting the two countries. He said that both Sierra Leone and Cambodia have a lot to offer each other and he expressed the hope that the two countries will make maximum use of their diplomatic relations.

Among essential areas that Cambodia will be very useful to Sierra Leone are in the Agricultural Sector, having built a strong economy after the Khmer Rouge crisis , based primarily on agriculture,with over 59% of the population engaged in farming ; construction and the marketing of her natural resources while Cambodia will benefit from investments and business as Sierra Leone progressively opens up to trade and commerce..

Also representing Cambodia at the ceremony were Mr. Seyla Eat. Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations; Mr. Sokveng Ngoun, First Secretary; Lt.Col. Dara Him, Military Attaché; Mr. Sambo Has, Second Secretary; and Mr. Saravann Ung, Third Secretary.

Apart from Ambassador Touray, Sierra Leone was also represented by the Director -General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Mr. Soulay Basiru Daramy ; the Minister Plenipotentiary to the UN, Mr . Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu; and Counselor Victoria Sulimani, also of the Sierra Leone Mission to the UN .

Rhode Island businessman sentenced for fraud, tax evasion

http://www.projo.com/

via CAAI

Friday, October 8, 2010

By Michael P. McKinney
Journal Staff Writer

Chea

PROVIDENCE — A man who says he endured more than five years in a forced labor camp in Khmer Rouge-ruled Cambodia in the 1970s was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to two years in prison and ordered to pay $14.3 million in workers’ taxes for the temporary employees his company supplied to businesses.

Cheang Chea, 73, owner of S&P Temporary Help Service Inc. of Providence, which provided hundreds of temporary workers to about 30 Rhode Island companies, pleaded guilty in June to tax evasion, theft from a health-care benefit program and mail fraud over a period that began in 2003.

And as he awaited sentencing, he continued business as usual, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Thursday.

Prosecutors say that Chea has the means to pay the $14.3 million.

Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi said she understood that he experienced “unspeakable horrors” in Cambodia and that he should be commended for having built a business after arriving as a refugee in the country with so little. But, she said, “I have before me a paradox”: a man who became a successful professional but cheated employees and the government on taxes. She said he and his family have done well, noting he has a Mercedes Benz.

As Lisi imposed sentence, which includes a year of supervised release when Chea leaves prison, a woman began to cry uncontrollably. A man seated next to her in the federal courthouse on Kennedy Plaza picked her up and carried her from the courtroom.

Chea, through a translator, expressed regrets, but recounted being surrounded by killing in Cambodia and constant fear for his life.

Prosecutors said in court documents that Chea, based on a report submitted by the defense, has recently been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress syndrome and depression, and a prison sentence would afford him the opportunity to get treatment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan asked the judge to impose a 46-month sentence, at the low end of the pre-sentencing guidelines of 46 to 57 months. Along with ordering payment of the $14.3 million in withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes, the prosecution wanted a $75,000 fine imposed. Donovan said the company under-reported to the government a substantial amount of the wages paid to the temporary workers.

Donovan said the prosecution believes the businesses Chea sent workers to paid people off the books and below minimum wage. Court documents said that Chea paid workers $200 in cash for a 40-hour work week or $5 an hour. The U.S. Attorney’s office said that the people Chea placed in temporary jobs were mostly East Asian and non-English speaking workers.

Defense lawyer Geoffrey Nathan said in court Thursday that Chea paid his workers the federal minimum wage. Court documents say the minimum was $7.40 for the period of Chea’s tax evasion.

S&P Temporary Help Service, in supplying workers to the companies, said it would be responsible for all payroll withholding. The companies would send S&P a check to cover what it charged for the workers. Chea would pay the workers.

While the prosecution acknowledged Chea’s trauma in Cambodia, Donovan said, he “is not someone who stands before this court claiming to not understand what his obligations are.” Rather, he decided “to pick and choose” how much money to report to the federal government and has “reaped the benefits” for his family.

Chea was reportedly known in the Asian immigrant community as a generous man who donated money to local Buddhist temples and to help build a hospital in Cambodia.

“He was helping rebuild Cambodia in what he’s doing, and helping people get jobs,” Molly Soum, former president of the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island, said in June after Chea’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors. The agreement rules out any appeal of Thursday’s sentence.

Court documents said, between 2003 and 2007, Chea deposited more than $996,000 into the bank accounts of relatives from his business and personal accounts.

Nathan said he has received countless letters in support of his client, and that Chea has said he wants to pay the money owed to the government.

mmckinne@projo.com

Cambodia - Abysmal Lawlessness and The Powerlessness of The Citizens

via CAAI

Published: October 07, 2010

The first election in post Pol Pot Cambodia was held in May 1993. The new constitution promised a liberal democracy and a system of governance based on the rule of law. However, the country is still in a state of abysmal lawlessness and ordinary Cambodians are powerless. There are no institutions in the country which can offer them any kind of protection.

The Cambodian police is in a rudimentary stage of development, is known to be corrupt and completely under the political control of the regime and those who are rich and powerful. Cambodian courts are also known to be corrupt and are used as instruments of political control by way of jailing opposition politicians; people resisting land grabbing; those who express independent opinions and civil society activists who express solidarity with victims of abuse of power. There are no institutions that people can turn to make any complaints or to turn to any kind of help when faced with injustice. And the injustices that the people face are many.

The major complaint everywhere is that of "Land Grabbing". Having a title to a plot of land is normally the ultimate guarantee of some security in this poor country. However, having a title to land is of little use when the same land can be allotted to some company by a government authority, who does not even inform the original title holder when such allocations are made. It is only when the company begins the operation to redevelop the land that the original owners get to know that the land they rightfully own has been given away.

Naturally they protest and at that stage security forces enter the scene and harassment is the result. As the people literally have nowhere to go, they fight back. Then they are brought to courts on all kinds of charges and many are detained. There are thousands of reports of such happenings from around the country. "In the capital, Phnom Penh, 133,000 people - more than 10% of its population - are believed to have been evicted since 1990." (This is according to a report of reliable civil society organization).

The result of such land evictions is that those who are displaced are excluded from any benefits, and lose their source of income, they are exposed to poor health and their young face lack of education. In a country, with so little opportunities, eviction from land implies a transformation which ends in destitution. Hopes for stability and a future ends for many. Naturally the women and young and the elderly suffer the most. Naturally, prostitution and other similar problems are on the increase in today's Cambodia.

"The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest", states a report from well known LICAHDO, a human rights organization. This view is confirmed by many other organizations and almost everyone.

Cambodian courts are not able to protect land titles. Their function is not the protection of the individual but the interests of those who are in power. The idea of the balancing of interests is an alien concept in Cambodia. The role of the authorities is to protect the state, not the people.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

101 East - Cambodia: Fight for justice

AlJazeeraEnglish

October 07, 2010

101 East looks at one of the most enduring legacies of Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia -- the absence of the rule of law.

Happy Pchum Ben Festival

Local residents throw food on the ground at a Buddhist pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, early Thursday morning, Oct. 7, 2010, as part of a ritual to honor the spirits of those who died without relatives. The 15-day traditional festival, known as the Pchum Ben festival, which commemorates the spirits of the dead, began on Sept. 24. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

AmeriCares and AstraZeneca Expand Breast Cancer Treatment for Impoverished Women in Cambodia

http://pr-usa.net/

via CAAI

AmeriCares and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals have made a three-year commitment to expand early breast cancer detection and treatment in Cambodia in hopes of increasing survival rates.

The renewed commitment expands a program launched in 2008 in conjunction with the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE in Phnom Penh that provides free cancer screenings, medications, patient education and medical staff training at the charity hospital.

"By expanding the program, we will provide the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE with the vital resources necessary to treat women diagnosed with breast cancer who would not otherwise be able to afford treatment. We will also broaden our efforts to reach thousands more with breast cancer education, as studies have shown the importance of education and early detection in increasing survival rates," said Dr. Frank Bia, medical director for AmeriCares.

The hospital treated 90 women for breast cancer last year – more than three times as many as before the program was launched two years ago thanks to the donated medicines and financial support from AmeriCares and AstraZeneca. The program goal is to treat 600 women annually by 2014.

"This collaboration with AmeriCares makes it possible for AstraZeneca to get critical medications to the women who need them in Cambodia and helps ensure cancers are detected and treated earlier," said Jennifer McGovern, director, patient assistance programs, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.

An alarming number of Cambodian women die every year due to a lack of public awareness, limited cancer screening opportunities and the high cost of treatment. Offering the rural poor population of Cambodia free services is critical because the exorbitant cost of cancer care often prevents cancer patients from seeking treatment. At Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE, cancer patients are provided with anti-hormonal treatment, lab testing and surgery at no cost.

About AmeriCares

AmeriCares is a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization which delivers medicines, medical supplies and aid to people in need around the world and across the United States. Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed more than $9 billion in humanitarian aid to 147 countries. For more information, log onto www.AmeriCares.org.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. As a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease medicines, AstraZeneca generated global revenues of $32.8 billion in 2009. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $14.8 billion healthcare business.

India may export nuke-reactors to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

via CAAI

Oct 06,2010

Kolkata, Oct 6 (PTI) The Nuclear Power Development Corporation of India is in talks with some countries of the Asia-Pacific region for the sale of its mainstay 220 MWe and 540 MWe reactors, its chairman S K Jain said today."We are having detailed discussions (about sale of the reactors) with Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam," Jain told newsmen on the sidelines of a technical session at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre auditorium here.NPCIL, which has two models of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PWHR) on sale, has signed an MOU with a company in Kazakhstan on the export of the reactors and it was in its "final phase", Jain said.India had moved a resolution in 2007 at the IAEA General Conference of Member States in Vienna to enable export of small reactors.The country had been targeting exports of indigenous PHWRs to developing nations that wanted nuclear power, but were constrained by small grids.The 220 MWe reactors, according to sources, were particularly useful for countries with small grids and it involved relatively low investments.Major developers of nuclear reactors in the European Union and North America have moved on to reactor size of 700 MWe or 1,000 MWe and above.

Long Beach will get rare chance to see Cambodian choreographer's work

http://www.contracostatimes.com/

via CAAI

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

Posted: 10/06/2010
 

Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, left, helps dancer Mot Pahran with her hand movements during practice at the Khmer Arts Academy in February 2008 in Takmao, Cambodia. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)

LONG BEACH - Area residents will get a rare opportunity to see work by internationally renowned Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro this weekend at a special show.

Shapiro, who co-founded the Khmer Arts Academy here in Long Beach in 2002 and has earned acclaim for her classical choreography, now splits time between Long Beach and Cambodia and touring with her dance troupe, the Khmer Arts Ensemble.

Although the local audience won't get a chance to see a full production of Shapiro's latest composition, "The Lives of Giants," which premiered in September on a tour of the East Coast, its creator will present a short video of the full stage production and three of the show's dancers will perform portions of the classical concert-length dance. The group will also be accompanied by costume designer Merrily Murray-Walsh.

"The Lives of Giants" is an adaptation of a Hindu-Cambodian legend that talks about the cycle of abuse, violence and power, that has many parallels to modern Cambodian history.

Shapiro said she hopes to bring the full production to Southern California next year. The last show of Shapiro's to play in Long Beach was "Seasons of Migration" at the Carpenter Center.

The show will cap the second year of the Khmer Arts Salon Series, which has presented monthly talks and performances that have spotlighted South and Southeast Asian performing arts.

"I'm looking forward to seeing my students and their parents," Shapiro said by phone from Philadelphia, where the show is now.

The choreographer will only be in Long Beach for a few days before returning to Pennsylvania to rejoin the troupe.

Saturday's performance is being moved from the Khmer Arts Academy's home space on Obispo Avenue to Renaissance High School theater.

As a child, Shapiro survived the Cambodian genocide. After the downfall of the Khmer Rouge and the restoration of arts and dance programs in her home country, Shapiro was one of the first classical dancers to graduate from the Phnom Penh School of Fine Arts. Under the Pol Pot regime, arts and artists were systematically purged. Among the 1.7 million or more Cambodians who died were about 90 percent of the nation's dancers.

Shapiro and her husband, John, whom she married in 1991 founded the Khmer Arts Academy in 2002. In addition to the dance troupe, the academy features traditional music and singing. They are working on creating a media center to produce films and documentaries about classical dance and an archive center.

Shapiro began training Cambodian dancers in her home country in 2006 and has built them into a world class touring troupe.

It's been quite a journey for a woman who began teaching inner-city youth in Long Beach in a cramped space at the United Cambodian Community building as well as in her living room.

Shapiro's professional Cambodian troupe has performed on major stages throughout the world, from Amsterdam to Venice to Vienna to New York to Los Angeles.

Among a long list of honors, she has been awarded a National Heritage Fellowship, the nation's highest honor for a traditional artist.

In addition to sharing Shapiro's latest creation with the community, this Salon event celebrates her receipt of a USA Knight Fellowship. A representative from United States Artists will be on hand to talk about the $50,000 unrestricted cash grant.

Part of the money was used for the Khmer Arts Salon.

Shapiro said she was happy for the chance "to share the opportunity my foundation gave me (with the grant)."

She said she hopes to continue the series next year.

Light refreshments will be served following a Q&A discussion moderated by Salon Series curator Prumsodun Ok.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com , 562-499-1291

If you go

WHAT: Khmer Arts Salon Series: The Lives of Giants

WHEN: Sat. Oct. 9, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Renaissance High School for the Arts Theater, 235 E. 8th Street, Long Beach

ADMISSION: Free

INFORMATION: http://www.khmerarts.org/  

Rights Commission Lambasts Ongoing Land Problem

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Phnom Penh Thursday, 07 October 2010

via CAAI
 

Photo: VOA Khmer

Phay Siphan is a Cambodian government spokesman.

“The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest.”

The Asian Human Rights Commission on Thursday issued sharp criticism of the continued problem of land grabs, including the jailing of those who demonstrate against it.

The rights commission estimated that 133,000, more than 10 percent of Phnom Penh's residents, have been evicted in the capital since 1990.

“The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest,” the commission said, citing the rights group Licadho.

“Cambodian courts are not able to protect land titles,” the commission said. “Their function is not the protection of the individual but the interests of those who are in power. The idea of the balancing of interests is an alien concept in Cambodia. The role of the authorities is to protect the state, not the people.”

Land titles are no protection either, the commission said. “It is only when the company begins the operation to redevelop the land that the original owners get to know that the land they rightfully own has been given away.”

Government spokesman Phay Siphan dismissed the criticism, which he said “aims only at degrading the Cambodian government and the courts.”

Hard Work Means Success for Dragon Fruit Farmer

Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer

Siem Reap, Cambodia Thursday, 07 October 2010
 
via CAAI
 

Photo: Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer

Kim Chheng, 31, is the owner of a dragon fruit farm in Banteay Srey district, Siem Reap province.

Hard work and business acumen has meant dragon fruit success for an entrepreneur, even in the midst of a global downturn.

Kim Chheng, 31, started his dragon fruit farm 10 years ago on 10 hectares of land in Banteay Srey district, Siem Reap province.

“It is very easy to plant the dragon fruit tree,” he said. “If you get the plant when it is freshly cut, you need to leave it in a dry location for a couple of days for the wound to heal, then you just put it in the soil and you need to put the pole for the plant to climb, then water it and add fertilizer. In eight months to 11 months, you’ll have fruit.”

Some of his dragon fruits are a Taiwanese species that have red flesh, which customers like because they believe it contains a natural antioxidant known to fight diabetes and lower blood pressure.

Others have white, red or yellow flesh. He uses organic fertilizer from cow compost and blended grasses.

Cambodian Expo in US Hopes to Boost Trade

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Washington, D.C Thursday, 07 October 2010

via CAAI

 

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rice is among the pruducts that will be displayed at the 2010 Business and Culture Expo which will be held Oct. 17 in Long Beach, CA.

“The main purpose is that we are Khmer children, so we think of our brothers and sisters who are laborers and farmers in our homeland.”

Cambodia will bring a business and culture expo to the US for the first time later this month, in an effort to promote its products to the US market.

The 2010 Business and Culture Expo will be held Oct. 17 in Long Beach and will include 20 kiosks to promote rice, palm wine, wooden sculptures and other products. Admittance is free.

“The main purpose is that we are Khmer children, so we think of our brothers and sisters who are laborers and farmers in our homeland,” said Dany Wong, a spokesman for the Cambodian American Business Association.

An improved marketplace can help Cambodia's economy, he said.

“It's an opportunity and the hope that it an be partly solved if we can link the economy and import products from our country, Cambodia, to the US,” he said.

Cambodian Ambassador Hem Heng said he will attend the event.

“I hope this expo will help promote trade between the countries,” he said.

Deforestation Threatens Growing Rattan Industry

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer

Washington, D.C Thursday, 07 October 2010

via CAAI
 

Photo: VOA Khmer

Ou Ratanak is a project manager for the World Wildlife Fund (left) and Lip Cheang is the president of the Rattan Association of Cambodia were the guests on "Hello VOA" on Monday October 04, 2010.

“Within the next few years we will ensure our supply to the European market.”

Even as Cambodian rattan producers have been looking for an international market, they warn that a lack of forest protection could end their livelihood.

Last month rattan producers brought their baskets, bags and other household items to a trade fair in Cologne, Germany.

Lip Cheang, president of the Rattan Association of Cambodia, said on “Hello VOA” Monday the exhibition had given him an opportunity to understand the preferences of international consumers, their needs and the designs that work for them.

Such a market requires small items for kitchens and bathrooms, he said, which are easy to supply.

“Within the next few years we will ensure our supply to the European market,” Lip Cheang said.

However, callers to “Hello VOA” said they were worried forest degradation and land concessions were threatening the industry.

“This is also a concern shared by conservationists,” said Ou Ratanak, a project manager for the World Wildlife Fund, said as a guest on the show.

The WWF and the rattan association are working with 20 forest communities in the provinces of Kampot, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear, Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong, training people to grow the vine and create products from it.

“Rattan products depend totally on the forest,” Ou Ratanak said. “If the forest is lost this means the rattan will be gone.”

Gopnik's Daily Pic: Cambodian Bronze

via CAAI


By Blake Gopnik

October 7, 2010

A feed from my morning musings about art and objects at http://www.blakegopnik.com/  .

Daily Pic: The "Kandal Urn," a bronze vessel from the National Museum of Cambodia, and now in the Sackler Gallery's "Gods of Angkor" show. It's about 2,200 years old. The little lug on its left side is made to look like basketwork, which makes me think the shape of the whole vessel might imitate a wicker or maybe leather container. Whenever a new medium appears, it usually starts out immitating old ones. Greek temples show traces of their wooden ancestors, and early acrylics were used to get oil-paint effects.

Backstory: The urn was discovered in 1948 in the hands of some farmers, who were using it to carry water on long trips by ox cart. Had they unearthed it, or had it been in use for two millennia?